Jacques Higelin

Jacques Higelin – “Ai”

CD AI EMI FR 172956.2 1985 16 TRKS

LPx2 AI EMI FR 1729563 1985 16 TRKS

CD ALERTEZ LES BEBES! EMI FR 159891.2 1976 10 TRKS

LP ALERTEZ LES BEBES! EMI FR 2C 068-14361 1976 10 TRKS

LP BBH '75 EMI FR 112999.1 1974 8 TRKS

LP CASINO DE PARIS EMI FR 165465.1 1983 8 TRKS

LP CAVIAR POUR LES AUTRES... EMI FR 2C 068-14843 1979 10 TRKS

LP CHAMPAGNE POUR TOUT LE MONDE EMI FR 2C 068-14844 1979 9 TRKS

LP HIGELIN '82 EMI FR 2C 170-72636/7 1982 9 TRKS LP + 12"

LPx3 HIGELIN A BERCY EMI FR 2609853 1986 22 TRKS Live

LP IRRADIE ET...SUPER GOUJATS EMI FR 2C 066-14250 1975 10 TRKS

LP JACQUES "CRABOUIF" HIGELIN SARAVAH FR SH 10020 1970? 5 TRKS

LP NO MAN'S LAND EMI FR 2C 068-14554 1978 8 TRKS

CD TOMBE DU CIEL EMI FR 791514.2 1988 11 TRKS

LP TOMBE DU CIEL EMI FR 791514.1 1988 11 TRKS

By the mid-80’s, I had been listening to music – rock music – for 20+ years. When stuff all starts to sound the same, you check to see if any of the other doors in the hallway are open. Easy for me, I tried French rock music in the mid-70’s – my first visit to Paris was in 1979. I didn’t know what much of the pop music sounded like, so I chose (wisely?) by the covers of the records – well, that’s how I found Charlelie Couture!

In 1985, I was in Paris for probably the 3^rd or 4^th time – an old hand at it. I had French friends to discuss music with – and I still allowed my eye to be caught by spiffy designs in marketing. One such marketing campaign that caught my eye was for Jacques Higelin’s “Ai” album. There were posters plastered all over Paris for it – a double LP, and a live show (or shows) at Bercy – ‘Palais Omnisport Bercy’ – a big arena in Paris.

“What is this?”, I probably asked my friend Gilles Yepremian, the manager of Lard Free and Urban Sax. “Oh, it’s Higelin – he’s great”. That was all I needed to know. Lucky for me, I was going to be in Paris for one of the live shows. I bought my ticket at the ‘billeterie’ (ticket agency) at a FNAC store, and waited for the weekend. I was supposed to meet Gilles ‘near the entrance’. I also bought a cassette of “Ai” to listen to, on my Sony Walkman headphones.

Well, seems to me that I was the first person to arrive at the venue – and I waited around for an awful long time – then, without Gilles, I ventured inside. I bought a program and a T-Shirt and a cigarette lighter (no, I do not smoke, but…a souvenir cigarette lighter? I was in Europe, after all!). I struggled to find an “usher” – to tell me where my seat was – people just kept pointing me towards the stage – which looked to be in a ‘boxing ring’ in the center of an auditorium with bleachers on all four walls.

How was I going to find Gilles in a 14,000+ seat arena? Well, I wasn’t. The lights went down and a guy walked up a ramp, towards the stage, holding a large African musical instrument – unbeknownst to me, it was Mory Kante, the famous African musician. I do not recall seeing his name on anything – he was just party of Higelin’s show? Kante whipped the crowd into a frenzy, then – hope I got this right – a jeep drives up the ramp where Kante had been walking, and out pops Jacques Higelin.

Hero’s welcome time – whoever the heck this guy is, the French love him. He puts on a diverse and dynamite show – I recognize some songs from the cassette I am carrying around…I leave Bercy a complete fan of Higelin. I hook up with Gilles some days later, he explains all about how Higelin had been a popular singer with the people who staged the 1968 student insurrection etc. At this point, traditional rock music lexicon fails us – we must apply rules and description of “Chanson Francaise” – he’s a popular male singer, in the style of…who? Jacques Dutronc? Serge Gainsbourg?

And “Ai” is a great album, in any language – funny lyrics, tight band – yet it has the 80’s drum machine curse – and a load of Gong and Magma members to make everything bien.

My fandom was again aroused by hearing that Jacno was to produce Higelin for his 1988 album “Tombe du Ciel” ( = Fell From The Sky ). Jacno was another guy who I ‘discovered’ because of how his records looked – he had been a guitarist in Stinky Toys – the French punk band – and after that he made records with his girlfriend / wife Elli Medeiros. I love their records! And now he’s going to produce Higelin! True to instinct, “Tombe Du Ciel” is a great album – Jacno brought his pop sensibilities to Higelin’s work.

I lost track of Higelin after “Tombe Du Ciel” – I’m sure he’s made a few more ‘major works’ since that time…I’ll get back to France one day, and catch up. Seems to me that the French male vocalists seem to age more gracefully than the British…or Americans.

Alas, when Higelin’s acknowledged son, known as “Arthur H” started making records – I was interested – he has a rasp a la Tom Waits, but…I could never really get behind the presentation style. Of considerably greater interest, it seems Higelin has an unacknowledged daughter, who is known as “Clemence Lhomme” – now those two CD’s are fantastic! Is she really Higelin’s daughter? Her “Clemence Lhomme” and “Ex-Imortelle” are both really great albums. Even if she’s not Higelin’s unacknowledged daughter.

Salut, Monsieur Higelin! Your “Ai” album is great. So is “Tombe Du Ciel”! I’ve bought a ton of your records and CD’s and I enjoy listening to them, even though my French language skills aren’t all that hot.