Search - Jacques Brel :: Quinze Ans D'Amour

He loved his audience, they simply adored him.....

J. Kleene | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 05/12/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When ending his farewell concerts in the Paris Olympia Music Hall, Jacques Brel, came back to the stage, after the audience refused to stop applauding for over 15 minutes. He told the audience: 'thank you, because this justifies 15 years of love'(Quinze ans d'amour). Brel devoted 15 years of his live to continuous touring, playing in every possible music hall, from Russia to the USA. When listening to his CD, we can understand why his audience adored him to this point. Every song is a masterpiece, his talent to incarnate the personages he sings about has no equivalent. As a journalist once wrote: 'each of his song is a Greek masterpiece'."

7 Brel Treasures among 20 Songs

J.S. | California, United States | 12/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a terrific Brel collection containing 7 of his most treasured songs among the 20 on the CD.



Wonderful English translations by Amazon.com reviewer Thelma Blitz for many of these songs are available separately in the Infiniment (ASIN: B0002PUHGU) and the Olympia '61 and '64 (ASIN: B000BJ7D96) 2-CD Brel collections. Complete Brel song lyrics in French are available from Amazon.com in "Tout Brel" (ISBN: 2264033711), and a terrific French-English dictionary to use in studying Brel's chansons is the "Collins-Robert French Dictionary Complete & Unabridged" (ISBN: 000718381X).



Brel's best songs in this collection include:



"Quand On N'a Que L'amour" (When We Have Only Love, track 2) is Brel's quintessential theme song (circa 1960) for idealistic young lovers who believe that love conquers all, in stark contrast to Brel's later more jaded songs, ranging from "Le Prochain Amour" in 1961 (not on this CD) to "La Chanson des Vieux Amants" (Song of the Old Lovers, track 17) in 1967. "Quand On N'a Que L'amour" strikes a similar tone of optimism as another Brel song, "Au Printemps", which is not included in this collection.



"Ne Me Quitte Pas" (Don't Leave Me, track 4) is Brel's most famous torch song, in which he uses exquisite imagery to press his suit with a girl who has already left him, descending in the end into abject desperation as he struggles to maintain a link, any link at all, with the object of his love. Frank Sinatra was moved to sing an English version of this song ("If You Go Away"), which unfortunately doesn't do justice to the stunning poetry of the French original. This is my favorite song of the entire Jacques Brel repertoire because of the power and the haunting beauty of the lyrics, Brel's impassioned voice and the evocative music!



"Le Plat Pays" (The Flat Country, track 6) is Brel's nostalgic homage to his home country of Belgium, sung with great affection in French and Flemish. Although he grew up in Belgium, he spent nearly his entire musical career in Paris, France.



"Les Vieux" (The Old People, track 9), evokes a ticking clock as a metaphor for the passage of time. It paints a grim portrait of life in the twilight years, set to the beat of a grandfather clock.



"Mon Enfance" (My Childhood, track 16), one of Brel's most passionate songs, takes a candid look back at what Brel describes as a quite unhappy childhood. Complimenting his voice is a ravishingly beautiful accompaniment by piano, cello, singing saw and orchestra that manage to convey a strong sense of nostalgia despite the misery Brel describes.



"La Chanson des Vieux Amants" (Song of the Old Lovers, track 17) is a wonderful nostalgic look back at a romance of 20 years: all the storms the couple has endured, and "the sweet tender marvelous love" that continues today even as their "tender war" persists. To me, Brel's passionate singing and the wonderful piano and orchestral accompaniment evoke all the romance and nostalgia of a World War II era Casablanca, making this one of Brel's greatest classic songs.



"Amsterdam" (track 20) is one of Brel's most famous songs. It's about the sailors who disembark in this Dutch port and how they deal with the vicissitudes of their lonely lives and the dreams that haunt them once they reach the shore.



Other highly recommended Jacques Brel CDs you can find on Amazon.com include:



Title (ASIN#) No. of Songs



Infiniment (B0002PUHGU) 40 songs with wonderful English translations

Olympia '61 and '64 (B000BJ7D96) 30 songs with great English translations

Quand On N'a Que L'amour (B00000IYC9) 49 songs with color photos and an essay on Brel's life and songs (3-CD set)

Ne Me Quitte Pas (B0000AKOLJ) 11 songs

Les Flamandes (B000006UOA) 21 songs

Les Bonbons (B0000AKOLD) 14 songs

Ballades Et Mots D'amour (B00003Q56T) 30 songs

Vol. 1-Special Edition (ASIN: B000042OFF) 16 songs

Master Series: Jacques Brel (B0000046O5) 16 songs (same songs as on Vol. 1-Special Edition)

Volume 1 - Grand Jacques (B00000DXQY) 15 songs including "Sur La Place"

Grand Jacques Integrale 172 Titres (B000025BD8) 172 songs (10-CD set)



What's even more fabulous than the CDs, however, is the 3 volume DVD set released in 2003: "Jacques Brel: Comme quand on etait beau" (ASIN: B0000AQJPR). The set includes 7.5 hours of live and staged performances as well as interviews and home video footage. Everything that the heart of a Jacques Brel fan desires to capture the essence of this very theatrical artist in a way that an audio-only recording can not.



Also of tremendous interest: the VHS video "Jacques Brel" (ASIN: B0001P1XG4), a video biography on the life and music of Jacques Brel. Full length documentary features extensive live footage and interviews with Brel himself as well as his daughter and associates. It is also available on DVD, but only from Films Media Group.

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Magnifique et transcendant

grospoussin | Montreal, Canada | 10/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Brel est maître de la poésie et du langage. La douceur de ses mélodies ne lasse pas et la richesse de ses textes invite à la réflexion."