Brel, Jacques – “Infiniment” – [Universal]

Naysayer   10/19/2016   A Library, CD

Jacques Brel is an institution. Initially a French institution, by the 1970’s the passion was worldwide. Brel sings chanson, that very specific impassioned French song style which tell tales of love, loss, the trials of the worker, the beauty of one’s home, the loss of one’s home, patriotism, etc, etc, etc. Brel’s voice is rich and full of emotion, leading the listener down his path. Accompanied by bold orchestrations to smaller musical couplings, Brel is able to maneuver the terrain brought by each production. On the few live recordings in this collection you can feel the intensity of the audience as he sings. The audience breaks out in near riot when he finishes. In these instances, one realizes this is more of a movement than just some guy singing French standards. Let go and fall into his magic.