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BIO
Salvatore Adamo
Si vous saviez…
Salvatore Adamo, if you knew… Possessing the placidness of Johnny Cash, this Italian-Belgian warns us with a subtly bitter protest song: « It’s too easy, you say, to paint everything blue / Little white lies to fool the honest people/ But if you find my words futile/ And if you think I indulge in my simple tunes…». {C’est trop facile, dis-tu, de tout peindre en bleu / Que du pipeau pour endormir les braves gens/ Mais si tu trouves que mes dires sont futiles / Et si tu penses que je me complais dans des refrains, des rengaines trop faciles…}. Addressed to a hypothetical « rebel » who « from his 20’s » condemns irrevocably the Adamo from « Tombe la Neige » (“Snowfall”) and « Les Filles du Bord de Mer » (“The seaside ladies”) to the forgetfulness of romanticism, the song looks good. It looks rad. Each lyric attuned like a haute couture dress’ piece. The pop-rock melody sways, with the recognizable happiness linked to the sixties classics. The sumptuous composition, as each song of the album, are signed by Clément Ducol and Maxime Le Guil. They both are gifted French music orchestrators who could easily teach a thing or two about modernity and sound to any new trendy revelation. In short, Adamo is back with his 25th album under his arm and he is not happy. Let’s say at 74 years old, he has a message and he is not afraid to say it, with the humble and elegance he is famous for. He is the perfect picture of the candid singer and so influenced by it that we tend to forget he has been one of the first to denounce the Franco regime with « Manuel » and who wrote « Inch’Allah », a peace song. This song has been released six days before the beginning of the 6 Days War. We won’t make you believe Adamo suddenly became Jean Ferrat’s equal any more than a rebel cousin of PNL’s Ademo. Son of a Sicilian minor who emigrated to Belgium, he had a religious education, which led him to be an educated and discreet little boy. You are who you are. However, his new album’s cover for once, surprisingly focuses on the more funny and genuine part of the artist.
He confesses shamelessly that he sacrificed his family life for worldwide fame and the crazy star lifestyle, one day in Chile the other one in Japan. « For 50 years of career, I went 38 times in Japan. Why 38 trips in Japan instead of staying at home taking care of my children ? I don’t even know myself. ». Be reassured, his children never blamed him and even followed in his footsteps: his daughter is a great singer, his older son a jazz musician and his youngest son plays in the electro duo Fujiya&Miyagi. Truth be told, as the dearly missed Johnny, the shy, sweet, polite and affable Adamo truly is in love with his art. His entire body still trembles when he hears some applause. He relishes when forming a perfect connection with his audience. It does not matter if the music is calm and not some furious rock’n’roll. The intensity of the moment remains the same.
Adamo also got in sync with Camille. She is about the most extreme singer in France right now. They performed an already classic duo that somehow carries us to a musical show atmosphere or a wonderful Disney’s melody from another time. This collaboration was a thing to do! The Sicilian’s scratchy voice is perfectly consonant with Camille’s pure and limpid voice. Another audacious title, « Nu » (“Naked”) with its rhythmic choruses and muffled piano notes. The topic of this song was inspired by the book « L’homme nu, la dictature invisible du numérique » (“The naked man, the digital’s invisible tyranny”) written by Marc Dugain and Christophe Labbé. There is still this obsession, away from any trends and against the flow, not saying too much and keep your dignity. We are also seized by the timeless poetic and cinematographic beauty of the lyrical « Tes Chaines » (“Your chains”), of the touching « Roots » or the funny « If you knew… » all three performed by a real symphonic orchestra. Is Adamo really candid ? « I would say that the candor is more of a way to consider things without any pollution of ideas, without preconceived thesis. In short, in this time where formatting is the king, a true form of rebellion. In the song « Méfie-toi » (“Watch out”), he warns us, « Be careful, I’m not that nice…! »
ON TOUR
27/10/2022 – LISBON (PT) – Coliseu dos Recreios – tickets
