VÉRONIQUE SANSON - Dignes, dingues, donc... | 2LP

On November 4, 2016, Véronique Sanson added a new album to her discography with the resonant title: "Dignes, dingues, donc." (Worthy, Crazy, So.). Crowned by the all-out celebration of her "American years" (two distinct tours in 2015 with a dozen Olympas and two packed Palais des Sports), culminating in a magnificent DVD (Les années américaines, le film, released in June 2016), she returned to the calm of her home on the banks of the Seine, her Bösendorfer, and her countless notebooks on which she scribbles at all hours of the day and night. Assisted by her bassist of over 30 years (Dominique Bertram) and one of her onstage backing vocalists (musician Mehdi Benjelloun, who composed the music for the magnificent first single from the album, "Et je l'appelle encore" (And I'm Still Calling Her)), Véronique Sanson crafted this fifteenth studio album like a multicolored mosaic: ten tracks rich with all the rhythms and all the music that have always lived within her. It showcases the breadth of her expertise, with the only common thread being her lucidity, her sensitivity, but also her vocabulary, her very particular syntax, and of course her voice, in great form – an inimitable signature, unless venturing into caricature – and two special guests: Zaz for a particularly swinging duet and Thomas Dutronc for a gypsy jazz interlude. "Dignes, dingues, donc." starts off strong with the pop energy of the song that gives the album its title and closes with a touch of jazz and vocal harmonies reminiscent of the Double Six (whom Véronique Sanson reveres), moving from a samba to an authentic blues, from the timeless piano score of the title in which she evokes, invokes, and summons her mother who passed away exactly 10 years ago, to a track offered by Bernard Swell. In layered lyrics alternating depth and lightness, this eternal lover of words denounces prohibitions, speaks of love and death, painting an uncompromising portrait of a sincere and free artist. Véronique Sanson enjoys genuine widespread public appeal (85,000 views on YouTube for the music video of "Et je l'appelle encore" the week it was released). With her unparalleled sense of sharing, she now aspires to bring this new repertoire to life on stage, and if she sings "Je suis tout ce qu'elle déteste" (I am everything she hates), we must confess that she is everything we love.