Stephen Faulkner / Shards of Halo - CD
Album tracks:
1. L'étoile vagabonde
2. La perle rare
3. Capitaine projet
4. Alias alias
5. Les briquets
6. Anatole
7. Daddy
8. Je m'voyais déjà
9. Troubadour
10. À l'est d'Éden
11. On a des ailes (mais on n'est pas des anges)
12. Funérailles gitanes
Let’s clarify one thing right away: Faulkner's new album, his first since Caboose in 1992, has nothing to do with country. Instead, the author of Si j’avais un char stretches his legs on tunes reminiscent of the Hot Club de France jazz of Django and Grappelli, particularly on Daddy and Les briquets. And there is the chanson (Je m’voyais déjà, by Aznavour), rock (À l’est d’Éden), a swing track with self-deprecating lyrics (La perle rare), and so on. The pianist has, of course, invited a few friends: Jean Cyr on double bass, Gilles Schetagne on drums, Rick Haworth and Buck Lacombe on guitars, Kenny Pearson on the B-3, and many more. This is a joyful record, featuring simple, well-crafted songs that you keep close by like a bedside book. – Claude Côté (Voir.ca)