Martha Wainwright - Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, A Paris: The Piaf Record
Friday, October 30, 2009 at 11:03AM 
Pop/Adult - Reworking rare Edith Piaf songs, recording them live in concert and, naturally, in French may automatically violate three cardinal rules of American popular music career advancement, but fortunately for us, the wondrously talented singer and songwriter Martha Wainwright doesn't exactly follow the canons of the "business" of music. At the suggestion of friend and off-center production genius Hal Wilner and perhaps taking a page from brother Rufus' recent foray into iconic female singer (ie., his glam Judy Garland tribute), the Montreal-raised Wainwright decided to take on her Francophile upbringing and boldly reinterpret the mournfully dramatic songs of the legendary Little Sparrow, considered to be the greatest and most popular French singer ever.
Recorded live over the course three nights in New York this past June, Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, A Paris (November 9 in Europe, U.S. TBD) features fifteen Piaf songs -- only a couple of which most would recognize -- chosen from more than 300 that Wainwright researched via Wilner. "In doing the shows, I realized the record should be live," she remarks. "I think there was an energy that happened. And a tension and an energy in the music that really worked." Wainwright called upon some of the best "downtown" NY musicians and worked to keep the quirky twists of Piafs original productions while adding some bold new strokes. The result is a daring, powerful and personal work that - while not for every palate - challenges and then rewards. And isn't that what art is supposed to do?
Martha Wainwright - "C’est Toujours la Même Histoire" (from the album Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, A Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record) (Recorded live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)
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