Johnny Hallyday: L'Attente

I'm sure for many a new album by Johnny Hallyday would be met with little more than a shrug of the shoulders.  More of the same, no surprises here, nothing worth writing about.

But Johnny merits more than this, and not just out of nostalgia or giving him the benefit of his status. For a British listener, if anything Johnny's history and celebrity is more of an obstacle as it's a history we're not part of and a celebrity we're not generally aware of.

We're left with a singer, with one of the most exceptional voices in rock, and whatever musical resources he could want at his disposal, from songwriters to musicians.

Meanwhile, the voice remains in excellent form, despite scares in recent years that medical damage could have taken its toll.

While his work doesn't have the stark bleakness of late-period Johnny Cash, Hallyday was never all about that. The album's an affirmation that for his age, Johnny's in apparently good shape and in a good place.

johnny could have chosen to take it easy and just rehashed some of his past glories, but I don't think that as an artist this course of action would have satisfied him. Even now he's trying new songs, new work and tour dates that see him playing new places.

Of course, there are those who point to the disappointing sales of Jamais Seul as evidence of a talent on the wane. However, this should be seen in the light of all album sales being disappointing now, with speculation that the very concept of an album released on CD might be coming to the end of its tenure as a viable medium. remember that Rihanna, one of the biggest artists internationally at the moment, topped the UK album charts in August with under 10,000 physical and online sales, a UK all time low for a number one.

But the real test is not in sales of the album, or even what the critics think. At the end of the day, it it how the album compares to his other work. While not groundbreaking, L'attente is a collection that holds its head up well amidst one of the most extensive back catalogues in modern music.

News: Johnny Halliday TV concert

Johnny Hallyday - currently on tour across France at the moment - has recorded a live private concert and interview for Belgian French speaking channel Bel RTL. A clip of his performance at the Paris studio has been put out by the TV company ahead of its broadcast on June 12, just day's ahead of Johnny's 68th birthday.

The show was filmed on May 30, with an audience of 100 in the studio.

During the show he was interviewed, and played a couple of his hits "La Musique que j'aime", "Oh Jolie Sarah", "Gabrielle", "Fils de Personne" and "Tes Tendres Années" as well as two songs from his latest album "Jamais Seul", "La Douceur de Vivre" and "Guitar Hero"

Johnny sounds in fine voice for a man whose obituaries were all but published not so long ago. The serious health problems that seemed to herald the final act of a remarkable life are apparently behind him.

Johnny's also been in in the headlines for voicing his support for Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Johnny referring to the time he was accused of rape at a party in 2001. The charges brought about a year later, were finally dropped and he was cleared when the judge found that there was no evidence of a crime.

Speaking to TV Magazine, he said: "I was accused of rape, too. It's a story that pursued me and my family for two years! It was unfortunate for me, my wife and children before the lies of my accuser came out. Honestly, I think we went through a terrible..."

From September he's appearing on stage in Paris at the Théâtre Edouard VII in a play, Le Paradis sur terre, by Tennessee Williams.

He is also reported to be featuring in a film - Sleight of Hand - alongside Mel Gibson, Kiefer Sutherland and Gérard Depardieu. The film is a Paris-set tale of a team of burglars who inadvertently steal a rare gold coin belonging to a gangster.

Meanwhile, next year also sees a major tour over France, and there have already been over 100,000 tickets sold for the shows. Good to see Johnny going from strength to strength.


Johnny Hallyday interprète "Oh ma Jolie Sarah"... by rtl-fr

New: Johnny Hallyday - La Douceur de Vivre

A new video by Johnny Hallyday, La Douceur de Vivre, the second from his Jamais Seul album which was released at the end of March.

The album went to number one in France just one week after it was released. Johnny's return after last year's difficulties has certainly been a welcome one.

Johnny appears like a rock 'n' roll Tom Jones in the video, with Johnny looking as rugged as the crags on California's Pacific Coast Highway, but it's nice to see the classic Americana of JH balanced with a very contemporary french couple in the clip.

The song has the qualities that Johnny's fans will love, I imagine it will go down particularly well on his summer tour.

According to Johnny's website, Jamais Seul has sold just over 97,000 copies on CD and just under 2,000 on legal downloads, figures that certainly suggest Johnny's fans prefer CD to download.

Worth remembering that Johnny has sold over 100 million records in his career so far, a figure comparable to the likes of Guns 'n' Roses, Metallica, Rod Stewart, Phil Collins and the Who, all acts that have both a massive international followings and are recognised as A-list celebrities in the UK and US media.

With Jamais Seul selling the way it is, and with the tour over the summer, Johnny's probably well on his way towards his second 100 million sales.

New: Johnny Hallyday - Jamais Seul

Today marks the launch of Johnny Hallyday's new album Jamais Seul.

It's a remarkable comeback, considering how Johnny seemed to be facing his final curtain last year due to serious health problems.

Johnny's presence in the French music scene could have been taken for granted in previous years, a figure seemingly more at home in the pages of Paris Match than in the music press, his success measured in 'millions sold' and in 'years in the business' rather than being subjected to any real artistic scrutiny or given any real credit for what he does.

But last year's medical drama was a warning that even the biggest figure in the French music scene is as vulnerable as any of us, and there really is no one who could come close to replacing him.

While often described as the French Elvis, Hallyday is a far more complicated figure, with the blue-collar appeal of Bruce Springsteen, the career longevity of Cliff Richard but with a rock attitude more in common with Guns 'n' Roses.

Maybe now is the time for Johnny's legacy to be re-assesed, in the same way that Johnny Cash was once regarded as a fairly washed-up country act before he hooked up with Rick Rubin, restoring his reputation.

Johnny himself was at the virgin Megastore in the Champs Elysees on Sunday night at 11.30pm for the launch of the album. Marking his 50 years on the music scene he was presented with a book signed by fans with messages from them.

Tour dates have been confirmed for the summer, there was a TF1 television special broadcast at the weekend as well as the new album's release, and it certainly seems that there are still a few more chapters to be written in the Johnny Hallyday story.