Art Mengo
Croire qu'un jour…

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     Art Mengo was born in Toulouse in 1962 to Spanish-born parents who had moved to France. During his childhood he suffered from 70% deafness, although that did not prevent his mother from offering him a small keyboard to play.

     It must then be true that "a mother always knows": Once corrective surgery was made on his ears, Mengo bought an eight-track recorder. With his own melodies and lyrics written by his brother-in-law, Mengo amassed such an impressive repertoire of material that by 1988 he had secured a deal with a label and released his first single. By 1992, after two albums and various sold-out concerts, Mengo found himself in the enviable position of writing a song for Johnny Hallyday ("Ça ne change pas un homme"), and then an entire album for Ute Lemper in 1993.

     Over the past few years Mengo has been honing both his writing and his performance skills - once a total introvert, he now confesses to finding performance theraputic.

     Which brings us to the present: "Croire qu'un jour…" is, I dare say, a perfect pop album, a wonderful journey through different moods and settings. "Murmure de coquillage", which begins the album, is a sultry jazz song. "Qu'est-ce que je peux savoir" evolves into a rock-pop song in which Mengo ponders: "Qu'est-ce que je peux savoir des mystères de ma vie/ Quand tout est bon à croire et son contraire aussi?"


To hear a sample

snd.gif (383 bytes)"Qu'est-ce que je peux savoir?"

snd.gif (383 bytes)"Il Y Aura des Fleurs"

hp04748.jpg (6610 bytes)
Art Mengo
Croire qu'un jour…
Item#04748; $21.95
Songs: Murmure de coquillage, Qu'est-ce que je peux savoir?, Le pont des pies, Faudrait jamais s'aimer, Je t'aime d'amour madame, Sentiments usés, Le doute, Je suis heureux, Le chef de gare, Un petit peu de moi, Il y aura des fleurs. Lyrics included.


     The album then takes an unexpected turn into the dreamy, Beatles-influenced pop of "Le pont des pies", with its lazy backbeat, horns, and breathy backing vocals. Mengo's jazz-laced vocal delivery makes a clever contrast. "Faudrait jamais s'aimer" is an upbeat pop number with a warning: "Faudrait jamais s'aimer/ Faudrait jamais rêver".

     Mengo crafts lovely and unusual songs. The production on "Croire Qu'un Jour..." skillfully blurs musical borders, incorporating jazz, pop and rock into a sumptuous bouillabasse of music - perhaps a reflection of Mengo's experience as a native of Toulouse, where he still lives today. For fans of singer-songwriters like Francis Cabrel, Peter Gabriel, and Sting, this album is not to be missed.

 

Also Available by Art Mengo:
"Live au Mandala" (1997)
$21.95 CD. Live recording! Gino, Mon voisin, L'amour code, Pendant que je cherchais, Nous nous desaimerons, Les parfums de sa vie, Je suis incendie, Laisse-moi partier, La mer n'existe pas, La bure, Ma tombe, Magdeleine, etc.

 

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