CD "D'amour fou d'amour" chez Seventh Records, mai 1995.
compositions (paroles et musique), chant, piano, claviers

Review Added, 7-11-00
Joe McGlinchey

Pierre-Michel Sivadier is one of the players associated with the Seventh Records label, home to Magma and related acts. Since his start as the keyboard player for Christian Vander's Offering in the 80s, he has slowly gained more visibility. He was the main songwriter besides Vander on Stella Vander's solo album D'épreuves D'amour, and here, he steps fully out in front to show his considerable talent as a leader. Unlike Emmanuelle Borghi (Vander's other main fully out in front to show his considerable talent as a leader. Unlike Emmanuelle Borghi (Vander's other main keyboard player of choice)whose playing seems primarily jazz-based, Sivadier's style shows a greater affinity to the delicate, brooding pieces of the Romantic era, with richly-layered harmonic piano lines. Perhaps since I am used to seeing him in a supporting role, I was surprised at how charismatic and expressive his singing is. D'Amour Fou D'Amour is a very emotive, stereotypically French album (heck, just look at the title), with complex and rapidly-delivered text for many of the pieces, that will probably decrease accessibilty for those who have less than a native command of the language. Still, there are several remarkable tunes on here, and the music is enough to carry the project successfully. "Les Gens dans les Blés" shows Sivadier's writing strengths, and "Tard dans la Nuit" has some spine-tingling vocals from Stella at the end, who sings in full, ghostly melancholy: "I know it is Carnival/I have chosen a mask that pleases me/I am happy..."). There are also the more upbeat "Si la Guerre Éclate" and the moody, tension-building "Saint-Malo," both of which will transport you instantly to those hole-in-the-wall, smoke-filled, jazz cafes in Paris. This isn't an album that will instantly hit you, but I find it is one that pays off quite well in the long run.