Birkin’s voice is breathy, husky, as she sings her way through English, French, Italian and even Brazilian Portuguese lyrics. It would be easy for her to be drowned out by instrumentation, but on ‘Rendez-Vous’ she has benefited from sympathetic songwriting and production that plays to her unique sound.

The album kicks off with ‘Je M’Appelle Jane’ which has a quirky, jaunty beat and irreverent lyrics. Like the other songs on the CD, it was written by her duet partner, in this case, Mickey 3D. ‘Je M’Appele Jane’ is one of the album’s gems.’“T’as Pas Le Droit D’avoir Moins Mal Que Moi’ opens with Alain Chamfort’s gallic vocals, before Birkin comes in. This track looks back to some of her earlier work.

‘In Every Dream Home a Heartache’ with Bryan Ferry is perhaps the best track on the album. The lyrics are wonderful. Ferry’s velvet delivery, describing perfect homes is undercut by the menace of the music. Birkin’s breathy, clipped English vocals take over in this dark love song to a blow-up doll:

“You float in my new pool,
deluxe and delightful.
Inflatable doll,
my role is to serve you.”

With Jane continuing with lines like: “Immortal and lifesize, my breath is inside you,” there’s a dark eroticism to this track. Concluding with the two dueting on: “I blew up your body, but you blew my mind,” the electronic sound is overlaid with a more rock-style finale.

‘Palais Royal’ with Alain Souchon sweeps us into a more French, orchestral, romantic sound. This is closer to Birkin’s chanson musical background, and is certainly one of the more conventional tracks. It’s followed by the wonderful and deliciously sophisticated ‘La Grippe’ with Etienne Daho, which has a latin beat to it, reminiscent of Brazilian jazz and bossa nova.

‘Strange Melody’ comes next, written by Portishead’s Beth Gibbons, who also provides the eerie backing vocals. Beginning with a piano intro, it’s a story of a woman who commits suicide by walking into the sea. Birkin half-recites, half-sings. The song is perfect for her voice. Gibbons high-pitched wavering backing is like a banshee, warning of death.

The more upbeat Brazilian track ‘O Leaozinho’ with Caetano Veloso quickly dispels the atmosphere of ‘Strange melody.’ This is a simple, stripped-down song with a cheerful, sunny melody that positively skips along, while ‘Pour Un Flirt Avec Toi’ with Miossec is unrepentantly gallic. ‘The Simple Story’ returns to English. Her duet partner, Feist, also has a beautiful, delicate voice, though she doesn’t have Birkin’s husky tone. ‘The Simple Story’ is a song that moves between lovely delicate moments and a more sophisticated sound.

‘Te Souviens-Tu?’ has a classic French sound to it, with fairly simple instrumentation. Manu Chao joins her here. Unlike some of the other tracks where lyrics are often sung interchangeably, the two sing together here, and Jane’s voice is less obvious as a result.

‘Smile’ on the other hand is a black-humoured track written by Placebo’s Brian Molko. His opening lines are memorable:

“Don’t stare at your face
with your nose out of place
at the wrinkles where zits used to be.”

Molko’s vocals have a deadpan, bitter-edged quality. The concept of smiling “and the whole world smiles with you” is both promoted and mocked at the same time.

“Don’t be scared of your preacher
Cos he’s just a leech
He’s too busy cruising your ass.”

‘Smile’ is one of the highlights of the album, laden with brilliant lyrics.

Françoise Hardy joins Birkin on the lovely ‘Surannée’ which Hardy also wrote. Beginning with a ballad style, the orchestral backing swells up later. There’s a strong use of strings on this track, giving a romantic sound. But it turns simpler and more delicate at the end. Hardy and Birkin’s voices are well matched.

‘Canary Canary’ has a Japanese-style opening, which is hardly surprising since it was written by Yosui Inoue who also sings. Birkin’s vocalisation has a fragile quality, befitting the title. Inoue recites lyrics in Japanese while Birkin sings in English. ‘Canary Canary’ is a song that grows on you.

‘Chiamami Adesso’ is an Italian track with Paolo Conte. Jazzy, with a trippy beat, there’s something relaxing about this song. But it’s still relatively close to Birkin’s earlier work with Gainsbourg.

The CD also includes two bonus tracks: ‘Port-Bail’ and the Tokyo version of ‘Canary Canary.’ Unfortunately there are no lyrics included in the CD booklet, though there are black and white photos of Birkin who, two years short of turning sixty, looks amazing. ‘Rendez-Vous’ is a fine CD, mixing romantic sounds with haunting tracks. It’s a mature but playful collection.

One interesting point is that Birkin’s pose on the front cover is reminiscent of the painting that appears at the end of her 1991 film with Jacques Rivette: ‘La Belle Noiseuse.’ The Beautiful Troublemaker.

Kara Kellar Bell is a film and media graduate from the West of Scotland, with a passion for European novels, French films, silent cinema, and Brazilian music (everything from Daniela Mercury and other pop stars through to bossa nova). As a writer, she likes to have room to move around creatively, so she’s not located in one genre. She writes realism and also stories of a more fantastic nature, usually grounded to some extent in the real world. She also takes delight in writing across the sexual spectrum, and as a bisexual, considers it important to remind people that things are not always black and white, either/or, in sexuality or in gender. She is currently completing her first novel. For a selection of Kara’s writing on the Showcase section of this site, click here

© 2004 Laura Hird All rights reserved.