With two successful French language albums under her sleeve, Béatrice Martin (aka. Cœur de Pirate) has done the unthinkable.
She released a English album of covers but for a good reason.
It is for a soundtrack to a popular Quebec TV drama on Radio-Canada (That is the French CBC) called Trauma.
Don’t expect big expectation since Martin is following in the footsteps of fellow Quebecers Ariane Moffatt, Pascale Picard and Martha Wainwright, who provided soundtracks for previous seasons.
Listening to the soundtrack, it made me want to go back and hear the original versions of the song.
On Ain’t No Sunshine, I would want to hear the violins from the original by Bill Withers but it’s more of a intimate strip down dark feeling.
She does a nice job on Kate & Anna McGarrigle’s Heartbeats Accerlerating, The Libertine’s Music When the Lights Go Out, Amy Winehouse’s You Know I’m No Good and Patrick Watson’s The Great Escape.
The whole soundtracks is very striped down, lo-fi, intimate and making it her own version.
Here is a quote:
Although the soundtrack will be Cœur de pirate’s first cover album, she has included covers in her shows for several years. Says Martin, “What I like about covers is when you realize that even after you’ve deconstructed a song; it manages to keep its essence.” These songs gave Coeur de pirate the opportunity to make certain melodies and arrangements her own and to transform them. “I wanted to offer people something different. Take my cover of Kenny Rogers’ “Lucille,” for example. I didn’t want it to sound exactly like the original version, so I went for a piano and voice approach, which made the song take on its full meaning.”
While the Soundtrack will be the closest to have Béatrice sing in English.
May not be original but at least she can prove she can sing in both languages.
Best tracks:
- Ain’t No Sunshine
- Heartbeats Accelerating
- You Know I’m No Good
- Last Kiss
- The Great Escape
- Flume
The soundtrack gets:
/10.
