Noir Archive

Bleu noir is the eighth studio album by French Star singer Mylène Farmer, released 6 December 2010. Farmer's label set up a web site to promote the album on 3 November 2010. For some of her fans this album is a return to her roots. It has drawn favorable comparisons to Innamoramento and also the albums prior to Anamorphosée. This album seems to depict the artist as a woman at her prime, confident in her achievements and able to express herself without sacrificing her integrity. Farmer has written the lyrics and Moby, Archive and RedOne have composed the music for the album. Bleu noir is Farmer's first studio album since 1991's L' Autre to outperform its predecessor in terms of national sales.

Steve Hackett's later material is somewhat different from his '70s and '80s work, in that the guitar playing tends to be less progressive and lengthy, verging more on rock-blues and basic string arrangements. The emergence into this style is showcased on Guitar Noir, as Hackett displays a more mature side to his instrumental prowess. Each song is given one line of interpretation from Hackett in the liner notes, as the songs range from the life of a prostitute to the onslaught of television in the household. Only two of the 12 songs are without vocals, but words have no affect on Hackett's beautiful passages anyway…

Many long-lived rock artists (Emerson, Lake & Palmer and King Crimson, to name two) are starting to see the value in releasing live archival material. It's a way to thwart the bootleggers, plus it pleases longtime fans. Hackett joins in with this box set release of three shows, one from the 1970s (Hammersmith Odeon, London, June 30,1979), one from the 1980s (Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome, Sept. 13,1981), and one from the 1990s (The Grand Theatre, London, June 8,1993). It's a viable collection, coming complete with a photo-laden booklet which includes an intro to each show written by Hackett (or, Stefanovitch Von Hackenschimdt, as he signs one), a complete tour itinerary covering his solo career to 2000, and track-by-track comments on each song from the 1993 disc (but, strangely, not for the other two shows)…

C'est un grand professionnel du petit écran : voici près de dix ans que vedettes et personnalités défilent sur son plateau. Et quel que soit le jugement que l'on porte à son égard, il faut admettre que son émission épouse un certain air du temps. Etudier le discours qui lui est attaché, en exhiber les traits originaux, c'est éclairer les passions et les angoisses de notre société. …

Steve Hackett's solo rock albums have grown few and far between from the '90s onward. So the release of To Watch the Storms was surrounded by a lot of expectations from fans and they shouldn't be disappointed. This is a wonderful record, full of touching, intelligent songs, stellar guitar playing, and great production. It continues in the same direction Hackett has been pursuing since Guitar Noir, a blend of mature songwriting, thoughtful arrangements, and odd rock numbers with progressive rock elements. Nothing needs to be taken out of this album. "Circus of Becoming" adds another example of Hackett's infatuation with quirky circus-sounding tunes, but this one is much better than "The Ballad of the Decomposing Man" (from Spectral Mornings)…