With over 40 years' career behind him - not to mention record sales of 90 million! - Salvatore Adamo could have been forgiven for lying back and resting on his laurels. Monsieur Adamo is a star the world over, his leading fan clubs being in Russia and Japan. Few artists singing in French can lay claim to such a brilliant and universal track record. The only challenge left for Salvatore now is to transmit his songs to the younger generation.

On Le Bal des gens bien, apart from a few notable veteran exceptions – such as Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon – Adamo has recruited guest stars from the hotbed of new talent on the French music scene. Eighteen singers have been enlisted and Adamo has made some audacious choices, inviting young Julien Doré to perform a surprising version of Mes mains sur tes hanches while Adrienne Pauly sings a particularly sultry adaptation of En blue Jeans et blousons de cuir.

The popular 'nouvelle French chanson' chart-topper Bénabar opens proceedings with a refreshing new version of Adamo's 1963 hit Vous permettez monsieur. (And interestingly enough, Bénabar's production team, Alain Cluzeau and Fabrice Ravel-Chapuis, were called in at the studio helm). Meanwhile, Laurent Voulzy introduces a note of nostalgia and subtle melancholy on Tombe la neige, a ballad in the form of a haiku that scored a huge hit for Adamo in Japan.

Another highlight of Le Bal des gens bien is Alain Souchon's guest appearance on Les filles du bord de mer. Souchon even manages to tap into a satirical vein reminiscent of the late great Jacques Brel (Adamo's all-time idol). As for the modern-day French crooner Calogero, he turns in a surprisingly calm and understated performance on Inch’ Allah (Adamo's classic about the Six-Day war in Egypt in 1967).

In short, Le Bal des gens bien is a diverse and colourful album with its finger firmly on the musical pulse. It should certainly catapult Salvatore Adamo back into the limelight and secure his place in our collective unconscious for many years to come.

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 Listen to an extract from Mes mains sur tes hanches

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