Françoise Hardy - Décalages (1988)

From '88, this is a smooth and lovely collection of pop songs that sound better with each hearing. With superb arrangements and musicianship, and Hardy's wonderful vocal interpretation.
Though her voice is quite amplified on this CD, she doesn't lose the intimacy of her unique sound. There's a gentleness to her voice that I appreciate more now than I did back in the '60's, in the days of her international fame.
She penned all 12 of the songs, mostly ballads, with a few up tempo numbers, like "Dilettante", which has a terrific "spy movie" feel to it. "La Sieste" is exquisite, as is the title track. The total running time is just over 45 minutes.
The CD has the added touch of being slip-cased, and the booklet insert has the lyrics and some recording info, but since my French is tres pathetic, it's lost on me...but the sound speaks volumes...beauty is universal.