Lara started her career with a self-titled album, showing the world that she is the essence of her own music. Her album “Pure” also contains the theme of honesty, pure music means honest music. Her English career also began with a self-titled album that contained a track called “I am who I am”. Lara stated that this would have been the title of the album if it was not self-titled. Being the person that she is and being true to herself means that her music will always convey honesty and integrity to her audience. Nue followed after her self-titled English album and in 2005 an album titled 9 came out. 9 was the revival of Lara’s music, a process that came to an end for her. Again you could witness her honesty and the purity of her music throughout this album. Now Lara is working on a multilingual album. Lara has always emphasized that music (and for me especially her music) is a universal language that cannot be impeded by linguistic gaps. I think Lara will demonstrate this philosophy with the release of her next album.
I have illustrated to you that Lara applies the central theme you find on the Nue album to most, if not all, of her music. Lara is one of the few artists I know who is able to put together an album where almost every track is a huge number one hit. Many artists these days focus on a single track to promote her album, which tend to spend less time with the other tracks on the album, resulting in album flop. This is what makes people hesitate to buy albums by unknown artists. You may have heard a song or two from the album on the radio, but have no idea what to expect from the rest of the album. Once you buy it, you discover that the other songs are not as good as the singles you heard on the radio. When this is the case, you will most likely never buy another album from this artist. Lara has the ability to keep her audience interested in her music by making each song on her albums a special song, as if each song were an advertisement for her music. After going through an entire album, you cry for more when you finish the last song. That’s why fans can never wait for his next release, there’s always something new, something pure, something honest to look forward too.
Let me walk you through each song on the Nue album and show you how amazing this album really is. For me, this is Lara’s best French album. I think my reason for rating this album as her best album so far is because of the success of her Nue de Ella concert. This was an amazing show with passion, power, emotion and one of the best performances by a band I have ever seen. Although the show was about Ella’s Nue album, she also combined it with songs from Ella’s Pure album. This is what made this show a winner.
J’y Crois Encore (English: I Believe It Again).
In her album “A Wonderful Life”, Lara wrote an English version of this song titled: “I’ve Cried Enough”. Lara is an amazing songwriter. When you compare the lyrics of the French version with the English version, you will see that the content of both songs is identical, even if the lyrics are not a literal translation of the other. The song talks about pain and despair and dealing with them through faith and perseverance. The song makes you realize that you cannot change what happened in the past. Lara sums it up beautifully in the English version of the song when she sings: “Although I believe in the future, I have all the past present, now that I live in the present I don’t care about the rest…”
Aimer Leaves (English: To Love Before).
Lara loves to write about love. She has the ability to move love so beautifully through her lyrics and choice of melodies. This song has so many themes, it talks about love, betrayal and escaping from your pain to places where only you can find peace and tranquility. The image of peace and tranquility is beautifully realized through Lara’s choice of melody, one that has a very calming and soothing tone.
S’en Aller (English: To Go Away).
This song is full of captivating contrasts. I think you can have various interpretations of this song, but one interpretation that came to mind was to take your own life into perspective by moving away from your current circumstances (to leave) and coming back to start over. In Lara’s own words: “And to leave, how do you come back”.
Silence (English: Silence).
An English version of Silence also appears on Lara’s “A Wonderful Life” album. Like most of Lara’s English translations of her French albums, she will find the English and French versions of Silence to be very similar to each other in terms of lyrical content. The meaning of Silence is simple. Silence is your best friend in difficult situations where it is better to keep your mouth shut. But it also refers to the moments of silence where you are not distracted by the noise of the world. In the heat of the moment it is always easier to make decisions when there is silence.
Because you are leaving (English: Because you are leaving).
There is so much passion in this song that you get goosebumps when you hear Lara sing it. She talks about being alone, loneliness making you fade. Nobody wants to be alone. The song talks about someone looking for a flavor to break the chains of loneliness.
I am my heart (English: I am my heart).
Although Lara did not write this song, she must have identified something in it that she wanted to add to this album. Lara never includes a song on an album just for the sake of the song. The song speaks of the fear of rejection from a loved one, the longing of the heart that brings pain when you cannot satisfy that need. It also speaks to the fear of losing the happiness you are experiencing, the uncertainty of the future, and never knowing when it will be taken away from you. All this fits with the title of the album. Being naked means that you are exposed, stripped of all your security and protection, which explains the fear illustrated in this song.
Tango (English: Tango).
Lara uses a tango dancer and a matador as a beautiful metaphor for lovers who cannot meet, one of the lovers rejecting the other. Belonging to the matador is the challenge as the bull challenges the matador. The dancer dances towards the matador, but the matador rejects her love by fighting like a bull. It is a beautiful image sustained by a beautiful and captivating melody. It’s just a joy to listen to and even better to watch Lara perform it on stage.
Imagine (English: Imagine).
Lara seems to have a soft spot for tribal music. She whispers the song, with tribal drums and bagpipes as a backdrop. Lara plays with her imagination as she sings the song, creating an image of a paradise of simplicity, peace, honesty, joy and all that is good. She paints such a pure image in your mind that you realize it is completely unreal and impossible in our current world.
You are my other (English: you are my other).
A wonderful duet with Maurane. The duet supports the theme of the song and I think it will never have the same effect if sung alone. The song talks about two people so closely linked to each other that they are inseparable. You can interpret it as two close friends, two close relatives, or two lovers who are very close to each other. The image of two interconnected people is strongly portrayed through the last line of the song: “And if one of us should fall”. Closing the song with this rhetorical statement that emphasizes how close the two people really are.
River (English: River).
Play games with your imagination. Lara paints the picturesque landscapes of Rio with this song. Just lie back, she closes her eyes and listens carefully to the lyrics (if you understand French) and experiences the atmosphere that Lara creates through this song. Lara’s performance of this song during Nue’s concert is simply amazing. But even if you don’t understand the words, you still enjoy the vibrant music, upbeat melody, and most importantly, Lara’s beautiful voice.
Bambina (English: Little Baby).
Lara co-wrote this song with Janey Clewer. I’m not sure what motivated Lara to write this song, but I guess it’s her maternal instinct that inspired her. The song can be interpreted in two ways, a mother who lost her baby or a mother of an adult child who remembers the days when her son was little. This is one of those songs that easily brings a lump to the throat.
immortal (English: immortal).
This song is a masterpiece in all aspects. The lyrics, the voice of the artist, the music of the orchestra, everything is perfect. Again Lara makes use of a contrast to emphasize an idea. She describes herself as immortal but she dies for her lover, her lover makes her mortal. The song talks about a strong and indestructible person for everyone, but totally vulnerable for someone special, that person who is able to break all her defenses and reach the depths of her heart. I like the way Lara writes her songs in such a universal way that you can interpret it in various ways. The fact that someone can break through your defenses can be both good and bad. It’s good when the person approaches you, but bad when someone uses it for their benefit.
The King Is A Woman (English: The King Is A Woman).
I think that Lara’s motivation to include this song, another one not written by her, is her mother. I think she dedicated the song to her mother because of the references to Sicily in the song. But you can also see him as Lara making an ironic statement here in an industry dominated mostly by men. She showed everyone with this album that she, too, can be successful with the music she produces, not because she is a woman, but because she is an exceptionally talented artist.
Lara co-wrote most of the songs on this album with Rick Allison who also contributed a lot to this album. Lara and Rick did an extremely good job with this album and in my opinion made a great team when they produced music together. The album concludes with a piano mix of all the songs on the album. For me, the choice to add a piano medley at the end was perfect. I couldn’t have chosen a better way to conclude such a rich and invigorating album.