Although this album is on the Vogue Records label (the albums distributor), it was the first release of Productions Asparagus, Françoise's production company or "maison de disque". Productions Asparagus was a move by Francoise to take a more active role in the decisions of her career and the production of her material. But fundamentally, it was
Aptly titled, ma jeuness faut le camp ("my youth has gone away") is a farewell to the subject matter and sound of her earlier career. Although Françoise wrote most of her own material, the orchestrations and arrangements of her six albums were really under the control of Vogue who, in 1964, sent Francoise to England to record with Charles Blackwell. Blackwell was a celebrated English producer who did a trememdous amount of work during the early to mid sixties.
Blackwell arranged eight of the twelve songs on the album and it would be their final collaboration together. The other cuts were arranged by John-Paul Jones (Led Zep) Jacques Denjean and Jacques Dutronc. Dutronc, the father of Francoise's child, did the arrangement for "qui peut dire" which was on the EP from the album with "Voila".
The album commences with the title track. An almost spanish guitar sound articulates the melancholoy. Françsoise's voice and the sparse instrumentation beautifully fill out this tune. The subject matter is that of an old man pondering the passing of time. The song is an adaptation of a traditional french ballad by singer Guy Bontempellli whose work is better known through other artists. The album ends with "C'etais charmant", ("it was charming") a bitterless farewell song to a love affaire or Françoise's goodbye to disque Vogue? Je n'ai pas sur.
The two tracks that stand out the most are "qui peut dire" and "voila" both written by Françoise. "Qui peut dire" ("who says"), arranged by Dutronc, puncuates the end of the first side with a driving guitar and echo effect on Françoise's vocals at the midpoint. A high energy song, attributable to the chemistry between Dutronc and Hardy, and like any great song, leaves you wanting more. "Voila", arranged by Jacques Denjean, sneaks up on you with an infectious groove and an almost sexy Françoise vocal. Lush string arrangements help build the climax to one of her biggest hits.
Its the perfect record for late summer afternoons sipping campari and watching the sunset as a warm mediterainean breeze distracts you from your thoughts.
A slightly different version of the album was released in America under the title "Mon Amour Dieu". Unfortunately it is missing the Dutronc track "Voila" and "Qui peut dire" which was produced by John-Paul Jones. Both these songs are penned by Françoise and are the strongest cuts on the album. They both appear on the Reprise follow-up album simply titled Françoise Hardy. (Françoise holds the record for self-titled releases!). However, there are two slightly rare cuts on Mon amour adieu: "Avec des si" and "Je ne sais pas ce que je veux", that, in France, were only released on an EP. They show up in later Françoise compilations though.
Any decent music store with an international section should have this on CD. You can also find it online at:
