Bonjour

It’s all a matter of interpretation. With Bonjour, Rachid Taha, the leather-clad, Algerian-born Joe Strummer acolyte, has made a record that downplays his maverick tendencies and reveals his more open side. In some quarters, such a move could be construed as a compromise; a dilution of spirit. More generous types, however, might applaud such a change of direction from an artist stretching beyond his natural inclinations.

Whatever the standpoint, Bonjour is indisputably the mellowest offering of Taha’s 30-year career, one that quite possibly signifies a deliberate assault on the higher echelons of the pop charts. Take the largely acoustic title-track, for instance. A duet with the lead singer of French band Louise Attaque (and Bonjour’s co-producer) Gaetan Roussel, it more than suggests that Taha envies the deafening roars that constantly accompany his high-achieving contemporary Manu Chao. This tune – and many others, such as the gentle opener ‘Je T’Aime Mon Amour’ – would have little trouble finding their way onto the playlists of FM radio stations from Calais to Cannes.

But a more accessible, commercially savvy sound shouldn’t necessarily be mistaken as being vacuous and empty. That splendid Gitanes-and-Pastis rasp of a voice remains, as does Taha’s concern for humankind and his Arabian brotherhood. It’s just that, in getting his message to more ears, his tunes now wear brighter colours – as does Taha himself who, judging by the cover, has traded those black leathers for the pink frilly shirt of the lounge singer. Bonjour might not be his creative high watermark, but it does reveal a little-seen side of the man behind the rebel yell.