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jefflewis · Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 1512

Hi all!
Perhaps one of you can help me with this question!
I recently took out a mix tape someone made me on a tour a few years ago in Europe, it's a tape that I used to listen to a lot. Maybe one of you made it for me? There is no name on it. I think it is from 2004 or 2005. It has the entire Serge Gainsbourg "Melody Nelson" album on it, also some live recordings of the Jeff Lewis Band on stage with Kevin Coyne, the Moody Blues song "Legend of a Mind", and some other things, but there's one track that is the greatest one, and a mystery to me. It's track four on side one, the title is written on the tape case as "Lament" and although the hand writing is a bit sloppy, it looks like the artist name could be "Stephan Eicher". I just looked up "Stephan Eicher" on the internet and he seems to be a guy from Switzerland I think (according to Wikipedia!). There is even a Stephan Eicher album that has a track called "Lament" on it, which I found with a Google search, so I assumed this is the right guy. BUT it seems that most of the songs titles on his albums are in French, and the music of his that I was able to hear on YouTube videos is completely different from the song on this mix tape. The Stephan Eicher stuff on Youtube seems to be highly produced French pop, some of it pretty nice, but totally different from the song that I love on this tape... the song on the tape sounds like a live acoustic recording of an American story-teller, talking and improvising about being on tour in Europe. It is a really funny and touching track, about how when you're on tour in Europe you might act like you're cool because "French women with big lips" want to talk to you at your shows, but meanwhile your wife is back home all alone with your children and she knows you're really not that cool, and you know she's right... it's really a song/story I WISH I could have written myself, it's super witty and well done! It sounds like an Arlo Guthrie talking thing... and it does NOT sound like it is really by this Stephan Eicher that I found on Youtube! Unless Stephan Eicher has the amazing ability to turn into an American when he switches from French pop to acoustic storytelling??? But there IS a Stephan Eicher song called "Lament"... could it really be the same song? I'm very confused. But whoever this song/story is done by, it is genius! I would like to find more recordings from this same person, whoever it is.... maybe it is even someone famous that I'm not very familiar with, like Louden Wainright or Rambling Jack Elliot or something like that...

Dav · Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 9:21 pm Post subject:

I found the song you're talking about on deezer : http://www.deezer.com/#music/result/all/Stephan%20Eicher%20lament
definitly not stephane eicher, not his voice, not his "style", stephane eicher is like crappy french pop. I guess we're facing a fake titled song that made its way on the internet, like the keith moon with syd barrett one or malkmus with pixies.
I wonder how the first people made the mistake tho, not stephane eicherish at all.
Maybe the person who gave you that tape will read this message and give us a piece of the solution. That lament song is very cool. Keep us informed if you find out about it, i can't help sorry.
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jefflewis · Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 1512

Hi Dav!
When I went to that link and tried to play it, it just says "This track is not available for listening at this time" - But you got to hear it? And this track IS the American folk talking song that I was wondering about, but mislabled as Stephan Eicher? What did you hear when you played this link on Deezer?

Dav · Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 11:45 pm Post subject:

yeah the track is the american folk talking you talk about, and it is on a stephane eicher song, at least it's on the Non Ci Badar, Guarda E Passa lp, there are some montreux festival live tunes on it, i seriously doubt that it's him singing but he might be the one playing guitar and making the backing vocals.
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jack fe · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 865

It sounds like a french voice doing the backing vocals.
And that song was wonderful, sad and touching.
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kayleigh · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 4

It's on Amazon.co.uk under Stephan Eicher Non Ci Badar Guarda E Passa and you can hear a clip! But by the looks of things it's written by an American guy called Sam Broussard! x

jefflewis · Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 1512

Yes, the detective work seems to indicate that "Lament" IS the track on the Stephan Eicher album but is the work of a "Sam Broussard" who is a guitarist and songwriter from Louisiana... there is a link to Stephan Eicher on the Sam Broussard website so I assume they know each other, but that is the only information I can find about the connection. Maybe Sam was Stephan's backing musician on a tour and they let him sing one song which became the final track on Stephan's album? But it doesn't seem that Stephan's music would have need of a backing musician who is an acoustic guitarist from Louisiana?? Anyway, I was able to hear a bunch of samples of Sam Broussard recordings but they sound terrible, very badly produced with too many instruments and quiet vocals, and lyrics that are not nearly as good as "Lament" but maybe he has other recordings that are good....? I would love to find a contact email for him and ask him some questions! In the meantime I will continue to play "Lament" for everybody I know... I played it for my friend Dave Miko yesterday to ask him if he might know who it is, and he said "I know this song!" But we soon realized it was because I had already put it on a mix tape for him two years ago, copied from the mix tape that somebody gave it to ME on! I forgot!

hamlet · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 456

Hi Jeff,
I don't know about any of this but a quick web search led to the contact info for his web designer in Louisiana. You could e-mail him and ask for Sam's contact info. Happy New Year (I just drank some Kupferberg champagne, Kupferberg went to sleep, and here I am at his computer.)
DESIGNER OF SAM BROUSSARD'S WEBSITE

The best way to track me down is at work:

R. Reese Fuller
Managing Editor
The Independent Weekly
551 Jefferson Street
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 988-4607

Maybe he doesn't have e-mail--Get someone's cell phone for free long distance, mine is OK, and avoid being ignored by e-mail.

Here's a phone number for Sam Broussard Trucking in LA (Day Job?)
Sam Broussard Trucking Co Inc
2014 Jane St, New Iberia, LA 70563-1010
Contact Phone: (337) 369-6011
URL (web address):
Business Category: Truck Operator-Nonlocal Local Trucking Operator in New Iberia, LA
Industry (SIC): Trucking, Except Local
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reesef@theind.com