What I enjoy most about "À L'Origine" is its highly concentrated orchestration; it seems that each time I listen to the different tracks, I hear little musical flourishes that I hadn't noticed before. Benjamin Biolay's wonderfully evocative vocal performances complete the sound, including a lovely duet with Françoise Hardy on the song "Adieu Triste Amour." All around, "À L'Origine" makes for a very gratifying listening experience. In fact, I predict that this album might soon overtake "Rose Kennedy" as my favorite Biolay album...and that's saying a lot!
For those who like to preview before purchasing, sound clips are available on Amazon.fr.

I loved "Rose Kennedy," his first album, and liked his second one "Negatif," but not as much. This one, however, from track one blew me away. This album is lush, theatrical and epic, with amazing instruments and Biolay's vocals finally rising above a hush. One of the best of 2005, no doubt.