(Citizen X)
It's been almost 10 years, but the memory of the first sighting of Arno is still fresh: He was performing his minor hit "Tango de la Peau" in a TV show. Dressed all black, very pale, messy dark hair hanging into his face, eyes closed all the time. A perfect match for the slow, intense song, obviously an artist who lives his music. The next step was buying his album Charlatan, and listening to it countless times. If this man needed a label, it would have to be "the European answer to Tom Waits".
Even if he never made the big headlines outside Belgium, at least he always sold enough to release album after album, and to always remain present. Seeing him live for the first time a few years later raised the level of appreciation even more. It is rare to see an artist who would put so much into his performance; he does not just sing with his mouth, but with every fibre of his body, soul and mind. With a brilliant band, and the capability to vary the pace between slow ballads and tough rock songs, it is no wonder that he attracts a larger audience than the hypes of today, and some die-hard fans follow him during his tours.
So now comes the next step for Arno: Give Me The Gift is his first US release, packing tracks from his past six albums together with a few new ones. Due to that concept, the album covers a wide range of material. A handful of songs, like the title track, "Watch Out Boy", or "Les Yeux de ma Mere" are in his genuine style: slow, sparse, with lots of accordion, often with a touch of tango rhythm, and very intense with his unique, raspy voice. His talent for driving rock songs is shown in tracks like the strong "Meet The Freaks", and "Putain Putain" brings his old punk days back to mind. Other highlight tracks are his dark rendition of Bobby Womack's "It's All Over Now" and the collaboration with dEUS on the haunting "I'm Not Myself". Zap Mama also make a guest appearance on "Seul".
The variety of songs drawn from different albums makes Give Me The Gift have a less clear concept than some of his earlier work, like the wonderful A la Francaise from '95, which almost entirely concentrated on songs close to the French chanson style. Even if this could be considered a negative feature, Give Me The Gift is a perfect vehicle for introducing Arno to the American market, showing his full range, and with a wealth of excellent tracks. Like he sings in one of his most important songs: "stoned, stoned, stoned, stoned, let's get stoned, music is the dope."
