Countries in Review: Belgium (part 1)

The Atomium, the main pavilion of the 1958 World's Fair,
is perhaps the most famous building in Belgium.

Typically, I'm extraordinarily enthused about reviewing a country's entries in the Eurovision Song Contest.   But when I got to Belgium, I got stuck.    I don't know if it was the sheer number of songs or the quality of songs, but I finally finished this list almost four months after I began. 

Belgium has participated since the beginning--1956--and have only missed the contest when they were relegated for lack of success, so there are 55 songs to go through.

So like my previous posts on Austria, I'm splitting my analysis up into three different posts, starting with the the songs that ranked lowest on my list.

I would love to be able to write a lot on these songs, but for the most part they are nothing but pleasant, as the two songs below demonstrate:

 

Mélanie Cohl "Dis oui" 1998

 

Serge & Christine Ghisoland "À la foile ou pas du tout" 1972

 

 

They're nice but perfectly unmemorable.

 

And that the issue with many of the Belgian entries--pleasant music doesn't get you to the top of the heap come voting time.



 

However, I must admit that Belgium did provide two songs that are currently at the top of my list for different reasons.

 

The first is they entry from 1981:

 

 



 

Emily Starr "Samson" 1981

 

Risque isn't necessarily a bad thing come Eurovision time, but when risque tips over into vulgar, I have to draw the line, and Ms. Starr crossed that line with "Samson".  Her vocal performance is perfection, but the staging and costuming is pretty horrible.  The Belgian delegation wanted to go for sexy, with Ms. Starr in a high, double slit dress with dancers behind her.  It was meant to complement, the song, but it doesn't work.  Starr's desire to show off both of her shapely legs make her look like she's bearing down to give birth and combined with the Josephine Baker/Sally Rand shimmying fan dancers behind her--well, it makes it into something very special.  And really vulgar.

 

But Starr's performance was the saving grace for the song as a whole, and it was ranked well above last place. 

 

That dubious honor went to this song:

 

 

 

Claude Lombard "Quand tu reviendras" 1968

The mopey, somewhat out-of-tune music, Lombard's voice, and the glacially slow tempo make me want to pull my hair out.  I can typically excuse all of these facts if there's any sort of levity, but Lombard makes this song seem as serious as nuclear disarmament talks.  It's horrible, horrible, horrible, and without a question the worst song Belgium has sent to the contest.

And for those who are interested, here's my ranking from 21 to 55.

21.   Ingenborg  "Door de wind"  1989   Isn't Ingeborg adorable?  Isn't the song weak?
22.   Mélanie Cohl   "Dis oui"   1998
23.   Reynaert   "Laissex briller le soleil"   1988   A nice song, but it is very much of the late 80s.
24.   Pierre Raspat   "Judy et cie"   1976   One more Judy and he'd be Cary Grant.
25.   Louis Neefs   "Ik heb zorgen"   1967   Seems like a song out of a musical never written.
26.   Sergio and the Ladies   "Sister"  2002   I wanted to rank this higher, but the vocals were weak.
27.   Fud Leclerc   "Ma petite chatte"  1958   My personal favorite of Fud's four entries
28.   Barbara Dex   "Iemand als jij"   1993   Her clothes were much more memorable than her song.
29.   Jacques Hustin   "Fleur de liberté"   1974   Poor guy had the flu, so that's why the lack of energy.
30.   Lize Marke   "Als het weer lente is"  1965   Another good singer let down by a dog of a song.
31.   Jacques Raymond   "Waarom?"   1963   Why indeed?
32.   Phillippe Lafontaine   "Macédomienne"   1990   Another good singer, but the song is very dated.
33.   Stella   "Si tu aimes ma musique"   1982   I love you when you sing with your sisters...
34.   Iris   "Would You"   2012   Poor girl.  She was a nervous wreck onstage.
35.   Tonia   "Un peu de poivre, un peu de sel"   1966   The overemoting ruined the song for me.
36.   Jean Vallée   "Viens l'oublier"   1970   Nondescript.
37.   Louis Neefs   "Jennifer Jennings"   1969   Pandering to the English speakers, are we?
38.   Serge & Christine Ghisoland   "À la folie ou pas du tout"   1972
39.   Ishtar   "O Julissi"   2008   Sanomi did it much better.
40.   Bob Benny   "Sepember, gouden roos"   1961   It's perfectly OK.
41.   Emily Starr   "Samson"   1981
42.   Patrick Ouchéne   "Copycat"   2009   Seriously?  An Elvis impersonator?
43.   Frédéric Etherlinck   "La voix est libre"   1995   I can't figure out if he blew out his voice...
44.   Fud Leclerc   "Mon amour pour toi"  1960   Overwrought.
45.   Nuno Resende   "Le grand soir"   2005   EMI, this song isn't work blocking in the US.  Trust me.
46.   Fud Leclerc   "Ton nom"   1952   Fud swings.  I fall asleep.
47.   Nathalie Sorce   "Envie de vivre"   2000   She's got a nice voice, it's just a shame she got off key.
48.   Linda Lepomme   "Laat me nu gaan"   1985   The song is pitched too high for her voice.  Shame.
49.   Jacques Zegers   "Avanti la vie"   1984   You're no Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Zegers.
50.   Bob Benny   "Hou toch van mij"   1959   Poor guy is singing his heart out for no real reason.
51.   Mony Marc   "Le plus beau jour de ma vie"  1956   Sadly, it's just uninteresting.
52.   Morgane   "Nous, on veut des violons"   1992   An appealing singer with a really lousy song.
53.   Xandee  "1 Life"  2004  If only she had stayed in tune...
54.   Fud Leclerc   "Messieurs les noyes de la Seine"   1956   This is sleep inducing.
55.   Claude Lombard   "Quand tu reviendras"   1968