L'Équilibre instable is the first album recorded by French singer Stanislas, released on 19 November 2007. It had some success in francophone countries. Three singles from this album were top twenty hits in France.
Background and release
After having composed for several artists such as Kool Shen, Calogero, Charles Aznavour and Céline Dion and being a conductor, Stanislas decided to compose for himself. His first album, L'Équilibre instable, was written by Amaury Salmon, Elodie Hesmes and Frédéric Doll. Stanislas participated in the writing of two songs and the composition of all tracks.[1]
The album was released under several formats : first as a CD, then in a second edition with additional two tracks, including a duet with Calogero, then in a limited edition including the music videos of the singles on a DVD. The album provided three successful singles, particularly in France : "Le Manège" (#2 in France, No. 15 in Belgium), "La Belle de Mai" (#19 in France) and "La débâcle des sentiments" (#2 in France, No. 3 in Belgium and No. 68 in Switzerland).
Critical reception
The album was generally well received by critics. MCM stated : [With this album, Stanislas] opens the doors of his world full of poetry and charm, offering compositions that could easily illustrate Christmas tales and fantasy epics".[2] Stanislas found his inspiration from other singers or groups including U2, Coldplay, Pink Floyd or Serge Gainsbourg.[3] His musical universe is composed of tributes to Slavic composers (Sergei Rachmaninov, Tchaikovski) and references of the new wave of the 1980s.[4] This album mixes classical influences of the singer and light pop melodies.[5]
The album achieved success in France and Belgium (Wallonia) where it remained in the charts for almost two years. It reached number ten in France in its tenth week in the chart, on 26 January 2008, and number eight in Belgium in its third week, on 9 February 2008.
