His six decades of career passed there, the era of Black Socks, the hits galore, the concerts but also the ruts – damn addictions, like that of gambling. “I'm not going to hide it because there are witnesses,” smiles Eddy Mitchell. It was his wife, in fact, who turned him away from the casinos. The artist also confides having made a resolution: “I’m quitting smoking. » About a month ago, pneumonia took a toll on him, forcing him to postpone the release of his record. Since then, he has been on the mend and says he is “better”.
Missing Johnny
Even though he has stopped performing, he continues to perform, as long as he does “En convertible Pontiac”, as he sings in the country-rock ballad that opens “Amigos”, available this Friday, November 29. His traveling companions are choice writers and composers: Alain Souchon, Alain Chamfort, William Sheller, Sanseverino, Pascal Obispo. “These are people that I admire, that I love. So it happens naturally, he slips. It's always nice to be in the studio with musicians. »
Of course Johnny misses. “Until the last moment, I thought he would pull through. He couldn't die. It was impossible,” recounts Mitchell in his book, devastated by the loss of his “brother” at heart, following lung cancer, in 2017. Another “cruel disappearance” five years later: that of Pierre Papadiamandis , his favorite composer, behind classics including “The Last Session”.
“I call it boi-boxes. Machines that make bass, that make guitar. It’s a horror”
However, music remains essential. “It represents that I am still alive,” summarizes the artist. From now on, Eddy Mitchell listens “especially to jazz, to big orchestras”. The new generation hardly has his ear, and the increased use of electronic machines and software in composition does not interest him “absolutely not”. “I like real butter”, he compares, in reference to “real music”, according to him, created as close as possible to reality. “I call it boi-boxes. Machines that make bass, that make guitar. It's a horror. There are many who use it. Some call themselves musicians even though they don't know how to write three notes,” says “Monsieur Eddy”.
Going against the trend
Another target, online music listening platforms. He criticizes them for a quantitative prism and a “total degradation” of sound quality, the titles being most often compressed. The maverick still draws: “Streaming is shit. You listen to this on this [un téléphone, NDLR]it's not possible. » It is better to “listen to CDs at least and vinyl as much as possible”, he recommends, going against the general trend.
