Robert Lelievre

I’ve planned for a while to write something about Robert Lelievre on this blog. He’s one of the best singers I’ve ever heard as well as being one of the best songwriters. The album he made with his Danish band Pan, is one of the great classics. I first heard the only studio album by Pan in 2002, after finding a CD at the record fair in Utrecht and fell in love with its brilliance immediately. There were thousands and thousands of records that were made in the 70s and very few of them are remembered by most people. Pan is not one of them, which is sad, because it should be in the pantheon of rock’s great records. Pan only released one album. It is one of the great cultural crimes that the solo album that Lelievre made for Sonet was unreleased in his lifetime or as far as I know ever. I truly hope a record company will rectify that situation soon. I cannot think of any other unreleased tapes (apart from perhaps Haystacks Baloboa’s second album (same musicians mainly but different band name) or David Forman’s second album) that I want to hear. There is some deep connection made by Lelievre’s voice into my head. ‘Song to France’ and Tristesse are filled with a truly painful yearning for a lost home. Pan is undoubtedly one of the biggest influences on my creativity over the years since I first heard it. Until recently I could find very very little information about Pan or Lelievre but there is now a very impressive website dedicated to them. I would urge you to visit:

http://www.panrobertlelievre.com/