Éric Cantona – Cantona sings Éric Review

Jack of all trades, master of some, Éric Cantona is full of surprises. When he wasn’t launching himself at fans or appearing in the Manchester United-mad fantasies of the working class for a Ken Loach film, it appears his dabbles in music will keep him occupied. Cantona sings Éric is another fascinating swerve in the lengthy life of a man who baffled football fans with strange speeches and beach soccer. A live record from the former Leeds and Man Utd forward is a welcome surprise as his earlier singles remain somewhere close to solid. His step onto the stage is a chance to prove their wonders, to engage listeners with an hour and ten minutes of live work. Cantona pulls no punches. This is his genuine efforts from a surprise tour which, at the time of these releases, seemed unlikely.  

Cantona will be defined by his previous careers as are the likes of Tim Heidecker or Russell Crowe. They are established in other fields and as powerful as these new works are, they will be pigeonholed into what they are best known for. No harm for Cantona though, he has all the makings of a tortured artist with mature and bold lyrics on his hands – for the occasional song, that is. Opener I’ll Make My Own Heaven feels inevitably harsh, and a series of string-laden self-assessments follow. This is Cantona reflecting on himself, after all. Those emotive tortures soon dissolve as by the time We Drive rolls around Cantona has found a steady sound. He sticks with it and remains unwavering, even in the face of potential, exciting developments. His sound suffers for it and as such Cantona Sings Éric becomes a test of lyrical longevity. How far can an ex-footballer get with a penchant for art? Cantona has the confidence and nerve to put his experiences and thoughts to song. That alone keeps his project ticking along neatly.  

A bit of spoken-word French opens We Believe In Ourselves to – whatever else – get the crowd to believe in themselves. Cantona sings Éric does a tremendous job highlighting the extracurricular talents of a journeyman artist but linger on his lyrics for too long and the cracks, the similarities, they all begin to show. The Friends We Lost still lingers as a strange yet notable piece in a backlog of tracks not yet touched by a studio release. Instead, Cantona opts for the tempo and tones of his stage presence, a hell of a bold move from a man who is performing his works for the first time. This is the character of Cantona and as he focuses on the autobiographical momentum he finds real beauty in the atmosphere, rather than the lyrics. This overreliance on strings comes to a head on Nowhere (Bang Bang), this staggered attempt of making seedy drinking a fearsome experience stomping down the desperation. It fits well and Cantona sings with a pride reserved usually for those with decades of presence on the stage.  

But Cantona has always been a character of the stage, and his appearances over the last twenty years have moulded Cantona sings Éric. His presence is matched only by those with stern notions found buried deep in their lyrics. As simple as the likes of I Want To See You may feel, Cantona carries them with the same conviction Nick Cave brings out in his divine tracks of self-loathing and care. Cantona Sings Éric is a pleasant surprise. Cantona has surprised audiences already by touring – the next surprise is, as his penultimate track You Will Never See Me Again suggests, to never see him again. Maybe this is the one showcase of Cantona expelling demons through the gift of song, but hopefully not. He has a solid knack for it which makes his hour and ten-minute album an excessive but interesting listen.