"Tout c'qui nous sépare"
Single by Jil Caplan
from the album La Charmeuse de serpents
B-side"Ta Voix"
ReleasedMarch 1991
Recorded1990
GenrePop
LabelEpic, Sony Music
Songwriter(s)Jay Alansky
Producer(s)Jay Alansky
Jil Caplan singles chronology
"Tard dans la nuit"
(1989)		 "Tout c'qui nous sépare"
(1991)		 "Natalie Wood"
(1991)

"Tout c'qui nous sépare" (English: "All That Separates Us") is a 1991 pop song recorded by French singer Jil Caplan, released as CD single in March 1991. It was the first single from her second studio album, La Charmeuse de serpents, released a few months earlier, on which it appeared as second track. Written and composed by Jay Alansky, the song became a top ten hit in France and remains Caplan's most successful single in terms of sales and chart performances. It was later included on the singer's 1998 greatest hits album, Jours de fête.

Background, music and lyrics

When she listened to the song for the first time, Caplan said: "It [was] a love at first sight. I love this song deeply, its lyrics, its images. (...) It is a perfect echo of my journey in the American West." Composer and producer Jay Alansky, who felt that the song was a potential hit, had stage fright when he recorded the guitar in the studio and thus had to restart several times.[1]

The music video was shot in 1991 in the United States, in the Canyon de Chelly and on the shores of the Lake Powell, Utah.[1] It was directed by Éric Mulet and is composed images showing Caplan in a funfair and in natural settings.

According to Elia Habib, an expert of French charts, "the characteristic timbre of the singer gets married with the sound of a special slide guitar and a harmonica. (...) [The] song chorus [is] marked by a changing chorus, showing solidarity with the verses in which it fits closely and continuity".[2] Regarding the theme, the French newspaper Libération said the song "talks about a separation through sound words, without falling into sadness".[3]

In 2007, sixteen years after the release of the song, Caplan said: "I absolutely do not deny this song which was pretty well built. It has luminous lyrics, which for me is the memory of a great time."[4] In 2011, she proved it by covering the song in a more acoustic version on her album Revue which was released on 3 May 2011.[5]

Critical reception

"Tout c'qui nous sépare" was frequently aired on French radios and Caplan reached her peak of popularity.[6] The song helped Caplan to win an award at the Victoires de la Musique in 1992 in the category 'popular music female révélation of the year'. On this occasion, she performed the song in a live version.

When reviewing the parent album, Music & Media stated that the song is "an interesting mix of typical chanson and C&W. The slide guitar of the very talented Yann Pechin and the harmonica of Baco Mikaelian give the song a greater emotional depth".[7]

In France, the song can be deemed as a sleeper hit, as it debuted at number 50 on 23 March 1991 and finally peaked at number six for two non-consecutive weeks. The song totalled seven weeks in the top ten and 18 weeks in the top 50.[8] The same year, it earned a silver disc, awarded by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique, for 125,000 units.[9]

Cover version

In December 2010, French singer La Fiancée released an EP on which the second track is a cover version of "Tout c'qui nous sépare".

Track listings

  • CD single
  1. "Tout c'qui nous sépare" – 4:20
  2. "Ta voix" – 3:58
  • 7" single
  1. "Tout c'qui nous sépare" – 4:20
  2. "Ta voix" – 3:58

Charts and sales

References

  1. 1 2 "(Auto) biographie" (in French). Jil Caplan. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  2. ↑ Habib, Elia (2002). Muz Hit.tubes (in French). Alinéa Bis. p. 209. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X.
  3. ↑ "Jil Caplan: Une brune qui ne compte pas pour des prunes". Libération (in French). 1992. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  4. ↑ Flamerion, Thomas (June 2007). ""Quelque chose va venir" – Interview de Jil Caplan" (in French). Evene. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  5. ↑ Cadet, Thierry (18 April 2011). "Jil Caplan dévoilera Revue le 3 mai" (in French). Chartsinfrance. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  6. ↑ "Les Victoires de Jil Caplan". La Suisse (in French). 26 February 1992. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  7. ↑ "Spotlight - France" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 19. 11 May 1991. p. 17. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 5 September 2021 – via World Radio History.
  8. 1 2 "Jil Caplan – Tout c'qui nous sépare" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  9. 1 2 "InfoDisc : Les Certifications Officielles d'un Artiste (Depuis 1973)". infodisc.fr (in French). Retrieved 18 October 2019.. Select "Jil Caplan" from the drop-down menu and click "OK"
  10. ↑ "European Airplay Top 50" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 23. 8 June 1991. p. 25. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 5 September 2021 – via World Radio History.
  11. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 25. 22 June 1991. p. 21. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 5 September 2021 – via World Radio History.
  12. ↑ "National airplay – France AM" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 21. 25 May 1991. p. 21. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 29 October 2021 – via World Radio History.
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