French rocker Hubert Felix Thiefaine was an influential hitmaker who brought a rugged, edgy guitar rock style into the French mainstream, including a heavy dose of blues-inflected material. Although the French media ignored him for many years, Thiefaine persisted and laboriously built u his fan base, ultimately becoming an iconic figure in the modern French rock firmament. Here's a quick look at his work...
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "1978-1983" (CBS, 1988)
This best-of collection gathers some of Thiefaine's strongest songs... These tracks, from 1978-83, bear traces of contemporary New Wave and stadium rock -- innovative at the time within the refined confines of French pop. After a while, it starts to sound like a bunch of hard-rock bashing about, but this is still an excellent introduction to Thiefaine's work. Maybe not totally my cup of tea, but definitely worth a spin.
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Thiefaine: 1984-1988" (Sony, 1989)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Thiefaine: 1978-1998" (Sony, 2001)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Tout Corps Vivant Brance Sur Le Secteur Etant Appele A S'Emouvoir" (CBS/MASQ, 1978) (LP)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Autorisation De Delirer" (CBS, 1979) (LP)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "De L'Amour, De L'Art, Ou Du Cochon?" (CBS, 1980) (LP)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Dernieres Balises Avant Mutation" (CBS, 1981) (LP)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Soleil Cherche Futur" (CBS, 1982) (LP)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "En Concert, v.1" (CBS, 1983)
A 2-CD live album...
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Alambic/Sortie Sud" (CBS, 1984)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Meteo Fur Nada" (CBS, 1986)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "En Concert, v.2" (CBS, 1986)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Eros Uber Alles" (CBS, 1988)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Routes 88" (CBS, 1988)
A concert album...
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Chroniques Bluesymentales" (FNAC, 1990)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Fragments D'Hebetude" (FNAC, 1993)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Paris-Zenith" (Sony, 1995)
A 2-CD live album...
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "La Tentation De La Bonheur" (Sony, 1996)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "La Bonheur De La Tentation" (Sony, 1998)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "En Concert A Bercy" (Sony, 1999)
A 2-CD live album...
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Defloration 13" (Sony, 2001)
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Au Bataclan" (Sony, 2002)
A concert album...
Hubert Felix Thiefaine "Scandale Melancolique" (Sony, 2005)
HF Thiefaine "Scandale Melancolique Tour" (RCA, 2007)
HF Thiefaine "Amicalement Blues" (RCA, 2007)
HF Thiefaine "Supplements De Mensonge" (Columbia Records, 2011)
HF Thiefaine "Homo Plebis Ultimae Tour" (Columbia Records, 2012)
HF Thiefaine "Strategie De L'inespoir" (Columbia Records, 2014)
HF Thiefaine "Vixi Tour XVII" (Columbia Records, 2014)
Hubert-Felix Thiefaine "Les Carnets Du Sous-sol" (Fremeaux & Associes, 2017)
This spoken-word album is a five-disc audiobook of Thiefaine reading Dostoyevski's "Notes From Underground."
HF Thiefaine "Bluesymental Tour" (Sony Music, 2018)
HF Thiefaine "40 Ans De Chansons Sur Scene" (Columbia Records, 2019)
HF Thiefaine "Geographie Du Vide" (Columbia Records, 2021)
HF Thiefaine "Unplugged" (Columbia Records, 2024)
French Music Index
French Rock Albums
