FqtrsplqlnBlackFrontIntroduction

“Fais Que Ton Rêve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit” is a concept album by Vangelis Papathanassiou, released in 1972. The enigmatic title translates to something like 'have your dream last longer than the night', whereas the sub-title printed on the original LP is 'poème symphonique', meaning 'symphonic poem'.

Being just freed from his ties with "Aphrodite's Child", Vangelis seemed eager to prove his artistic value and set out to compose a conceptual work about the May 1968 protests in Paris. The idea to create an album about this subject must have come from personal experience, as when Vangelis arrived with Demis Roussos and Lucas Sideras in Paris in March 1968, the group witnessed the violent student protests in the streets of the Quartier Latin from their small hotel on Rue Saint Andre des Arts. As Lucas later remembered, “once the protests started, we were right in the middle of business and it's a mess. We are trapped in the rooms, with wet towels on our faces, because the tear gas is everywhere and panic is widespread among all the hotel's occupants.”

The album is a collage of instrumental themes by Vangelis and actual sound recordings made on the streets during the student protests, and contains chants with lyrics based on texts inscribed on the walls of Paris during the protests.

The original album LP (with black cover) was only released in France and Greece, and later re-released in France (with a red/yellow or pink/yellow sleeve). The re-released LP has a few additional seconds at the start of the B-side, which include a fade-out of Aphrodite’s Child 1968 hit ’Rain And Tears’.

A 7” single with the same name was issued with the album, which is even more rare than the LP. The promotional sleeve of the single seems to suggest the single was made for promotional purposes only. The content of the single is the same on both the A and B sides, consisting of a 2:30 minute suite containing five clips all taken from the B-side of the album.

In 2008 a promotional CD titled “Paris May 1968” was issued in Greece as part of the "Ta Nea" magazine, which included an interview with Vangelis. Unfortunately the music on the CD is based on a (not very good) transfer from the original LP.

 

FqtrsplqlnFrontThe 1968 Paris student riots

In 1968 France had been strongly ruled by general Charles de Gaulle for over 10 years. Around March 22nd student leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit started with demonstrations against the American intervention in Vietnam war. After the demonstration some students where arrested by the police. This was the start of many new and some very heavy demonstrations and riots.

On May 3rd the Sorbonne university is cleared by the police. From that moment on there where demonstrations and riots nearly every evening in Paris and other cities all over France. On Friday May 10th after a day of demonstrations about 10.000 students spontaneously started setting up barricades in the Quartier Latin. Most of the barricades

The next day the whole world saw on television the devastation that was left behind. Burnt out cars, the remnants of the barricades, paving stones, broken glass and tear gas canisters scattered across the ground. The trade unions called for a day of general strike and massive demonstration for Monday 13 May. Over a million people marched through Paris that day, and after that strikes were all over France. People demanded the resignation of the government in general, and president Charles de Gaulle in particular. Big demonstrations were now daily and strikes committees were more and more taking over the power.  An explosion of graffiti, songs, posters and comic strips was all over Paris.

After threats of president De Gaulle to call for a state of emergency and to have the army involved, the national union of students in the end calls off all street activity to avoid further clashes. Although De Gaulle is elected again as president of France in April 1969 he retires soon after. The Paris riots in May 1968 mark the start of a new time of social reforms in France.


FqtrsplqlnLabelBackFqtrsplqlnLabelFrontTracklist

The album sleeve only specifies both sides, A and B, no tracklist is included. The music also consists of just the two parts, one on each side, no separate tracks.

  • Face A: Fais Que Ton Rêve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit -15'32
  • Face B: Fais Que Ton Rêve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit -15'25

 

Credits

  • Music arranged, composed and produced by Vangelis Papathanassiou.
  • Sound recordings made by Luc Perini.
  • With the participation of: Mireille Abadie, Jean-Philippe Ancelle, Anne Bertholon, Yves Borrini, Saïd Boussouar, Gabriel Cinque, Christine Combe, Pierre Fabien, Katy Grandi, Gérard Hauducœur, Jean-Marie Hauducœur, Catherine Humbert, Vincent Kaldor, Michel Lebret, Huguette Maillard, Jean-Pierre Mathieu, Christine Parat, Jacques Pieller, Marie-France Pigeau, Michel Ripoche, Alain Servé, Harris Chalkitis, La Fanfare "La Gerbe Des Mandolines".
  • Sound engineer: Charles Raucher
  • Assistants: Jean-Claude Connan and Didier Pitois

 

FqtrsplqlnBackDiscography

LP

7” single

  • 1972 Reprise 14226 Fais Que Ton Rêve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit

CD

  • 2008 "Paris May 1968" Ta Nea (promotional CD)
  • Platinum Music VPSP-803933 (bootleg). This bootleg CD has excellent audio quality.

 

Recording studio

The music of "Fais Que Ton Rêve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit" was recorded in 1971 at Europa Sonor Studio in Paris, France.

 

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