Lara began her career with a self-titled album, showing the world that she is the essence of her own music. Her album “Pure” also contains the theme of honesty, pure music means honest music. Her English career also began with a self-titled album that contained a track called “I am who I am”. Lara stated that this would have been the title of the album if it were not self-titled. Being the person that she is and being true to herself means that her music will always convey honesty and integrity to her audience. Nue followed her self-titled English album and an album titled 9 came out in 2005. 9 was the revival of Lara’s music, a process that reached her end point. Again the honesty of her and the purity of her music could be witnessed throughout this album. Now Lara is working on a multilingual album. Lara has always emphasized that music (and for me especially her music) is a universal language that cannot be impeded by language gaps. I think Lara will demonstrate this philosophy with the release of her next album.

I have illustrated to you that Lara applies the central theme you find on the Nue album to most, if not all, of her music. Lara is one of the few artists I know of who is capable of crafting an album where almost every track is a huge number one hit. So many artists these days focus on a single track to promote their album, they tend to spend less time with the other tracks on the album, resulting in album flop. This is what makes people hesitate to buy albums from unknown artists. You may have heard a song or two from the album on the radio, but you have no idea what to expect from the rest of the album. Once you buy it, you find out that the other songs aren’t as good as the singles you heard on the radio. When this is the case, you will surely not buy another album from this artist again. Lara has the ability to keep her audience interested in her music by making each song on her album a special song, as if each song were an advertisement for her music. After going through an entire album, you cry for more when you finish the last song. That’s why fans can never wait for their next release, there’s always something new, something pure, something honest to look forward to too.

Let me walk you through each song on the Nue album and show you how amazing this album really is. For me, this is Lara’s best French album. I think my reasons for calling this album her best so far is because of the success of Nue de ella’s concert. This was an incredible show with passion, power, emotion and one of the best performances by a band I have ever seen. Although the show was about the ella album Nue de ella, it also combined it with songs from the ella album Pure de ella. This is what made this show a winner.

J’y Crois Encore (English: I Believe It Again).

On her album “A Wonderful Life”, Lara wrote an English version of this song titled: “I’ve Cried Enough”. Lara is an amazing songwriter. When you compare the lyrics of the French version with the English version, you will see that the content of both songs is identical, even if the lyrics are not a literal translation of the other. The song talks about pain and despair and dealing with them through faith and perseverance. The song makes you realize that you can’t change what happened in the past. Lara sums it up beautifully in the English version of the song when she sings: “Even though I believe in the future, I keep all the past in mind, now that I live in the present I don’t care about the rest…”

Aimer Deja (English: To Love Before).

Lara loves to write about love. She has the ability to move love so beautifully through her lyrics and choice of melodies. This song has so many themes, it talks about love, betrayal and escaping your pain to places where only you can find peace and quiet. The image of peace and tranquility is beautifully realized through Lara’s choice of melody, one that has a very calming and soothing tone.

S’en Aller (English: To Go Away).

This song is full of captivating contrasts. I think you can have several interpretations of this song, but one interpretation that came to mind was to take your own life in perspective by moving away from your current circumstances (to leave) and coming back to start anew. In the words of Lara herself: “And to leave, how to return.”

Silence (English: Silence).

An English version of Silence also appears on Lara’s “A Wonderful Life” album. Like most of Lara’s English translations of her French albums, she will find the English and French versions of Silence to be very similar to each other in terms of lyrical content. The meaning of Silence is simple. Silence is your best friend in difficult situations where it is better to keep your mouth shut. But it also refers to moments of silence where you are not distracted by the noise of the world. In the heat of the moment it is always easier to make decisions when there is silence.

Porque te vas (English: Porque te vas).

There is so much passion in this song that you get goosebumps when you hear Lara sing it. She talks about being alone, the loneliness making you swoon. Nobody wants to be alone. The song talks about someone looking for a flavor to break the chains of loneliness.

I am my heart (English: I am my heart).

Although Lara didn’t write this song, she must have identified something in it that she wanted to add to this album. Lara never puts a song on an album just for the song’s sake. The song talks about the fear of rejection by a loved one, the longing of the heart that brings pain when you can’t satisfy that need. It also talks about the fear of losing the happiness you are experiencing, the uncertainty of the future and never knowing when it will be taken away from you. This all fits with the title of the album. Being naked means that you are exposed, stripped of all your security and protection, which explains the fear illustrated in this song.

Tango (English: Tango).

Lara uses a tango dancer and a matador as a beautiful metaphor for lovers who cannot find each other, one lover rejecting the other. Belonging to the matador is the challenge as the bull challenges the matador. The dancer dances towards the matador, but the matador rejects her love by fighting like a bull. It is a beautiful image supported by a beautiful and captivating melody. It’s just a joy to listen to and even better to see Lara perform it on stage.

Imagine (English: Imagine).

Lara seems to have a soft spot for tribal music. She whispers the song, against tribal drums and bagpipes as a backdrop. Lara plays with her imagination as she sings the song, creating an image of a paradise of simplicity, peace, honesty, joy and everything good. She paints such a pure picture in your mind that you realize that it is completely unreal and impossible in our world today.

You are my other (English: you are my other).

A wonderful duet with Maurane. The duo supports the theme of the song and I think it will never have the same effect if it is sung solo. The song talks about two people so closely attached to each other that they are inseparable. You can interpret it as two close friends, two close relatives or two lovers who are very close to each other. The image of two interconnected people is strongly portrayed through the last line of the song: “And if one of us two fell.” Closing out the song with this rhetorical statement that emphasizes just how close the two people really are.

River (English: River).

Play games with your imagination. Lara paints the picturesque landscapes of Rio with this song. Just lie down, she closes her eyes and listen carefully to the lyrics (if you understand French) and experience the atmosphere that Lara creates through this song. Lara’s rendition of this song during Nue’s concert is just amazing. But even if you don’t understand the words, you still enjoy the vibrant music, upbeat melody, and most importantly, Lara’s beautiful voice.

Bambina (English: Little Baby).

Lara co-wrote this song with Janey Clewer. I’m not sure what motivated Lara to write this song, but I guess it’s her maternal instinct that inspired her. The song can be interpreted in two ways, a mother who lost her baby or a mother of an adult child reminiscing about the days when her child was little. This is one of those songs that easily brings a lump to the throat.

immortal (English: immortal).

This song is a masterpiece in every aspect. The lyrics, the voice of the artist, the music of the orchestra, everything is perfect. Once again, Lara makes use of a contrast to emphasize an idea. She describes herself as immortal but she dies for her lover, her lover makes her mortal. The song talks about a strong and indestructible person for everyone, but totally vulnerable for someone special, that person who is capable of breaking all her defenses and reaching the depths of her heart. I like the way Lara writes her songs in such a universal way that you can interpret it in many ways. The fact that someone can break through your defenses can be good and bad. It’s good when the person gets close to you, but bad when someone else uses it for their benefit.

The King Is A Woman (English: The King Is A Woman).

I think Lara’s motivation for including this song, another one not written by her, is her mother. I think she dedicated the song to her mother because of the references to Sicily in the song. But you can also see it as Lara making a tongue-in-cheek statement here in a largely male-dominated industry. She showed everyone with this album that she too can be successful with the music she produces, not because she is a woman, but because she is an exceptionally talented artist.

Lara co-wrote most of the songs on this album with Rick Allison, who also contributed a lot to this album. Lara and Rick did an extremely good job on this album and they made a great team when they produced music together in my opinion. The album concludes with a piano mix of all the songs on the album. For me, the choice to add a piano medley at the end was perfect. I couldn’t have chosen a better way to conclude such a rich and invigorating album.