Johnny Hallyday - Ma vérité (2005)

The indefatigable Johnny Hallyday lays out a balance of pop chansons, power ballads and rockers on Ma Vérité ("My Truth"). Mixed by the ubiquitous Philippe Weiss, Hallyday comes out of the box swinging on the opener and lead single "S'il N'Est Pas Trop Tard." He glams it up on "La Pais," with enormous '80s-style guitars, and scales back to gorgeous acoustic balladry on "Mon Plus Beau Noël." Despite its slickness in production, Hallyday's voice is in utterly astonishing form, and without the help of Auto-Tune. The material is well-written and chosen. This is a great example of what makes Hallyday a legend.