J'AIME UN HOMME :  Opening track at Véro's 2005 Olympia concert. If they had overdone the strings or string-synths and multiplied the cheese factor, this could have been a Céline Dion song. Mercifully they did not. They kept it tasteful. There's a lovely piano/keyboard arpeggio figure with guitar that keeps this song forward-moving. This is a good song!

ANNECY :  this one has a Steely Dan vibe to it with its syncopated beat. A nice jazzy number that won me over on first listen. This is one of those tunes that keeps playing over and over in my head.

L'HOMME DE FARANDOLE:  This song has a nice plodding piano bass line and an interesting beat. The "farandole," as I discovered by checking that font of all knowledge, Wikipedia, is a chain folk dance from the south of France and, indeed, this song has a nice dance beat to it.

CODE SECRET: At first listen, this one didn't grab me as much as some of the other songs, but sections of the music keep playing back in my head. It sounds to me musically similar to "Histoire Sans Intérêt" from "Indestructible."

DÉSIR DÉSIR:  This is a sibilant song lyrically with a catchy salsa beat and a slow Santana-like guitar.

JUSTE UN PEU D'AMOUR:  Here is a laid-back anthem that reminds us to enjoy life for the short time we are here and that we all need a little love. A song that is instantly likeable on the first listen, so one wonders why English radio has not picked this one up? This song can be enjoyed even if one does not speak a word of French!

VUE SUR LA MER: This has a slow soul beat and groove to it, somewhat like "It's a man's man's world" by James Brown. It's a lament on the foolish things we fight over and could be a follow-up to "Allah." Vero's singing is very strong throughout this whole album, but her pleading voice in this song is particularly remarkable as she begs to know for which god, for which little piece of desert do we feel the need to fight and kill each other.

Y'A QUELQUE CHOSE
LÀ-DESSOUS: Musically, this song recalls some of Véro's early work and also reminds me a bit of Elton John's tunes. This is another song that didn't grab me right away but that grew on me

LES FAUX MAGICIENS:  This is one song where, right off the top, I paid attention to the words more than the music. It uses a fairy-tale metaphor with good and bad musicians, owls carrying messages a la Harry Potter and battles against trolls to describe the disappointment but also the clarity of discovering that certain things you once held as true are, in fact, false. Once you've realized this, you can move forward.

LA DOUCEUR DU DANGER:  This is another lyrically strong song describing the constant battle against depression and demon drink.

LA VIE SE FUIT DE MOI:  This is a cry from the heart with words and lyrics by Bernard Swell. Véro's voice is amazing in this song. I'm getting older too. I totally get it. Life really does go faster every day.

LONGUE DISTANCE: This song hasn't quite grabbed me as so many others on this album have done. Strange, since this is the title song and I feel as if it should have. Others may differ and certainly it does fit completely with the theme of love and loss and being left behind somehow.

DE BRIC ET DE BROC :  I'm not sure if the words mean all that much. It's more of a tongue-twister with a lot of hard consonants. It's more of a fun song, perhaps a bit like "King Kong,"

5 ÈME ÉTAGE:  This song has a very cool and yet warm jazz feel to it. Can jazz be warm and cool at the same time? Yes, it can, which you will discover when you listen to this song, where Véro pays tribute to her family who were always there for her in their very own Paris.

TRIEL SUR SEINE, TRÈS TÔT, LE MATIN: This is the closing song from the album, an instrumental which brings together elements of classical and gospel music as it evokes early morning chez Véronique and leaves you with a feeling of peace and resolution, like the morning mist lifting to reveal a clear day ahead. A fine close to what might well be Véro's best album to date.