Pop A Paris/rock & Roll & Mini Skirts (2004)

Product Summary Label: Sunnyside Records UPC: 00016728360425 Release Date: 4/27/2004 Buy.com Sku: 60630814 Item#: MYRPV3 Format:  CD Song Listing Disc 1 Song Title Sample 1. Mal - Johnny Hallyday ~ Various Artists 2. Tu Veux Ou Tu Veux - Brigitte Bardot ~ Various Artists 3. Le Roi des Fourmis - Michel Polnareff ~ Various Artists 4. Ces Bottes Sont Faites Pour Marcher - EIleen ~ Various Artists 5. Qu'est-Ce Que J'ai Dansel - David Alexandre Winter ~ Various Artists 6. Dady Da Da - France Gall ~ Various Artists 7. Le College - Monty ~ Various Artists 8. Marie Douceur, Marie Colere - Marie Laforet ~ Various Artists 9. Eloise - Claude Francios ~ Various Artists 10. 7 Heures Du matin - Jacqueline Trieb ~ Various Artists 11. Les Petits Boudins - DOminique Walter ~ Various Artists 12. Ce Que Je Suis - Valerie Legrande ~ Various Artists 13. Carnaby Street - Henri Salvador ~ Various Artists 14. Le Fermeture Eclair - Delphine ~ Various Artists 15. Le Monde Est Gris, Le Monde Est Bleu - Eric Charden ~ Various Artists 16. Ecoutez - Elsa ~ Various Artists 17. Heureux Tous Les Deux - Frank Alamo ~ Various Artists 18. Marilu - Serge Gainsbourg ~ Various Artists   Album Notes and Credits Notes & Personnel Info Recording information: Studio Fontana, London England (12/1965-12/1969); Studio Hoche, Paris, France (12/1965-12/1969). Director: Jean Bouchety. Photographer: Arnaud Meyer. Arrangers: Jean Bouchety; Reg Guest; Arthur Greenslade. Rock n' Roll and Mini Skirts is a single-disc condensation of the supercool Pop a Paris five-disc series released in France that focused on French singers from the mid-'60s to early '70s. Those discs are a lighthearted blast of Now Sound pop theatrics, aggressive almost garagey rock, and wacky misappropriations of the American pop scene of the '60s. This disc serves as a fine (and readily available) alternative to picking up all five of the discs. The lineup mixes a bunch of familiar names like Serge Gainsbourg, Claude Francoise, France Gall, Brigitte Bardot, and Michel Polnareff with total unknowns like Eileen, Delphine, and Elsa. The track list is sprinkled with a liberal serving of wild covers of rock hits of the day like Johnny Hallyday's funky take on Joe South's "Hush" (here titled "Mal"), David Alexandre Winter's unhinged lounge singer gone mad stylings on Archie Bell & the Drells' "I Can't Stop Dancing," and Marie Laforet's spooky version of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" (titled "Marie Douceru - Marie Colere"). Where the disc really shines is on the original tracks that are a perfect fusion of pop and French style: the amazing Michel Polnareff's dramatic "Le Roi des Fourmis," Jacqueline Taieb's pounding "Heures du Matin," which quotes "My Generation" and Little Richard to great comic effect, Henri Salvador's silly but still very catchy "Carnaby Street," and Eric Charden's emotional, very Walker Brothers-esque "Le Monde Est Gris, le Monde Est Bleu." The most interesting song on the record might be Delphine's cover of the obscure Florida garage band We the People's classic ballad "In the Past (La Fermeture clair)," which actually features the band providing the backing to Delphine's tough but tender vocal. The song is one of the better meetings of the girl group and garage sounds and will have you frantically searching for more Delphine recordings. Pop a Paris - Rock n' Roll and Mini Skirts is fun from beginning to end and is a perfect place for the uninitiated to get a taste of French pop in the '60s. Odds are once you hear this you'll start hunting down all five volumes of the excellent series. ~ Tim Sendra Producer: Fran?ois Bernheim; Jean-Pierre Haie; Tony Moon   Technical Info Release Date : 04/27/2004 Original Release Date : 2004 Catalog ID : 3604 Label : Sunnyside Number of Discs : 1 Studio/Live : Studio Mono/Stereo : Stereo SPAR Code : n/a UPC : 00016728360425    Related Videos 11:11: Rodrigo Y Gabriela