soleil rare 28 - pains au chocolat.

French all the way. I know y'all like that.

Téléphone - La Bombe Humaine. 

Téléphone is THE French rock band. Ever since they broke up in 1986, their possible come-back makes the buzz among the nostalgic ones. But up to now, nothing happened, except their solo careers, especially Jean-Louis Aubert (singer) and Louis Bertignac (guitar). 

So, this track "La Bombe Humaine", is a radio classic, and is from the "Crache Ton Venin" album, Téléphone's second album. It starts gently, then takes off around 1'30mn. 

The "naked" cover was shot by Jean-Baptiste Mondino. 

Catherine Ribeiro+Alpes - Jusqu'à Ce Que La Force Me Manque. 

You wanted weird, you've just been served. This is French psych music. This was waaaaay ahead of its time. The singing style sounds like a cliché, with Catherine's powerful voice ; it is mixed with spacey instruments and effects... damn, what a mood that's exhilarated from that track...

This summit of weirdness is from Ribeiro & Alpes' album "Paix". A must have for psych music lovers. 

Marguerite (Patrick Lemaître) - On Est Un Fleuve. 

Psych again. I don't know much about the author, Patrick Lemaître. This track is from the "Mr. Ford" album, released in 1973. 

"On Est Un Fleuve" displays some nice guitar game. A few effects are spread here and there, switching from a choir to a one-sided solo to reverb. Not a really mastered technique, but I guess you have to think about it as being avant-garde. 

Ophiucus - Dans Toute La France. 

"Salade Chinoise", by French band Ophiucus, is a nice short album, with entertaining guitar solos and riffs. The short-lived band delivered some worthy pop/folk/progressive rock, as well as strange lyrics like on this track : "All over France, if it goes on, we'll dance polka with the Chinese". Rhyming sometimes is too much an obsession for French lyrical artists...

Serge Gainsbourg - Ma Lou Marilou. 

Statement #1 : it's hard to make a French compilation without including a Gainsbourg's song. 

Statement #2 : "L'Homme A Tête De Chou" is an awesome slept-on album by the best French artist of the second half of the 20th century. 

But true heads instantly knew. After his death in 1991, the album was adapted as a dance show. And just before passing away, Alain Bashung covered the whole album ; the result just made everybody regretting that these two guys couldn't live long enough to collaborate more than what they did... 

Statement #3 : I love this song. Period. 

Alain Bashung - Vertige De L'Amour (Remix 1992). 

Maybe it's just coincidental. Maybe not. Anyway, Alain Bashung is another legend of the French rock scene, so it's normal that he'd featured in this home-made compilation. 

Bashung was a lot about vocal technique. His voice was unique in itself, but on top of that, he added a real expertise in delivering the right tone at the right time. A true artist. 

This one is from the "Pizza" album. 

Brigitte Bardot - Le Diable Est Anglais. 

B.B. is the opposite of what I just wrote about Bashung. Vocally, she's wack. Really. But entertaining somehow. Charming. And with her status of French Marilyn, it's still a nice feature in here. Especially with a song titled "The Devil Is British". No offense. 

Eddy Mitchell - La Longue Marche. 

Classic rock by Eddy Mitchell, who competed with Dick Rivers and Johnny Halliday back then for the unofficial title of Godfather of Frenck Rock. 

The influence of Elvis Presley is obvious, but like Uma says, what did you expect ? "Voici Eddy... C'Etait Le Soldat Eddy" was Eddy's first album, released in 1963. "La Longue Marche" is the closing track, and showcases a nice mood despite almost stupid lyrics. Hey, once again, influences...

France Gall - Le Coeur Qui Jazze. 

Probably my co-favorite track on this compilation. The song was recorded in 1965 when France Gall exploded with "Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son". At the time, she was Gainsbourg's doll, his experiment to keep in touch with the growing wave of the "yéyé". The lyrics were written by Robert Gall, France's father, and the music was composed by legendary arranger Alain Goraguer. You can feel the similarities with some of Gainsbourg's jazz tracks.

Me like. 

Claudine Longet - How Insensitive. 

Alright, she sings in English. Alright, this may be my co-co-fav song off this "Soleil Rare" comp, but whatever. Good music is good music, and Claudine sports a French passport. 

So, yes, Claudine Longet probably had a bigger career in the USA than in France. Indeed, this bossa-nova-inspired song, "How Insensitive", was featured on the "The Look Of Love" album. Brazilian masters Tom Jobim and Vinicius wrote the song, that explains the authentic feel. So emotional. 

By the way, this cover... Al Green ?

Alright, now you can go to bed.