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A record as revolutionary as the French year in which it was recorded – an amazing batch of late 60s grooves from Parisian pop madame France Gall! The set's upbeat and jaunty, with plenty of fuzz – almost a psyche pop sound, with lots of groovy guitars that make the album sparkle with plenty of razor-sharp notes! Gall's vocals are as wonderful as ever, and almost sound a bit more sinister in this setting – thanks to arrangements by Alain Gouraguer and the great David Whitaker. There's plenty of France Gall classics here – including versions of the Serge Gainsbourg tunes "Nefertiti" and "Teenie Weenie Boppie" – plus "Toi Que Je Veux", "Made In France", "Bebe Requin", and "Avant La Bagarre".

Two groovy sets from Paul Mauriat – both recorded in the magic year of 1966! More Mauriat really has Paul opening up with some hipper 60s sounds than usual – taking on a whole bunch of American pop tunes of the time, and retuning a French orchestral approach towards leaner, meaner modes – almost a soulful strings sort of vibe at times – although at others, definitely scored by Mauriat with the kind of French soundtrack styles we love in his music – especially in his great use of electric harpsichord on many of the tunes! Titles include "Bang Bang", "Black Is Black", "Sunny", "Guantanamera", "Lara's Theme", and "Reach Out I'll Be There". Prestige De Paris returns Mauriat to the songs of his homeland – classic French tunes from the more romantic previous generation – often done here with full strings and a relatively florid approach that's a bit different than some or Paul's worldwide hits. Titles include "Sous Le Ponts De Paris", "La Mer", "Moulin Rouge", "Les Feuilles Mortes", "La Seine", and "Fascination".

Groovy groovy stuff from Dusty – and some of her best work! Forget the Memphis sessions, we think this early British material is her best stuff – and the album's got Dusty grooving along in perfectly soulful format, on lots of nice tunes like "24 Hours From Tulsa", "Wishin & Hopin", "Everyday I Have To Cry", "Something Special", and "Stay Awhile".

Broadway is the beat, but the sound has plenty of Parisian touches, too – thanks to arrangements from the mighty Michel Legrand! Legrand's in a mode here that's somewhere between his earliest soundtracks, and the European-themed records he cut for Columbia in the late 50s – styles that are a bit more warm and sentimental than in later years, with evocative elements designed to coax the Broadway-based listener out on a voyage across the Atlantic! Strings are relatively full, and sometimes used with great dynamic energy – and titles include "Bewitched", "There's A Boat Dat's Leavin Soon For New York", "Old Devil Moon", "With A Little Bit Of Luck", "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", and "Yesterdays".

This groovy pair didn't last long on the pop charts, but they did score relatively big with the swnging "Cinderella Rockefella" – a mad late 60s pop tune that's included here on this US album. The cut's a great one – pretty silly, but always enjoyable, and the kind of stunner that makes you wonder why everyone these days is so serious about pop music. Other tracks include "Hora", "Your Heart is Free Just Like The Wind", "True Love Can Never Die", and "Wanderlove".

Fantastic! This classic bit of funky electronic French stuff has been showing up in bits and pieces on various compilations over the past few years (most notably the cut "Psyche Rock", which has some sample history to it), but this is the full release of this amazing collaboration between electronic music pioneer Pierre Henry and Michel Colombier – a soundtrack for a full length ballet of groovy electronic pieces that sounds as fresh today as it did back in the late 60s! It's great all the way through, and many tracks have the same feel as the famous "Psyche Rock" – funky, chunky, and bristling with electric energy. Other tracks have a very spare electronic sound – there's odd bubbling sounds, cool funky beats, and some very groovy melodies.