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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".

No baby pop here, as France Gall is all-woman throughout – one of the best of the French female pop singers of the mid 60s, working here with an upbeat, groovy sound throughout! Backings are by the great Alain Gouraguer, who gives the record a tightly jerking kind of feel – a sound that's the Paris contribution to the same sort of mod grooves that were coming out of the London scene at the time. The album's filled with classics by Gall, all sung in a sweet voice that's a great contrast to the music – wonderful stuff throughout, with titles that include "Baby Pop", "Cet Air La", "L'Amerique", "Mon Bateau De Nuit", and "Deux Oiseaux".

Incredibly groovy work from France Gall – easily one of our favorite French singers of the 60s! France has a sound that's really unique – one that comes from the Frenchified pop of the "yeh yeh" generation, but which really packs a lot more punch than her contemporaries – a bold, proud, loud quality that's really wonderful – and which makes just about every number from the time a total killer! Part of the help here comes from Serge Gainsbourg – who wrote a good number of tracks for the young Gall – but the style's also quite different than that of Serge, too – often with an emphasis on punchy drums at the bottom, which creates a hint of funk – bringing a nice nasty feel to France's little girl vocals. The set's a great one – overflowing with key cuts from singles of the 60s – and titles include "Made In France", "Poupee De Cire Poupee De Son", "Laisse Tomber Les Filles", "Quand On Est Ensemble", "Rue De L'Abricot", "Bloody Jack", "Le Temps De La Rentree", "Mon Bateau De Nuit", "Baby Pop", and "Les Sucettes". 22 tracks in all!

Groovy girl pop from late 60s France – a treasure trove of under-discovered numbers from the lovely Clothilde! Clothilde's from the same vintage as France Gall and Francoise Hardy – but she's got a style that's a bit sweeter vocally, yet still set to the mod-styled backings that really make 60s French pop so great! Tunes are plenty groovy, with a few trippy touches from time to time – and most numbers have a bouncy groove that really keeps things interesting – especially when odd instrumentation creeps into the mix – like bits of musical saw, oddball percussion, and bells and whistles! Titles include "Fallait Pas Ecraser Lau Queue Du Chat", "La Chanson Bete Et Mechante", "Le Boa", " "Saperlipopette", "102-103", "La Ballade Du Bossu", "A Ora Sos'e", and "Qualcosa Che Non Va".

Great pop sounds from the lovely Mina – an Italian singer of the 60s whose powers easily rival those of French chanteuses like Francoise Hardy, Brigitte Bardot, or France Gall! The tunes here have a nice undercurrent of rock and pop elements under larger arrangements that often allow Mina to show off her jazz chops too – and the record definitely represents a turning point in the singer's career – a move towards some of the deeper sounds that she'd explore even more strongly at the end of the 60s! Titles include "Chopin Cha Cha", "Renato", "Eclisse Twist", "Sabato Notte", "Da Chi", and "Improvvisamente".

Fantastic French femmes from the 60s – and a great illustration of the way that girl power really took over the sound of the Parisian scene at the time! These tunes have a punch that few American or British tracks of the period could ever hope to match – a way of staying sweet, yet really hitting hard with a groove – sometimes with fuzzy guitars or organ, sometimes with a fuller blast of orchestrations – always completely charming and immediately appealing – even if you can't understand the lyrics! Most numbers feature work by some top-shelf arrangers from the tight Parisian scene – including Alain Goraguer, Jacques Denjean, Michel Colombier, and Ivan Julien – and titles include "Le Coeur Au Bout Des Doights" and "Ce Soir Je M'En Vais" by Jacqueline Taieb, "Laisser Tomber Les Filles" and "Le Temps De La Rentree" by France Gall, "Voila" by Francois Hardy, "Caque Nuit" by Les Surfs, "Donne Moi" by Petula Clark, "Un Chagrin A Oublier" by Alice Dona, "Il Suffit D'Un Jour" by Liz Brady, "L'Adorable Femme Des Neiges" by Christie Laume, "Impatiente" by Les Gams, and "Les Filles C'Est Fait Pour Faire L'Amore" by Charlotte Leslie.

Sort of a "part 2" to the excellent Sexopolis compilation – issued more than a few years ago, and one of the first times anyone ever paid attention to the huge undiscovered legacy of funky French music! The package, like the first, is put together by DJ BNX of Fantomas – and it's got a really wonderful blend of French tunes from sources that include jazz, soundtrack, pop vocal, and easy listening albums of the 60s and 70s. The groove is really great – with lots of mad twists and turns that you'd never hear in American albums of the time, and a surprisingly fresh sound that keeps us digging back for French rare goodies like these! Titles include "Shore Of Sumatra" by Pierre Dutour, "Afromania" by Clyde Borly, "High Tide" by Jack Arel, "Hysterie" by Eric Framond, "Shirley" by Pierre Devevey, "Zozoi" by France Gall, "Dingo" by Olivier Despax, "Chakan" by Jef Gilson, "Africa" by Mat 3, "Popcorn" by JP Bottura, and "Number One" by Francis Lai.

Fantastic French femmes from the 60s – and a great illustration of the way that girl power really took over the sound of the Parisian scene at the time! These tunes have a punch that few American or British tracks of the period could ever hope to match – a way of staying sweet, yet really hitting hard with a groove – sometimes with fuzzy guitars or organ, sometimes with a fuller blast of orchestrations – always completely charming and immediately appealing – even if you can't understand the lyrics! Most numbers feature work by some top-shelf arrangers from the tight Parisian scene – including Alain Goraguer, Jacques Denjean, Michel Colombier, and Ivan Julien – and titles include "Le Coeur Au Bout Des Doights" by Jacqueline Taieb, "Laisser Tomber Les Filles" by France Gall, "Voila" by Francois Hardy, "Il Suffit D'Un Jour" by Liz Brady, "L'Adorable Femme Des Neiges" by Christie Laume, "Impatiente" by Les Gams, and "Les Filles C'Est Fait Pour Faire L'Amore" by Charlotte Leslie.

A groovy collection of French pop from the late 60s and early 70s – with lightly psychedelic nuggets and an all around beautiful snapshot of an inimitable era! The tracklist includes some artists we've obsessed over for years, such as France Gall, Franois D Roubaix and Maledictus Sound – but it goes way deeper than other collections for some material that's a real discovery for us – and easily as wonderful as much of the best known period French pop! The mad 60s vibe is in full effect throughout – but buzzing, lightly psychedelic guitar riffery, off kilter and globally influenced percussion, groovy duets, funky bass and horn blasts and beyond – elements that are secondary to the truly excellent and effervescent songcraft! 15 tracks in all: "Dou Da Dou" by Michele Richard, "Le Train De 10h03" by Orlane Paquin, "Obsessions 68" by Sophie Makhno & Colin Verdier, "Zoizoi" by France Gall, "Piti-Piti-Pas" by Francois De Roubaix, "Syncopated Motion" by Eddie Warner, "Kriminal Theme" by Maledictus Sound and more!

Great French grooves from the 60s – a host of female-led rockers, most of which have a harder edge than you might expect! The mode here is similar to Paris pop that you might know from the "yeh yeh" generation, but the sound's a bit grittier too – proof that the garage reference in the title is well-placed, especially on the more guitar-heavy numbers! If you dig the sounds of France Gall or Francoise Hardy, you'll find plenty to love here – a treasure trove of rare tracks that includes "Le Restaurant Chinois" by Janny L, "Au Temps Des Princes Charmants" by Marjorie Noel, "Le Boa" by Clothilde, "Ma Moto" by Kathy, "Oh Dis Moi" by Les Princesses, "Un Petit Rien" by Tonia, "Une Question Qui Se Pose" by Evy, and "Mais Qui Que Quoi Donc Ou" by Les Cheries.

A great mix of jazz, bossa, and other European grooves from the 60s and 70s – a smashing compilation of rare tracks, very much like others in this series! There's not much of a structure to the collection, but the cuts are all mighty nice – a really well-selected batch of numbers that includes "Conversations" by Silhouettes, "Sombre Guitar" by Danser's Inferno, "Claudia" by Panema Leblon, "Autumn Leaves" by Milt Jackson, "Jive Samba" by Jon Hendricks, "Here We Are Falling In Love" by Meta Roos, "Le Coeur Qui Jazze" by France Gall, "Exotica" by Walter Kubiczec, "Uela Uela" by Charly Antonlini, and "Sunshine Superman" by Big Jim Sullivan.

A simply groooooovy collection of rare bossa tunes! The set goes farther than the first volume in the series – dipping into a wide range of material that includes Brazilian albums from the 60s, but also some more obscure American and European sources, which gives the set a slightly expanded groove that's very fresh! Titles include "A Child Runs Free" by Fred Johnson, "Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser" by Quarteto Em Cy, "Ye Me Le" by The Gimmicks, "Tudo De Voce" by Wilson Simonal, "Fio Maravilha" by Tania Maria, "Mad About The Boy" by Cybil Shepard, "Zozoi" by France Gall & Cesar Camargo Mariano, "A Vontade Mesmo" by Raulzinho, "Freio Aerodinamico" by Os Tres Morais, "Mar Azul" by Som Imaginario, "Bahia Bossa Nova" by Bernard Lubat, "Vai Vai" by Jean Pierre Sabar, "Spooky" by Som Tes, and "Chove Chuva" by Nelsinho.

Groovy girl pop from late 60s France – a treasure trove of under-discovered numbers from the lovely Clothilde! Clothilde's from the same vintage as France Gall and Francoise Hardy – but she's got a style that's a bit sweeter vocally, yet still set to the mod-styled backings that really make 60s French pop so great! Tunes are plenty groovy, with a few trippy touches from time to time – and most numbers have a bouncy groove that really keeps things interesting – especially when odd instrumentation creeps into the mix – like bits of musical saw, oddball percussion, and bells and whistles! Titles include "Fallait Pas Ecraser Lau Queue Du Chat", "La Chanson Bete Et Mechante", "Le Boa", " "Saperlipopette", "102-103", "La Ballade Du Bossu", "A Ora Sos'e", and "Qualcosa Che Non Va".

A secret world of 60s pop – long-lost treasures from the Paris scene! The package is one of 5 great volumes in the stellar Pop A Paris series – a much-needed look at the incredible work being done by 60s artists in the French scene – some of whom hit international fame, lots of others who were only the province of the lucky French listeners at the time. These guys know pop better than most – and the tunes are all wonderful vocal numbers with a really groovy sound – many in "jerk" or "psyche" modes, with loads of great instrumental touches! Titles include "Chanson Indienne" by France Gall, "J'Ai Des Problemes Decidement" by Violaine, "Le Grand Amour" by Nicoletta, "J'Ai Pas Eu Peur" by Pierre Doris, "C'Est La Mode" by Annie Philippe, "Ecoutez" by Elsa, "Mettez Une Cravate" by Peter Vann, "Le Saule Pleurer" by Michel Polnareff, and "L'Amour A Travers Et A Tort" by Anna St Clair.

A relatively contemporary score from the great Eric Demarsan – who we love for his work in the 60s – yet a soundtrack that's also handled with the same sense of space and somberness he brought to his music for the films of Jean-Pierre Melville! Most numbers here have a slow-growing sort of energy – keyboards mixed with larger orchestrations, but often used in a relatively subtle way – and marked by some key tenor sax solos by Archie Shepp on some of the album's best tracks – used in ways that break out with a bit more free emotion than the rest of the score. Titles include "Piano Droit", "Pigalle By Night", "Alice Et Nadir", "Les Visions Troubles", "Les Belles Histoires", "Un Frere", and "Frissons Rouges".

Left coast rhythm & blues from Kent "Boogaloo" Harris & his inner circle of LA family & friends – late 50s & 60s treasures from Boogaloo & His Gallant Crew, The Francettes, The Harris Sisters, Eddie Bridges, Fay Ross, The Lon-Genes, The Valquons and many more! Harris was the songwriter, label head, record shop keeper and sometimes singer at the center of a vibrant scene – which indeed included family members as well as friends. His sisters performed and recorded as The Harris Sisters, Marcene "Dimples" Harris stepping out as a headliner, plus many more excellent associated acts over the years. It's got some jumping late 50s style R&B and more grandly orchestrated numbers, though still rooted in rhythm. 25 tracks in all, including a handful of previously unreleased gems – though even the biggest movers here have been overlooked for far too long! Titles include "Big Fat Lie" by Boogaloo & His Gallant Crew, "Long Lean Lanky Juke Box" by Dimples Harris & here Combo, "Double Locks" by Johnny Gosey, "So Far Away" by Rooty Poots, "Our Love Is Like The Sea" by The Lon-Genes, "Don't Just Stand There" by Cry Baby Curtis, "You Ain't Right' by Faye Ross and more.

Beautiful solo work by pianist Jaki Byard – recorded in Paris in 1971, for the Swing Collector offshoot of the Futura label! The setting really gives Byard a chance to open up and stretch out – playing some numbers in the more traditional style that would show up on some of his 60s sessions – but in a way that also has clear modernist overtones, in that linking of traditions that was always a key factor to Byard's American recordings. Titles include "A Tribute To Jimmy Slide", "When Lights Are Low", "Willow Weep For Me", "Isle To Isle", "Dedicated To Bob Vatel Of The Ten Gallons", and "Going Home Blues". CD features one previously unissued title too – a 12 minute medley of "Mind & Soul", "Goin Out Of My Head", "Sunday", and "Besame Mucho".

Rootsy blues from the team of Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon – recorded in Paris in the early 60s at the Trois Mailletz nightclub! The style here is much earthier than you'd guess from the date – the return to tradition mode that some players often experienced while working in the European scene – and instrumentation features only piano from Slim and bass from Dixon, plus a bit of added drums from Philippe Combelle. Both artists sing on the album – and titles include "Rock & Rolling The House", "African Hunch With A Boogie Beat", "Baby Baby Baby", "Do De Do", "Pigalle Love", "All By Myself", "Just You & I", "How Make You Do Me Like You Do", and "The Way She Loves A Man".