The group name's got "opera" in the middle, but the set is way more than that – and way more than the usual "rock opera" modes in which the rare album is frequently cited! Instead, the whole thing's a freewheeling bit of French psych – very much tied to the trippier corners of the world that included music of Serge Gainsbourg and Jean-Paul Vannier, but with some freakier elements around the edges! The arrangements and production are wonderful – very different than some of the looser hippie modes that would come on the French scene in the early 70s – with sonic energy that keeps things nicely intense throughout, even when things are going wild! The project is the brainchild of mad rockers Francois Wertheimer, Guy Skornik, William Sheller, and Dominic Perrier – and also features sitar from Serge Franklin, orchestrations from sound library maestro Paul Piot, and jams from the group Alice. The whole thing is fantastic – and the reissue features a great booklet of notes and information on this very unique record! (Rock, French) LP, Vinyl record album

A great late album from French composer, arranger, lyricist, singer and all around creative musical force Jean Claude Vannier – with Vannier singing moody, vintage orch pop numbers in a mode that does both JCV and his old collaborator Serge Gainsbourg proudly! The set has a very lively feel to it, which is quite natural, given that the album came about following the group's rehearsals for the Histoire De Melody Nelson performance at London's Barbican in 2006. It features a brilliant group of players who worked with Vannier and Serge Gainsbourg on that uber-iconic album as well as other boundary-busting projects and soundtracks – including Cannabis, La Horse, Slogan and Vannier's own legendary leftfield classic L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches. Vannier's voice is charismatic as can be, and the vintage pulp orchestrations are as fresh as ever. Includes "Londres-Paris-Sofia", "Les Yeux Valise", "Au Desespoir Des Singes", "Les Coquelicots", "La Vie En Live", "Une Partie De Scrabble", "Roses Rouge Sang" and "Un Petit Quelque Chose". LP, Vinyl record album

A weird and wonderful little record, as you might guess from the image on the cover – part sound library electronics, part narrative progressive rock – but with a sound that's also very much its own, and very different than those references might make you expect! If you know the voice of Dick Annegarn from some of his cool French recordings of the 70s, you'll know you're in for a treat – and COS member Daniel Schell provides all these cool keyboards and guitar parts in the instrumentation – jazzy sometimes, slightly rockish, and with global elements at others – including a nod to the oud! The sounds and styles criss cross wonderfully – almost like some Saravah Records attempt at more progressive material – and titles include "The FF Boom", "Un Instant", "Sabina & First Variation", "Granvelle", "La Ballde Du Zwin", and "Ud". (Rock, French) LP, Vinyl record album

Rare and unreleased instrumentals from the great French orchestral pop composer Jean Claude Vannier – amazing stuff from his personal archive that ranges from loosely haunting passes to more grandly orchestrated bits – funky psych rock backdrops to heavy, tribal percussion numbers! Vannier is as much of a master of setting a mood as he as an expert composer-arranger, and this great set is brilliant showcase of his talent and we'd even say a fine entry point if you're just now being introduced. He's greatly reknowned for the incredible work he did with Serge Gainbourg, as well he should be – but a standout artist on his own, as you're hear here! It's got previously unreleased numbers from his Vannier's own vaults, many from a fertile period in the early 70s, plus rare sound library recordings and more! Includes "Bombard Lamentation" (centered around the reed instrument used most often in Breton music), "L'Ours Peresseux – 1969", "La Girafe Au Ballon", "Claquez Klaxons", "Theme 504", "Road To Cuba", "La Douleur De L'Orchestre", "L'Elephant Equilbriste", "Je M'Appelle Geraldine", "Saturnin Vaca Vaca" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully weird little record – one that brings together an assortment of rare tracks recorded by French underground hero Miquela – a female artist who was dedicated to only working in the Occitan variation of her language! The approach here is almost timeless – hardly the punk that you'd expect from the time, although Miquela clearly has some of the DIY energy of the period – and often more acoustic, in a mix of jazz and folk styles – almost as if you'd find if Saravah Records had recorded this material a few years before – with really dynamic vocal leads from Miquela, and backing from a shifting array of female singers who make up Lei Chapacans over the course of the tracks on the record. There's a breezy brilliance to the whole thing – an understated sophistication that's similar to some of our favorite French work of the 70s – on titles that include "Dizo Rural", "La Pub", "Airplane", "Leberon", "Me Demandes Pas", "Siau Pas Poeta", "Au Jardin", and the tune "Basta" – which is a wonderful reworking of the John Coltrane song "Naima". (Rock, French) LP, Vinyl record album

A baroque instrumental masterpiece from Jean Claude Vannier – Serge Gainsbourg's right hand man at the start of the 70s, and a key figure in the legendary Histoire De Melody Nelson album! The feel here is very much along the lines of work that Serge was doing at the time – larger orchestrations mixed with smaller instrumentation – in a level that's often funky, always baroque, and very much in the best Sexopolis styles of the French pop scene of the time! There's a marked similarity here to some of the work of Michel Colombier – but unlike Colombier, and Gainsbourg, there's no vocals at all on these tracks – and the main genius is carried by Vannier's incredibly arranged strings, rolling rhythms, fuzzy guitars, and dark little soundtrack-styled groove! Some tracks are wonderfully funky, others are moody and tripped-out – and the whole thing's a masterpiece that we'd file right up there with our favorite French work of the time! Titles include "L'Enfanta La Mouche Et Les Allumettes", "Danse Des Mouches Noires Gardes Du Roi", "Mort Du Roi Des Mouches", "Le Papier Tue-Enfant", "Les Garde Volent Au Secours Du Roi", and "Petite Agonie De L'Enfant Assassin". LP, Vinyl record album