A huge collection of work – one that not only gets at the brilliance of the young Jacques Brel as a singer on the Francophone scene, but which also showcases his tremendous talent for penning fresh and original songs – a number of which are served up here in versions by other singers of the time! There's something really special about a Jacques Brel tune – as he cuts to the heart of humanity, exposing dreams, follies, fears, and sadness with a mix of wit and emotion – a balance that nobody else has been able to touch this well – and which also carries over, even when another singer might be handling his songs! The first 4CDs of the set bring together key early recordings by Brel – 89 tracks from his early years on Barclay. And the remaining 2CDs offer up key interpretations of his tunes – another 45 titles, performed by artists who include Juliette Greco, Marc E Odile, Denise Andre, Yves Montand, Jacqueline Nero, Vera Gran, Colette Chevrot, Pia Colombo, Yvette Giraud, Les Riff, and many others – including a fair bit of artists who are not represented well in the world of reissues! CD

A huge amount of work from the French duo of David Jisse and Dominique Marge – two singers who come together here in surprisingly hip ways – very much their own mode of the time, and quite different than some of the more commercial French pop of the period! A few years before, and these guys might have been a folk duo – but instead, they seem to take the bohemian inspiration of that generation and blend it with a whole host of hip styles – bits of jazz at some points, Brazilian elements at others, groovier soul sometimes, and maybe even a bit of the more experimental styles you'd hear from the team of Areski & Brigitte Fontaine! This 2CD set presents the complete work of the duo – a massive 48 tracks that are a huge musical discovery – work that includes material from a variety of singles and albums, and even one obscure recording done with Luc Ferrari. Titles include "Nemo", "Juliette", "Tu Vas Je Vais", "Et Se Reveiller", "Petit Hommage Au Jazz", "Retrospective", "Sirop D'Orgeat", "Piegon Vole", "Mimi Tant Pis", "Cache Cache", "Mamie Nina", "Babar", "Oh Les Enfants", "Tu M'Fais Rever", and "Ces Mots Qui Te Touchent". CD

The famous French rocker Claude Francois made his debut in 1962 – and this cool set brings together his initial 7" EP release with some other very groovy work from the time! Claude steps out on his own tunes "Belles Belles Belles", "Moi Je Pense Encore A Toi", "Venus En Blue Jeans", and "Hey Potatoes" – and also contributes tunes to a set of four releases by Koko. But maybe the coolest part of the set – and the biggest – is a full album's worth of material from the band of Olivier Despax, mostly instrumentals with Madison grooves and other hip styles – nice organ and plenty of guitar, then vocals from Claude right at the end. Despax titles include "Lolo's Madison", "The Madison", "A Little Bit Of Shout (part 1 & 2)", "Mashed Potatoes", and "Paris Madison". The set then ends with two tracks from the more folksy Danyel Gerard – and a cool Franco/Arabian take on "La Nabout Twist" by Koko. CD