... LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Yves Montand, Barbara, Patachou, Alain Barriere, Line Renaud, Leo Ferre, and Marcel Amont. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Vocal refrain by Jane Chacun. (78 RPM, French) 78 RPM, Vinyl record

One of the most unusual Christmas albums you'll ever buy – at least if you're an American like us – as all the work here is from a variety of different French singers, which makes for a very different spin on the season! Yet even if you can't understand the lyrics, there's plenty here to love – as the tunes have all the warmth and sentiment of work from the Anglo world of Christmas recordings of the postwar years – served up here by a diverse array of artists who include George Brassens, Dalida, Edith Piaf, Line Renaud, Tino Rossi, Charles Aznavour, Marcel Amont, Jean Ferrat, Charles Trenet, Henri Salvador, and Les Chaussettes Noires! (Holiday Music, French) LP, Vinyl record album

Repackaging of Brel's 1967 LP – featuring some of his lesser known work from the late 60s, set to arrangements by longtime accompanist Francois Rauber. The tracks are still quite strong, and if anything, Brel's writing has only gotten sharper by this point. Titles include "Le Gaz", "A Jeun", "Fils De", "Les Bonbons 67", "Mon Pere Disait", "La La La", and "Les Coeurs Tendres". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful love letter from Dee Dee Bridgewater to her adopted home of Paris – sung in French, and with a feel that's quite different than much of her recent work! The style here wonderfully mixes together bits of jazz and more traditional chanson – in a style that recalls some of the recent work by Claude Nougaro, but which also has traces of some of Dee Dee's more intimate work as well. Marc Berthoumieux plays accordion on a number of tunes on the set, and Ira Coleman contributes some warmly soulful basslines that give the session a nice bottom grounding – especially on the mellower tunes. Titles include "Mon Homme", "Et Maintenant", "La Belle Vie", "Dansez Sur Moi", "Avec Le Temps", "Les Feuilles Mortes", and "Ne Me Quitte Pas" – plus the Japanese exclusive bonus track "L'Hymne A L'Amour". (Vocalists, French) CD

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". LP, Vinyl record album

Michel Legrand is one of our favorite composers of all time – and although the man himself passed away in 2019, his music continues to live on strongly in the hearts of countless singers and musicians he's touched over the years – including those who work together on this wonderful tribute album! The set's very different than other Legrand-related projects of this nature – as both the choice of cuts and the execution is very special – not too pop-polished, or overly sentimental – as most of the numbers here are very spare and open – almost recorded as these elegies to Michel, with beautiful reworkings of his familiar themes, often just with piano and some other light instrumentation – never sleepy, given the talents on board, but sensitively done in just the right spirit of Legrand's genius. Titles include "Windmills Of Your Mind" by Chad Lawson, "Sans Toi" by Luca D'Alberto, "Les Parapluies De Cherbourg" by Lambert, "Toujoirs Jamais" by Akira Kosemura, "Peau D'Ane" by Alban Claudin, "Chanson De Jumelles" by Joseph Schiano Di Lombo, "How Do You Keep The Music Playing" by Moux, and "Summer Of 42" by Chilly Gonzales. (Soundtracks, French) LP, Vinyl record album

A huge amount of recordings from one of our favorite singers ever – the incredible Claude Nougaro, a French vocalist of the postwar years, and a master of many styles that included jazz, samba, and bossa nova! Nougaro had a unique talent for penning French lyrics to American and Brazilian tunes – and during the 60s, he rose to fame through his inventive compositions, unique vocalizations, and keen ear for a jazzy groove. His work of the 70s progressed with an even deeper exploration of modern jazz and Brazilian idioms – and as the 80s approached, he stretched out into even more complicated styles of his own. Nougaro's growth over the years is tremendous – and his work comes across with a sound that is really unique, and which stands as some of the greatest mainstream French work of his era – on a par with that of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Fontaine! The set features 12 albums in all – albums include Cecile Ma Fille, Bidonville, Paris Mai, Soeur Ame, Locomotive D'Or, Femmes Et Famines, Plume D'Ange, Tu Verras, Assez, Chansons Nettes, Ami Chemin, and Bleu Blanc Blues. CD

Wonderful sounds from the films of Jacques Tati – a set that overflows with the kind of warmly wistful tunes that really help define the images on the screen! Music is by Francis Lemarque, Francois Rauber, Charles Dumont, and others – and overall, the music is mostly in a small combo mode – with instrumentation that includes piano, vibes, guitar, and accordion – used in very whimsical ways throughout, with a quality that's almost as visual as the images on the screen – almost little cartoons in music, but with that warmer, more sentimental quality that made Tati's films so much more than slapstick. The collection runs much further in time than previous Tati collections – material from films that include Traffic, Play Time, Jour De Fete, Mon Oncle, Parade, and Les Vacances De Monseuir Hulot. Titles include "Paris Circus", "Super Market", "Play It In Time", "Musette", "Tournez Les Maneges", "Bereceuse", "Theme Oriental", "Take My Hand", "La Cours D'Auto", "Tournee Rapide", "Chanson Des Forains", "Voitures Ballet", "Mon Oncle", and "Pianissimo". (Soundtracks, French) CD

A huge amount of recordings from one of our favorite singers ever – the incredible Claude Nougaro, a French vocalist of the postwar years, and a master of many styles that included jazz, samba, and bossa nova! Nougaro had a unique talent for penning French lyrics to American and Brazilian tunes – and during the 60s, he rose to fame through his inventive compositions, unique vocalizations, and keen ear for a jazzy groove. His work of the 70s progressed with an even deeper exploration of modern jazz and Brazilian idioms – and as the 80s approached, he stretched out into even more complicated styles of his own. Nougaro's growth over the years is tremendous – and his work comes across with a sound that is really unique, and which stands as some of the greatest mainstream French work of his era – on a par with that of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Fontaine! The set features 24 different albums by Nougaro – mostly studio, but with a few live records – mostly from the 60s, 70s, and 80s – but also including some real gems from his comeback years in the 21st century. Albums include Cecile Ma Fille, Bidonville, Paris Mai, Soeur Ame, Locomotive D'Or, Femmes Et Famines, Plume D'Ange, Tu Verras, Assez, Chansons Nettes, Ami Chemin, and Bleu Blanc Blues – and the package is a book-style volume, with a 48 page booklet, and 24 CDs with 317 songs in all! CD

Brel at his best – delivered with the biting tone that made Brel one of the most brilliant social commentators of the 20th Century, yet with a warmth that offset his critical vision with a real love of life! Arrangements and orchestrations are by the mighty Francois Rauber – a bit fuller and richer than on other Brel albums – in a manner that seeks to deepen the feeling of the tunes without overwhelming them in emotion. Beautiful work throughout – and with titles that include "Madeline", "La Statue", "Les Paumes Du Petit Matin", "Bruxelles", "Les Bourgeois", "Les Biches", and "Chanson Sans Paroles". Beautiful! LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful love letter from Dee Dee Bridgewater to her adopted home of Paris – sung in French, and with a feel that's quite different than much of her recent work! The style here wonderfully mixes together bits of jazz and more traditional chanson – in a style that recalls some of the recent work by Claude Nougaro, but which also has traces of some of Dee Dee's more intimate work as well. Marc Berthoumieux plays accordion on a number of tunes on the set, and Ira Coleman contributes some warmly soulful basslines that give the session a nice bottom grounding – especially on the mellower tunes. Titles include "Mon Homme", "Et Maintenant", "La Belle Vie", "Dansez Sur Moi", "Avec Le Temps", "Les Feuilles Mortes", and "Ne Me Quitte Pas". (Vocalists, French) CD

This is sort of a compilation that features Michel Legrand's great scores for the films Thomas Crown Affair, Young Girls of Rochefort, La Piscine, and Play Dirty. We think that most of the stuff has been re-recorded for this album, but we're not sure. Whatever the case, this is a stellar album of beautiful Frenchy soundtrack stuff, and it's all tight instrumental Now Sound nuttiness. Titles include "His Eyes, Her Eyes", "Souvenirs", "Chanson D'Un Jour D'Ete", "A Man's Castle", "Jazz Theme From Play Dirty", and "Chanson De Maxence". (Soundtracks, French) LP, Vinyl record album

Great stuff! This is the "alternate" version of Michel Legrand's great score to Les Demoiselles De Rochefort – and it's totally great all the way through! The whole thing's nice and jazzy, totally swinging, and has a groove that you don't get in some of Legrand's other work. We've been listening to this for years, and it's never dulled on us. Very groovy, very Frenchy, and very tough to find. Titles include "Chanson De Simon", "Les Rencontres", "Toujours Jamais", "De Dephine A Lancien", "Nous Voyageons De Ville en Ville", and "Marins, Amis, Amants, Ou Maris". (Soundtracks, French) LP, Vinyl record album

A totally fresh take on French sounds of the late 60s – served up here with a sound that's as revolutionary as the image on the cover! This isn't the dreamy strings of familiar Paris in the Spring – but instead, the sound of change that happened in and around 1968 – as a whole new generation of younger French musicians, singers, artists, and intellectuals were really making themselves known in bold new ways! You'll recognize a few names here – like Serge Gainsbourg or Brigitte Fontaine – but the collection goes way beyond those bigger names, and features loads of obscure artists from the scene that will be a real revelation. The collection was done by the same Saint Etienne team that gave us the excellent English Weather and Songs For The Carnegie Deli compilations on Ace – and titles include "L'Elu" by Ilous & Decuyper, "La Metaphore" by Jacques Dutronc, "Looking For You" by Nin Ferrer, "Chanson D'Un Jour D'Hiver" by Cortex, "Couleurs" by Leonie, "Leslie Simone" by William Sheller, "Litanies" by Triangle, "Baleines" by Francois De Roubaix, "Lileth" by Leonie, "Ystor" by Ys, "Chanson Pour Que Tu M'Aimes U Peu" by France Gall, "Le Victime" by Karl Heinz Schafer, "Les Adventures Extraordinaires D'Un Ballet De Banque" by Bernard Lavilliers, "Helicoptere" by Mireille Darc, "Les Garde Violent Au Secours Du Roi (alt version)" by Jean Claude Vannier, and "La Chanson D'Helene" by Romy Schneider & Michel Piccoli. (Funky Compilations, French) LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool work from Belgian artist Jacques Charlier – music that almost brings a cold wave style into play with some more familiar French song styles – but with this dark edge that almost feels like work on Factory Records or Disques Du Crepuscule! A good deal of these tracks are unreleased, and fit nicely to the few that came out on albums in the mid 80s – almost all with a spare drum machine rhythm behind Charlier's effects-laden guitar and stark vocals – sometimes coming across like Vini Riley of Durutti Column in an angry mood on a bad day! We'd not heard any of this work when it was release, which makes the whole thing a great discovery, especially given the unreleased tracks – a set with titles that include "Vampirella", "Perki Show", "Check Up", "L'Amour Dans Les Chansons", "Sambas", "Passing Time", "Tout Va Bien", "Un Chat Dans Mon Lit", and "End Of WE". (Rock, French) LP, Vinyl record album

Michel Legrand is one of our favorite composers of all time – and although the man himself passed away in 2019, his music continues to live on strongly in the hearts of countless singers and musicians he's touched over the years – including those who work together on this wonderful tribute album! The set's very different than other Legrand-related projects of this nature – as both the choice of cuts and the execution is very special – not too pop-polished, or overly sentimental – as most of the numbers here are very spare and open – almost recorded as these elegies to Michel, with beautiful reworkings of his familiar themes, often just with piano and some other light instrumentation – never sleepy, given the talents on board, but sensitively done in just the right spirit of Legrand's genius. Titles include "Windmills Of Your Mind" by Chad Lawson, "Sans Toi" by Luca D'Alberto, "Les Parapluies De Cherbourg" by Lambert, "Toujoirs Jamais" by Akira Kosemura, "Peau D'Ane" by Alban Claudin, "Chanson De Jumelles" by Joseph Schiano Di Lombo, "How Do You Keep The Music Playing" by Moux, and "Summer Of 42" by Chilly Gonzales. (Soundtracks, French) CD