A wonderful record – one in which Phil Woods blows alto solos over the arrangements of Michel Legrand – handled in the masterful style of Legrand's best jazzy soundtrack work, and in a way that lets Woods hit some of his best solos of the 70s! Legrand's always been great at this sort of album for any jazzman – and here, he unlocks a romantic tone in Woods' style that is a nice counterpart to some of the hippy-dippiness that he'd been showing in other sides from the 70s. The real highlight is the 14 minute title track – "Images" – a cool extended jazzy romp which has Woods' alto running through hard tight changes alongside Legrand's dynamic orchestra – but there's plenty of other nice numbers, including "The Summer Knows", "Windmills Of Your Mind", and "I Was Born In Love With You". (Jazz, French) LP, Vinyl record album

French rocker Johnny Hallyday hits the 70s, with a sound and style that's a bit funky, and a bit touched by some of the crossover American trends coming out of the LA rock scene. This one's arranged mostly by Mickey Jones and Tommy Brown, who'd done some excellent work with Hallyday on earlier records – and the music is kind of a post-Muscle Shoals/Memphis sound, with lots of honky tonk piano, bubbling organ riffs, and backings that are generally more in the soul/rock camp than in Hallyday's earlier pop rock style. Titles include "La Joi", "L'Autre Motif", "Flagrant Delit", "Fils De Personne", and "Fille De La Nuit". This 3CD package is very cool – and comes in a 10" hardcover book, with a full bonus CD of unissued material from the original sessions – lots of alternate takes, and the unissued tunes "Waterloo" and "Reste". Also features a 3rd CD, with a full Paris live show from September of 1971 – a chance to hear Hallyday really let loose in front of a crowd! CD

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. CD