Totally groovy work from French singer Gillian Hills – an artist who was initially best known for her work in film, thanks to movies like Beat Girl or Les Liaisons Dangereuses – but one who grew to become one of the cooler singers in Parisian pop during the 60s! Gillian's work here is a great bridge between two generations of chanteuses – a bit early in the "yeh yeh" years of French pop, but still done with all the grooves and jerky rhythms of that scene – but also maybe slightly more expressive at times, in a way that has Hills bringing her acting charisma to the music! Arrangements are often nicely jazzy, but in playful 60s ways – kind of the epitome of the bright, bubbly vibe of the French pop world of the period – and since most of Hills' work from the period was issued on 7" singles and EP releases, not full albums, the music here is a lot more obscure than that of contemporaries like Sylvie Vartan or Francoise Hardy. Titles include "Tut Tut Tut", "Cha Cha Stop", "Je Partirai", "Tu Mens", "Ma Premiere Cigarette", "Un Petit Baiser", "Ne T'En Fais Pas", "C'Est Le Garcon", "Rien N'Est Change", "Maintenant Il Telephone", "Les Jolis Coeurs", "Le Paradis Pour Toit", "Qui A Su", and "Oublie". CD

One of John Barry's first true moments of genius – recorded back when he was the leader of a fab little instrumental combo called the John Barry 7, and was tagged to do some soundtrack work that would forever change the rest of his career! The album's got some incredible instrumental tunes that mix electric guitar and beatnik jazz in a mode that's keeping with the juvenile delinquent theme of the film – with some strings sneaking in to cheese things up a bit, but in a great way that only makes the tunes sound even better! Adam Faith sings vocals on "The Beat Girl Song", "Made You", and "I Did What You Told Me" – and other tunes include "Blues For Beatnicks", "Blondie's Strip", "Beat Girl", "Time Out", "The Sharks", and "The City 2000 AD". This El UK edition includes bonus tracks by Gillian Hills, The John Barry Sound and Adam Faith. CD

Groovy gals from 60s France – a power-packed array of Parisian pop nuggets that goes way beyond most other compilations of this nature! Some of the big names are here, but there's way more obscure numbers too – the cool kind of French femmes that made a bit splash during the "yeh yeh" generation, with a mix of the rough and the sweet that few other girl singers could ever hope to touch! There's a really special mod sort of energy here – vocals that push out strongly, yet never succumb to emotional cliches of American and British singers – and backings that are always tight and groovy, but in a jaunty, jerky way that's quite different than straight ahead rock. The mix of modes is completely sublime – just the sort of music that still really sends us after all these years – and titles include "J'Ai Des Problemes Decidement" by Violaine, "Hymne Au Soleil" by Pussy Cat, "Attends Ou Va-T'En" by France Gall, "Tomorrow Is Another Day" by Gillian Hills, "Bravo" by Jacqueline Taieb, "Pas De Taxi" by Annie Philippe, "La Fermeture Eclair" by Delphine, "Les Paillons Noirs" by Michele Arnaud, "Comme Tu Es Jeune" by Liz Brady, "Sous Le Soleil Exactement" by Anna Karina, and "Ecoutez" by Elsa. CD