Catherine Ringer - "Ring n' Roll" Vinyl, 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, 2011 (Because Music)

These days when I think of the word France I immediately think of Catherine Ringer.   She and her late partner in crime, Fred Chichin were in Les Rita Mitsouko, not only the greatest band in France, but I think one of the great groups of the 1980s.  Chichin a great multi-instrumentalist and co-writer along with Ringer was a force of nature that couldn't fail to charm.  When I heard their album in Los Angeles at my friend's studio, I was seduced by the first song on side one.   Since the tragic passing of Chichin, I worried about what will happen to Catherine Ringer.   Worries are worries, but "Ring n' Roll" (released in 2011) is as great as any Les Rita Mitsouko album. 

Ringer has that 'it' quality that is difficult to define.  A great beauty, but the additional charm of her personality and force is breathtaking at times.   Beside Grace Jones, there is not another chic artist like Catherine.  She can walk into the room and transform it into another dimension.  So when she gets hold of a song, it's a wow moment.  On the most elementary level, I think of her as a French female Iggy Pop.   Another artist who has that 'it' quality that is hard to dispute or understand.  For one, Ringer knows how to rock.   As a singer, she can sing the most heartbreaking melody, but then in a flip of a coin, she can be hysterical.  Truly a star at its most glamorous and profound stature.  "Ring n' Roll" is 12 songs long and not a bump in the road for the entire album.  She works with RZA, Mark  Plati (one of David Bowie's great musicians), who I presume is her son, Rauol Chichin (on guitar), and a Japanese artist by the name of Coba.  Which funny enough the song, "Rendez-Vous" sounds like a Shibuya pop song from the 90s, but with Ringer bringing the music to a more textural level.  

Life cannot be a bowl of cherries for our Catherine, but when I listen to this album, I'm smiling from Side A to Side C (three-sided album).    The production (by Ringer, as well as RZA and Plati) is always a surprise, in that it follows the logic of one's imagination.   It has the Iggy "Lust for Life" zeal, but I feel Ringer takes it to the next level - a genius level.  One of the great artists of the 20th and 21st century.  

Various - Jean-Pierre Melville - "Le Circle Noir" CD, Compilation, 2008 (Universal Music)

As far as I know, this is the only compilation of soundtrack music to Jean-Pierre Melville's cinema.  I can't think of anything more pleasurable than being in a theater in front of a Melville image/narration.    The word "perfection" comes to mind.  Not only for the mind but the physical pleasure of being glued to one's seat and watching the world of French gangsters do what they do best: drink, rob, and existential dialogue.  

"Le Cercle Noir" is a CD that came out in 2008 that pretty much covers all of Melville's film work.  We have the great theme by Jo Boyer doing "Bob Le Flambeur" as well as the haunted score for Le Samouraï."  For a CD, the packaging is great with a wonderful essay both in French and in English.  Not the easiest CD to find, but very much worth the hunt.  I think I got mine in Paris, which is odd because usually, I have a hard time locating French New Wave soundtracks in that city, even though the CD is made in France.  Japan tends to be the capital of French New Wave albums/CDs. 

ist Hide Credits

		Bob Le Flambeur (1956)
1	–Jo Boyer	Thème De Bob Composed By, Trumpet – Jo BoyerPerformer – L'Orchestre D'Eddie Barclay*	2:32
		Deux Hommes Dans Manhattan (1959)
2	–Christian Chevallier	Deux Hommes Dans Manhattan (Générique)	1:51
3	–Christian Chevallier	Déambulation Nocturne	2:07
4	–Christian Chevallier	Filature	2:00
5	–Christian Chevallier	Street In Manhattan Lyrics By – Jo WarfieldVocals – Glenda Leigh	3:52
		Léon Morin, Prêtre (1961)
6	–Martial Solal	Léon Morin Composed By – Martial SolalHarmonica – Albert Raisner	1:54
		Le Doulos (1962)
7	–Paul Misraki	Le Doulos (Générique)	3:22
8	–Paul Misraki	Jazz Rapide	3:17
9	–Paul Misraki	Final	2:16
		L'Aîné Des Ferchaux (1963)
10	–Georges Delerue	Les Appalaches Composed By – Georges Delerue	4:36
		Le Samouraï (1967)
11	–François De Roubaix	Le Samouraï Orchestrated By, Directed By – Eric Demarsan	2:03
12	–François De Roubaix	Fatalité / La Blessure Orchestrated By, Directed By – Eric Demarsan	3:09
		L'Armée Des Ombres (1969)
13	–Eric Demarsan	Thème De Gerbier	3:13
14	–Eric Demarsan	Le 20 Octobre 1942	1:38
15	–Eric Demarsan	Mathilde / Les Barraquements	3:05
		Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
16	–Eric Demarsan	Le Cercle Rouge	1:50
17	–Eric Demarsan	Quand Les Hommes Ont Rendez-vous	1:08
18	–Eric Demarsan	Final Inédit	4:03
		Un Flic (1972)
19	–Michel Colombier	Un Monsieur Distingué	3:20
20	–Michel Colombier	Un Casse	2:57
21	–Michel Colombier	C'est Ainsi Que Les Choses Arrivent Lyrics By – Charles AznavourVocals – Isabelle Aubret	3:58
		Musique Inédite Pour Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
22	–Michel Legrand	Chassés-Croisés	2:43
23	–Michel Legrand	Visions	2:49
24	–Michel Legrand	Engrenages (Final)	2:21

Various - Jean-Luc Godard "Histoire(s) de Musique" CD, Compilation, 2007 (Universal Music)

I have a habit of picking up any collection of music that was used in Jean-Luc Godard's films.  There are lots of collections or compilations out there and it's impossible for me to choose the best one.  All are great!   So, reader, you have to take that in, that I'm just a super-fan with no critical judgment whatsoever on the subject matter of Godard's various soundtracks.  There is a Japanese CD compilation that is excellent and I wrote about it here:  http://toshberman.blogspot.com/2017/04/va-bandes-originales-des-films-de-jean.html

I bought "Histoire(s) de Musique" in Tokyo about ten years ago.  For some odd reason, it's not difficult to find French New Wave soundtracks on CD in Japan.  This collection put together by Universal Music is excellent.  The one unique cut that the other's don't have is the song "Mao Mao" sung by Claude Channes and from the film "La Chinoise."   This album covers all the Godard films from À bout de souffle ("Breathless") to Sauve Qui Peut (La Vie).  So the time frame is from 1959 to 1980.  The classic Godard years and the music are excellent.  Martial Solal, Michel Legrand, the great Georges Delerue score for "Contempt" as well as Paul Misraki, Antoine Duhamel and Gabriel Yared. All wonderful soundtrack composers doing their best iconic work. 

Also the CD has great text with nice photographs.  Do get it!

V.A. - "Bandes Originales des Films de Jean-Luc Godard" CD, Japan, 1994, (Hortensia)

Over the years there have been many great reissues or original vinyl that are connected to Jean-Luc Godard's film work.  As a Godard fanatic, I want them all!   But if push becomes a shove, and there is a fire in the house, and I have to reach out for that one Godard soundtrack collection, it would be Bandes Originales des Films de Jean-Luc Godard."

The reason is because it's an excellent package, the cover becomes a poster, but beyond the visual, the music on this CD is fantastic.   It covers "A Bout de Souffle" (Breathless), "Pierrot Le Fou, " "Alphaville," and the great soundtrack to "Le Mepris" (Contempt).  Very much a perfect compilation of the early Godard soundtracks, all on one disc.  Of course, the original soundtrack albums can be fitted on a 10" ep, when originally released - but to get all of it here is a fantastic buy.  The Japanese know how to put a music collection together.   The composers/performers are Martial Solal, Anna Karina (Godard's then-wife, and a brilliant actress), Antoine Duhamel, Paul Misraki, and the legendary Georges Delerue.  Find and buy!

Various - "La Musique dans Le Film D' Alain Resnais" Vinyl, LP, 2017 (Doxy)

Alain Resnais and Alain Robbe-Grillet's film La Valse De Marienbad (Last Year at Marienbad) is a masterpiece that is not to everyone's liking.  The ultimate chic arty film of all time.  The score to that movie is the hit off this album of Resnais' soundtrack music to his films made in the 1960s.   All of side one is devoted to Marienbad, and it's written and performed on organ by Francis Seyrig, whose sister is the star of the film, Delphine Seyrig.  It seems he did this score and he also made the music for Robert Bresson's "Procès De Jeanne D'Arc"  -  so his career may have been short, but was clearly talented and in the right place at the right time.  The Marienbad soundtrack is just an organ.  I'm presuming a large pipe organ.  Incredible sound.  And very dark goth sounding that I think would have made a great piece of music before the band Bauhaus came on the stage.   When you see the film, you can't imagine another score attach to it.  The music represents the imagery which is beautiful, sexual, and a sense of regret or at the very least, a bad mood.   A very precise and pointed music.  The music was originally released as a 7" EP single.   I can't imagine how great that must have sound - just having that powerful organ coming from a speaker in the early 1960s. 

"Hiroshima, Mon Amour (Suite)" is by Georges Delerue and famed Italian film composer Giovanni Fusco.   It reminds me of early Stravinsky.  The film "Hiroshima, Mon Amour" is a doomed romance between a French woman and a Japanese man.  Like Marienbad, it deals with memory or how one perceives things in contemporary life.  Another excellent package from the mysterious Doxy Records. 

Martial Solal Joue Michel Magne - "Electrode" Vinyl, LP, 1966 (Cacophonic)

Martial Solal + Michel Magne + Jean-Claude Vannier = Wow!   Kind of a super band or super musicians getting together for one album.  What we have here is the amazing talents of Martial Solal and trio (Gilbert Rovère on bass and Charles Gellonzi on drums) plus composer Michel Magne's orchestration and then with the additional genius of Jean-Claude Vannier's arrangements.  First of all, when you hear the very first note on Solal's piano, you're immediately drawn to Jean-Luc Godard's "Breathless" in which Solal did the soundtrack.   And not surprisingly, when one hears "Electrode," you think soundtrack music because there is something incredibly visual within the music. 

Magne composed the music here, and Vannier takes that music to another planet.  It is jazz, but with avant-garde leanings and sounds from Magne and Vannier, who both can be experimental on their own each recording.  So what we have here is the Solal trio doing what they do, which is magic, and Magne's composition which is pushing the envelope between the medium of jazz and 20th century written score.  Vannier then kicks the whole project into another soccer stadium.  Recorded in 1966, it's a lively energetic album.  And for those who are hung up on the sounds of early Godard (like me) will find this album amazing. 

Serge Reggiani - "Poètes 1" Vinyl, LP, Album, France, 1973 (Polydor)

One of my favorite figures from the French cinema world, who also happens to be a great singer.  To make a comparison, he reminds me of Bryan Ferry.  Not his identity or characteristics, but his voice. Ferry singing other people songs naturally make it is own, due to the limitations and tone of his voice.  Serge Reggiani is exactly the same.  Reggiani doesn't do the American songbook but instead tackles the poetry of Jacques Prévert, Victor Hugo, Charles Baudelaire, and Louis Bessières.   On "Poètes 1" it's bare music with a focus on the words.  My inability to understand French may limit me the enjoyment of this album, but that's not fully the case here.  Reggiani brings a sense of cool, but passion at the same time.   There is a long tradition of making songs out of poetry in France, and Reggiani is one of the greats to take on this medium.   There is "Chanson De Maglia" with music by Serge Gainsbourg.  How great is it to hear music with credit: written by Victor Hugo and Serge Gainsbourg.   I have three other albums by Serge Reggiani that features more Gainsbourg, but also Boris Vian material.  Reggiani is one of my favorite vocalists.  And not a bad actor!

Serge Gainsbourg/Brigitte Bardot - "Je T'aime Moi Non Plus" b/c "Bonnie & Clyde" 45 rpm (Philips)

I think most of us have heard the Brigitte Bardot/Gainsbourg recording of his "Je T'aime Moi Non Plus, but in actuality, I bet most of us only heard the Jane Birkin/Gainsbourg recording.  That officially came out in the late 1960s, but it took ten years for the Bardot version to be released on the French/world market.  According to legend, the then married (to someone else) Bardot was having an affair with Serge, and they recorded this rather literate song of eros.   Gainsbourg wrote the song for her, and it seems he was crushed when Bardot requested that he doesn't release the song, due to the husband's jealousy at the time.  

Both versions of the song are excellent, but I have to choose between the two, it will be the Bardot version.   For one,  Michel Colombier's arrangement is superb.  The strings are lush, romantic and feverish.  It's the most erotic part of the recording.  Bardot and Gainsbourg are very cool in their delivery of the song.  Birkin, on the other hand, does the heavy breathing, and the format is more organ/guitar orientated than the Bardot crazed orchestration.   Not to make a personal judgment between the two great female icons of the 20th century, but Bardot strikes me as a master of a cool sexuality that is smart and perhaps deadly.  Birkin is very much the girl next door - erotically fun and beautiful of course, but perhaps not fully aware of the world - or the seduction techniques of the Gainsbourg method.   Bardot is acutely conscious of the 'whole' game.  

But like all things that deal with Eros, it is very much part of the listeners take on such a magnificent song and recording.   If you have the chance, do compare the two versions, and come to your own conclusion.  

BARNEY WILEN: Un témoin dens la ville & Jazz sur seine (Doxy) 45 rpm, 12" Vinyl Record

Another in the great series for the label Doxy, of Jazz music, composed for French films.  Here we have a very young French sax player Barney Wilen, who became known internationally after working with Miles Davis, on his score for Ascenseur pour l'échafaud.  Un témoin dens la ville is a classic noir-like score to its film, which one can smell the alcohol from the streets of the right bank.   Well, it does have one of the great French stars, Lino Ventura (born in Italy I think, but still...) in a film I have never seen.  I must make note... but if it's anything like its soundtrack, it's a must.  Sadly, I don't know the other musicians on this recording, but this 1958 piece of wonder really reflects on what is on the above album cover.  The mood is tense, with moments of intense beauty.

Side two is Jazz sure seine, which is Wilen playing with various members of the Modern Jazz Quartet, such as vibe player Milt Jackson on piano and the great Kenny Clarke on drums. I'm not sure if this was originally made for a film track, but it clearly brings pictures in one's head.  The music is touched with a lightness that's superb.   This is a fantastic album that will melt your brain, and bring warmth to your soul.

À BOUT DE SOUFFLE Musique de Martial Solal (un film de Jean-Luc Godard) Doxy 45 rpm vinyl

Over the years, and especially on CD there has been many re-issues of the soundtrack to à bout de souffle.  Mostly various collections of French New Wave music throughout the late 20th century and 21st century.  But, I have to say the best is from the mysterious label Doxy, who issued this album sometime in 2015.  It's a single disc, but in 45 rpm, and one side is the score by Martial Solal, performed by the great pianist as well as with top-notch French Jazz musicians from 1958.  What makes this specific album unique is that on the other side, it's "Concert pour clarinet et orchestra by Wolfgang Mozart; performed by an orchestra conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham. 

For those who are fans of the film, you know the Mozart recording is played in one scene, where Jean-Paul is in hiding from the police and he's with his love.   Now, as far as I can gather, Doxy is very much a bootleg record company that puts out fantastic out-of-print albums or recordings that somehow lost their copyright - nevertheless, this mysterious label has released incredible albums on vinyl, and always with wonderful packaging. 

So, as I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I would buy this edition of the soundtrack, not only for the Mozart piece, but also the sound / mastering is great.  Not sure where they get the original sound source, it can be digital, but still, you're paying for their great curating taste.  Solal's music and performance are superb.  It mirrors the film's sense of wonder and adventure, and it's supreme French Jazz, which to me is über-cool.  

Brigitte Fontaine - "13 Chansons Décadentes et Fantasmagoriques" CD Album

Brigitte Fontaine - 13 Chansons Décadentes et Fantasmagoriques

CD, Album, France, 2002 (originally recorded 1966)

Disques Jacques Canetti

What planet is this woman from, and why am I not born on this same planet?   Brigitte Fontaine, is a force that goes forward and rarely looks back.  But for me who just discovered her maybe five years ago, I have a lot to catch up on.  So I believe this may be her first album.  Chansons Décadentes et Fantasmagoriques.  Fontaine, who I know very little of, with respect to her background, but I have a strong suspicion that she is the bohemian’s bo-ho.  A chanson singer by trade, but one who took that form into another world.  Her singing style is very theatrical with a tinge of contemporary feeling or soul.   What is interesting to me (among a lot of stuff regarding her) is that Jimmy Walter arranged this album, and also worked with Boris Vian.   And she also did an album of recordings of Vian’s music as well.  So that thread between Saint Germain des Prés culture is very much part of Fontaine’s world, yet different because it is being made for the May ’68 generation.  This is an artist who didn’t stand still. I want to belong to her cult.

Brigitte Bardot - "Show" CD

Brigitte Bardot - Show

CD, Album, France, 1999

Magic Records

Now this is the ultimate and great Bardot album.  I think the material on this CD is all based on her TV show she did in the late ’60’s  - in other words hardcore Gainsbourg period.  I’m not even sure if this was an official release by her or her record company.  The great retro garage rock Yé-Yé label Magic Records put this out, and it has a bootleg feel to the packaging, but nevertheless this is the Bardot to get. 

For one it has the classic electro-funk “Contact” written by Gainsbourg, and even though the recording is around, not many are aware of this Brigitte gem.   Another stunner is “Le Diable Est Anglais” both the English(“The Devil’s In Town”) and the French version.  The English version sounds sort of pissed off, and her accent is very strong which adds a certain amount of charm to the track.  But it is also has a touch of menace as well. It is one of my favorite all-time recordings.    “Le Soleil” is just a great lazy sounding track.  It pours sex that is so natural from Bardot.  When you get down to it she just has the ‘it’ quality that you have to be born with.  So yes, ignore the others, and get this one if you want to have  that special Bardot as pure sensual sound that will eat you up.

Brigitte Bardot - "La Madrague" CD, Compilation

Brigitte Bardot - La Madrague

CD, Compilation, France, 1991

Philips

One can criticize Brigitte Bardot, but it won’t be from me.  For one, she was the first movie star I have ever seen on a big screen.  I may have been in a movie theater before, but seeing Roger Vadim’s “A God Created Woman” was my first experience, and in a sense Bardot was my first woman, besides my Mom, in acknowledging a female presence in my life.  A lot of women are beautiful, but Bardot somehow went even beyond that.  

This collection of Bardot’s hits are a part of an interesting series that France Philips put together called ‘Actrices.’   A collection of releases by iconic actresses who happened to make music, and it looks like every major French female movie star made a recording of some sort.  Most of them were lucky enough to have the talents or arrangers Alain Goraguer, Andre Popp and the writing talents of Serge Gainsbourg.  Bardot had them all, well at least musically.  

Still, this is not a great collection, because they left out major Bardot recordings like “Contact” and avoided some of her more ‘odd’ recordings.  But all have the Bardot personality stamped on the grooves, and she doesn’t disappoint as a vocalist.  A limited vocalist yes, but her personality and sexuality comes through as if it was transparent paper.   Her work with Gainsbourg are noting but masterpieces.  Her version with Serge of the classic erotica Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus is a must and worth the price of this CD/Vinyl.  Much more lush than the Birkin version, this is one of the key songs by Serge, and Bardot adds an equal amount of sexuality on this record.  Essential.  Not an easy find anymore, but there are better Bardot collections out there, but still it does have Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus, the original version.