Gérard Manset - "Rien À Raconter" Vinyl, LP, Album, France, 1976 (EMI)

There is a thrill of discovering an artist that no one in the English language talks or knows about, and I suspect that Gérard Manset is such a songwriter/arranger/singer.   I can find very little information on Manset in English, and according to Discogs, he has at least 23 albums under his name.  From 1968 to this year, 2018.  I have heard his music I think through a drunk period on the Internet, and going through YouTube for music discoveries.   In my collection, I have two albums by Manset, including "Rein À Raconter" (Nothing to Tell).  

Generally speaking, and what I have heard, Manset's songs are all in French (duh!) and feature massive orchestrations, but usually with a loud electric guitar in the mix.  There's nothing pastoral about his sound, both his voice and instrumentation is forceful and not knowing what the songs are about, makes me (or the listener) get an emotional reaction.  I sense anger, and a typical album by him is at the very least eight songs.   So, there's room for the music to build up to tension or a release of some sort. In other words, his music is sexy.  

What impressed me the most is his melody writing, but also his arrangements which is masterful, and more intuned to classical than somewhat a 'wall of sound.'   Manset shares an intensity with Jack Nitzsche, but he doesn't work on a big canvas like Nitzsche.  The music or album sounds like a man alone dealing with a demon or two.  Manset does the production as well as the writing and arrangements, so he's very much a solo artist in that sense.   The sounds that stand out is his vocal delivery which reminds me a bit of Jacques Brel in its intensity, and the sound of his electric guitar against the grain of the lush strings.   A remarkable artist, who I gather is popular in France, due that his releases are on large record labels, and for sure needs to get more attention from the English speaking world.  

Gérard Manset - "Le Train du Soir" Vinyl, LP, Album, France, 1981 (EMI)

I know almost nothing about Gérard Manset, except that he's French, songwriter, artist/photographer and made some remarkable music.   I discovered him during the heights of music being on the Internet, and one could download songs/albums on various collector's websites.  I made a note to myself that I should find myself a hard copy of Manset's "Le Train du Soir" as soon as possible. It took me five years, but I found a used vinyl copy in Paris, and I think it's a remarkable album. 

People find it hard to believe, but I don't know the French language except for specific words and a general over-all menu in a cafe.  Still, I have a life-long fascination with anything French, especially literature and cinema.  French pop music was a recent discovery, perhaps 20 years ago when I came upon Serge Gainsbourg. That opened up a whole avenue of artists for me to explore and purchase for the next decade or so.  Still, even in those terms, Gérard Manset is an unknown figure outside of the French-speaking world. 

I get the impression that he's very independent minded, and is skilled as an arranger and musician.  I know he has worked with massive orchestrations on previous and future albums from "Le Train du Soir."  What makes this record so good are the songs, and although they were recorded in 1981, it sounds very 70s to me.  It also reminds me of studio minded artists like Emit Rhoades or Nillson in that there's a great deal of songcraft that goes in his work.  This is without a doubt a rock album, but it is such an album that has music history attached to its presence. 

Not knowing the language thoroughly, I'm sure there is the context within the music that is beyond my knowledge, still, on a listening experience, it's an excellent way of spending 40 minutes or so. There are six songs, including the 12-minute length of "Marchand de Rêves (Dream Merchant)," which is a series of melodies that fit in the song itself.  My favorite cut on the album is "Les Loups (Wolves)" which is a perfect build-up of melody and passion.   I'm frustrated that there seems to be no information in English about this unique artist, but alas, give me time. 

Les Rita Mitsouko - "Rita Mitsouko" LP, Vinyl, LP, Album, France, 1984 (Virgin)

Les Rita Mitsouko is my favorite band.   At first, I thought that they are my favorite French rock n' roll band, but the truth is they are my number one favorite band.   If one can call them a band.  Les Rita Mitsouko was a couple:  Catherine Ringer and the late Fred Chichin.  Both were multi-instrumentalists and wrote the songs together.  Like The Cramps and Sparks, they were a perfect individual unit who used outside players, but the main core is always the two of them. "Rita Mitsouko" is their first album.  I loved them by the first note on the first song of side one "Restez Avec Moi."   The rhythm is very much a Bal Musette dance, and it's a combination of electronics and guitar that makes this song irresistible.   If one can fall in love with a human, then inevitably a listener can fall in love with Les Rita Mitsouko.  

Catherine Ringer is one of the significant figures in contemporary music, and the fact that she's unknown in the United States is apparently a crime against culture.  Her voice and even more important, her stance, is a beauty to behold.  There are individuals that for no other reason that they just have that "it" quality, which is a rarity, and Ringer oozes personality and talent.   She's up there with her country's Juliette Gréco or Edith Piaf but is obviously both a traditionist as well as a standout in any category of popular music.   Chichin and Ringer have a robust sexual aura as well as classic groove chops, and I can never resist their sensual pull to their music. 

If I have to make a comparison to their sound, I think of Iggy Pop's "The Idiot" as the closest album that kind of resembles Les Rita Mitsouko's sound and world.   There is a strong "I don't give a damn" quality in their work, that's is essential rock n' roll spirit.   Wonderfully unique, and equally charming at the same time.   Their first album "Rita Mitsouko" captures a freshness that I find so enticing that their work is close to falling in love for the first time.