Antoine - "La Guerre" EP

Antoine - La Guerre EP

Download

Vogue Records

The garage French rock version of classic Donovan.  “La Guerre”  I am going to have to presume that this is either an anti-war song, more likely about Vietnam, which makes it very May 68.  I like his voice, his music, well, everything. “Ne t'en fais pas pour cela, ils revent” (Don’t Worry About, They’re Dreaming) is Bob Dylan if he landed on St Michel sidewalk.  It even has that Al Kooper organ sound.  The beauty of the EP format is that the music, the image, the whole package is compact.   Like a full album, the EP works it magic the same way.  

Antoine - "A Tramontane" EP

Antoine - La Tramontane EP

Download

Vogue Records

Antoine is totally underrated in the English speaking world, well… more like totally unknown, which is a shame because’s he really good.  On the surface he reminds me of Mickie Most era Donovan.  With a touch of Jacques Dutronc thrown in the mix, with unusual production sounds.   “La Tramontane” is a pysch-pop song with a hint of Nino Rota thrown in.  “Mon auto m’attend” is a relaxed jazzy ballad that goes well with drinking on the patio on a warm day. But really all four songs sounds like a great Donovan b-side.  Truly fab.  

Anthony Perkins - "From My Heart"

Anthony Perkins - From My Heart

Album, Download, 1958

RCA Records

It’s not unusual for a movie or TV actor to do an album during the late 1950s to 1960s.  Even up to the 70s, but I think the actor Anthony Perkins, in the late 50s was very much interested in being a recording star  But alas the movie world came upon his door and he answered the knocks of Orson Welles and Hitchcock and history was made.  Nevertheless this album came before that knock, and at then there is nothing awkward about his singing. He’s quite good.  The material is so-so, but he had the voice to cut it.  It would have been interesting to see if he could have added the quirkiness of his acting talent to his music, but alas that didn’t happen.  But on the other hand the arrangements are good.  It's a shame that he didn't stay with the music making. 

André Almuro - "Poésie de Cruauté"

André Almuro - Artaud, Genet, Lorca, Cocteau, Larronde, Almuro - Poésie de Cruauté

Vinyl LP (Download), 1962

Disques Mouloudji

A mysterious album that I downloaded from god knows where, but what a cool piece of vinyl.  I’m on the hunt for it.  The little I know is that André Almuro worked in radio, and was or is (he’s still alive at 82) a figure in the French Music Conncréte world.  He met a 15 year old Pierre Clémenti and worked together making films, and recording Clémenti’s poetry.  Eventually in the 40’s he hooked up with the legendary Pierre Schaeffer and joined his Radio Télévision Française.  

Poésie de Cruauté is a fascinating piece of work.  Here Almuro makes music behind the narration of various poems by Artaud, Lorca, Genet, Cocteau and Olivier Larronde, who I don’t know at all.  The poems are read by Jean Bollery and Pierre Frilay, with a certain amount of vocal effects for their voices.  A great album, and without a doubt I am going to look for Almuro’s films.  Fascinating.

Also of great interest is that this album was released on the great Left-Bank (Vian pal) Mouloudji’s record label.