Jacno - "Jacno" Vinyl, LP, Reissue, 45 rpm, Mini-Album, 2011/1979 (Celluloid)

Bingo!  I've found the ultimate Techno-pop or Synth-pop music.   I discovered this album through YouTube as well as Apple Music, but finding the actual vinyl is either difficult or expensive.  By luck, I found the record, at a reasonable price and this is clearly a mini-album that needs to be fully reissued to the masses.  Approximately 20 minutes long, it will be the best 20 minutes in one's life.  

There are records that speak to me in a favorable manner, and then there are recordings that hit me like a gentle slap on the cheek, and Jacno's album is such a presence in my life.  I can't possibly fathom someone disliking this record.   Incredibly french whatever that means to the listener, but it conveys such a lightness, but with a tinge of sadness.  Serge Gainsbourg is always sad to me, on the other hand, someone like Jacques Dutronc is happy-go-lucky, until he reached his later years.  Jacno is somewhere between the two artists, and his solo and recordings with Ellie Medeiros (Ms. Brian De Palma) as well as with his early new-wave/punk band Stinky Toys, was a journey through French pop music culture.  

Part of the charm of these recordings is that it's very low-fi in its approach and sound.  One can picture Jacno smoking away ( he did die from cancer) and be working on these tracks by himself.  Most of the record is instrumental, with Ellie singing vocals on one song "Anne Cherchait L' Amour."  It's interesting to note that this mini-album came out at the end of an era (1979) and there is an innocence or the sense of loss.  Still, "Jacno" is a masterpiece. 

Jacques Dutronc - "Les Play-Boys" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1966/2016 (Disques Vogue)

Jacques Dutronc is up there with the great Serge Gainsbourg, as a cultural force and music-making in 20th-century France.  Since I don't know the French language, I have to just presume what Dutronc's songs are about.  I understand the title "Les Play-Boys."   What is provocative for me is his handsomeness but mixed in with a great deal of humor.  Also, I'm intrigued by his songwriting partner and is responsible for the lyrics, Jacques Lanzmann.  A poet and lyricist.  I believe Lanzmann was in his forties when he wrote songs with the much younger Dutronc, who was in his twenties.  Not a great difference of age these days, but in the 1960s, there was a generation difference between those two decades, and unusual for someone much older, working with a youngster (in theory) to write for the teenage/youth market. But perhaps I'm thinking too much of the American or British, who had a distrust of anyone over 30!

Still, one of the most enjoyable albums to come out of France is "Les Play-Boys" which is 12 songs that seem to be absurd, light on the touch, but I suspect that they are also a deep commentary on culture in Paris and elsewhere in France at the time.   Music-wise, Dutronc reminds me of Ray Davies during the 1960s.  I sense he's very disciplined and focused artist and there is a learned or studied charm in his work.   Like Davies, Dutronc (and Lanzmann) are cultural humorists commenting on the fads ("Mini Mini Mini") and the self-absorption of the young generation("Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi").  Superb entertainment!

Jun Togawa (戸川 純) - "Suki Suki Daisuki (好き好き大好き) Vinyl, LP, Album, Japan, 1985 (HYS)

Without a doubt one of the great albums from the 1980s, and a work that is still as fresh as the first day of spring.  For one, the production does yell out the 1980s, but like Sun Records is from the 1950s, this is almost a militant version of that era.  Jun Togawa is a vocalist that is very difficult to explain because she is a rare artist that goes beyond her limitations of the pop (Japanese) world.  Most Japanese pop music exists to please, but there is something dark and disturbing about the Togawa sound, which is hyper-emotive and one feels traces of Bi-polar expressions within its groove.  

One thing that is very noticeable is that a Jun Togawa recording is very unique.  There is nothing like it in this world.  To make comparisons is always a fun sport, but I'm not sure if comparing her to other artists would be accurate.  Saying that "Suki Suki Daisuki" has traces of French Yé-Yé sound, but updated to the 80s, and she does cover Serge Gainsbourg's  "Comment te dire adieu," yet it sounds very much like her own material.   The song is sung in Japanese, and I'm not sure if it's just translated lyrics from French to Japanese, or she may have written her own words to the song.  The sound is more Togawa than Gainsbourg, yet respectful of the original melody/song.  

She also does a beautiful, but a bizarre cover of "Angel Baby" the great Rock n' Roll ballad of the 1950s originally recorded by Rosie and the Originals.  The original version is a fantastic time-piece of out-of-this-world pop, and Togawa does this song in English, that reminds me of Yoko Ono if she did a cover of this song.  I'm not saying that due that they are both Japanese women, but their voices have a similar vocal range.  Togawa can go for the lower notes to the highest, and she is an amazing singer. In the nutshell, I think of her work as a combination of Sparks, Yoko Ono, French Yé-Yé with a touch of Kate Bush ambition.   I know that both John Zorn and Jim O'Rourke think of her work highly, and it's a shame that she is not better known in the West.  Then again, I suspect that she could care less about the music market outside of Japan.  Truly a unique music artist.  Also, she did the design work for this album, and it's a great package. 

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Gillian Hills "Vue Intégrale (Twistin' The Rock Vol. 9) 2 x CD, Compilation, 2002 (Barclay)

Gillian Hills is a British actress who lived in France to become a singer with a fascinating Father and Mother.   Father is Denis Hills, an adventurer, writer, and traveler, who wrote about Idi Amin in Uganda, who was sentenced to death for espionage in that country.  The intervention of the Queen allowed him to safety and back to the UK.  Her mother is Dunia Leśmianowna, the daughter of Polish Poet Bolesław Lésmian.  Gillian, at 14, was discovered by Roger Vadim, who put her in the film "Les liaisons dangereuses."  At 15, she starred in the British film "Beat Girl," with the first soundtrack by the great John Barry.  It was at this time she went back to France and made a series of recordings with artist Henri Salvador, and was one of the few Yé Yé singers to write her material.   After recording the French sides,  she eventually came back to London to be in the films "Blow Up" by Michelangelo Antonioni and Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange."  After that, she moved to New York to focus on a career as a book and magazine illustrator.  Whew!



"Vue "Intégrale" is a collection of her recordings she did in France for the label Barclay, and it's pretty remarkable in its sophistication in the Yé-Yé pop song market.   The fact that she co-wrote or wrote these songs are pretty amazing in itself.  Oddly enough, she is unknown, except for those who are obsessed with French pop from the 1960s, and of course her film appearances in such cult classics.  I think it's more than Hill being in the right place and time; she truly had the stars above her lead her to interesting aspects of the French and British entertainment world.   Beautiful as Bardot, Hills expressed an urgency and restlessness in her approach to the recording arts as well as film.  A remarkable talent at an exceptional time in cultural history.  It's time to rediscover her work.

Various ‎– "Mister Melody - Les Interprètes De Serge Gainsbourg" 4 CD Box Set, 2006 (Mercury)

Amazing box set of Serge Gainsbourg's music, but performed by other artists besides the mighty and great Serge.   Hours of Serge music throughout his career.  A lot of the recordings on this collection he actually partakes in their production or arrangement.  So, his presence is very much felt throughout every song here.  The famous and iconic recordings with Birkin, Bardot and France Gall is here, but also artists like Les Frères Jacques, Michèle Arnaud, Juliette Gréco, Philippe Clay, and even Petula Clark.   There are no bad tracks here and very much essential listening and ownership. If I have to choose a favorite it is probably Nico's "Strip-Tease."  Very well thought out with song selection and excellent packaging.  

I have to presume the songs here are what brought money to the Gainsbourg pocket.  As a hired songwriter, he brought the tunes to these artists, but all of them have the Serge wit and bite.  He didn't compromise or cheapen his work when he wrote these songs for other artists.  I sense respect between singer and songwriter here.  Love this package of goodies. 

Françoise Hardy - "J'Suis D'Accord"/"Tous Les Garçons et les Filles" Vinyl, 7" EP 45RPM (Disques Vogue)

A very early 1962 recording by Fançoise Hardy.  With that voice, her looks and songwriting talent, how can she possibly go wrong, except the one route to Icon Artist.   I love these recordings because, in their way, they're very raw.   "Oh Oh Cheri" is based on a song by a rockabilly singer Bobby Lee Trammell, which is interesting, because it shows how the French music industry takes something so American and somehow can find French aesthetic or taste in that material.  

For me, "Tous Les Garçons et Les Filles" is classic Hardy.  A beautiful melody but with some sort of pathos involved.   What is unique about Hardy is that she can distance herself from the songs, and in a sense, it's like repeating a joke you hear, but maybe you add your own twist to that narrative.  When Hardy sings her own writing or cover, it is always a Françoise Hardy record.   There is nothing cookie-cutter factory about her.  One of the chief reasons why she stands out among the other Yé-Yé singers of her time and country.   A superb E.P.  I also love the cover of this 7" because it's very toned down and in one's face.  A lack of graphics that makes it more real.  In fact, her portrait here reminds me of an official high school photo of a student.  

Tracklist Hide Credits

A1	Oh Oh Chéri Written-By – Trammel*, Jil Et Jan	2:20
A2	Il Est Parti Un Jour Written-By – Hardy*, Samyn*	1:47
B1	J'Suis D'Accord Written-By – Hardy*, Samyn*	2:00
B2	Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles Written-By – Hardy*, Samyn*

Jacques Dutronc - "Jacques Dutronc" Vinyl, LP, 1968 (Disques Vogue)

Soundwise, a mixture of Bob Dylan "Highway 61 Revisited" with overtures to Ray Davies circa The Kinks 1965/1966.   Everything else wise, Jacques Dutronc is an original artist.   Dutronc started off as a session guitarist in Paris, and eventually met up with lyricist Jacques Lanzmann, and wrote many hits in the 60s.   The interesting aspect of their partnership is that Lanzmann is a much older gentleman than Dutronc, and I suspect that his lyrics reflect and make humor of issues that took place in the 1960s.    So there is the edge of two minds working as one. 

"Jacques Dutronc" is 12 songs.  I suspect that this recording is a 12" version of 3  7" EPs.   Every song here is a gem.  Borderline psych-rock but very much in a pop mode,  Dutronc expresses a great deal of fun though his music.   The Kinks reference for me is that I sense intelligence, that is beyond the hit-making process.  Dutronc's visuals on his album cover almost convey a joke, but I also think there is something serious under the joking.   For anyone who even has the slightest interest in French pop, need to have this album.  Dutronc's career is a long one, and his much later recordings are of keen interest as well.  More on that later!