LOOK WHAT I HAVE FOUND vol 192
"Bien aupres de toi" - 16 French yé-yé rockers from 1963-1973

 

In The Trashcan Records       GARBAGE192
"A couple of young guys and girls and some bands from France, Belgium, USA, UK and Italy singing in French ..."

1. jezebel - kingset

Perhaps my fave version of "Jezebel", sung in French by Kingset. Michel Jonasz played with Les Lemons earlier, together with Vigon. Afterwards he went for a long solo career before starting Sol En Si (short for Solidarité Enfants Sida), a French all-star band. This 1968 translation on Disc'AZ is a killer version.

9. mon brouillard - kingset

Produced by the legendary Janko Nilovic, this B-side of "Jezebel" could have been a Nino Ferrer song.  A 1968 Disc'AZ release.

2. tu m'fais ye-ye - jacques filh

Novelty yé-yé from 1963 by the same guy who gave us crazy tunes like "Wraaach" and "Je drague au drug". His real name is Jacques Filhastre. Released by Le Chante Du Monde.

10. lea - jacques filh

From the same EP that gave us "Tu m'fais ye-ye", a cool-jazz yé-yé tune from 1963 dedicated to a girl called Lea.

3. vivre libre - dynastie crisis

Psychedelic art rock from France in 1972. The flipside is even better, but already appeared on the soundtrack of "Ocean's Twelve" in 2004.

11. le rodeur - benoit philippe

French Belgian yéyé slow beat, like Antoine. He released four singles in 1965-1966. This was his last. A Ranch Records release.

4. l'agent secret - petula clark

Nancy Sinatra, James Bond, … were the main influences for her ode to secret agents. She co-wrote this song in 1966 and it is my fave Petula Clark recording.

12. je me sens bien aupres de toi - petula clark

"Dance on" sung in French by English singer Petula Clark who married Claude Wolff, who worked for Disques Vogue and helped her career in the 60s.

5. les enfants de la patrie - nino ferrer

Ferrer was born Ferrari in Italy and became a French citizen in 1989. This is the single from the highly underrated 1971 album "Métronomie" (featuring songs like "Cannabis", "Freak" and "Isabelle" which was covered on a Nino Ferrer tribute LP by Belgian band Dutronic). Some call this psychedelic chanson, politically driven. A 1971 Riviera release.

13. a bientot sans doute - delphine

Delphine Bury, a Belgian singer, recorded "La fermeture éclair" , a French translation of We The People's "In the past" in 1966. That same year her first single was released "C'est la première fois". This is the flipside, a great yéyé beat tune, issued by Decca.

6. ramenez-moi chez moi pt2 - antoine

Part 2 is the faster version, which means it lasts one minute less. Self-penned ye-ye pop tune from 1968 by Pierre-Antoine Muracioli, born in Madagascar.

14. dis-lui que je ne suis pas la - nancy holloway

"Tell him I'm not home" (best known version was by Chuck Jackson) translated into French. At the age of 22 Nancy Holloway née Brown left Ohio to perform in jazz-clubs in Paris, France and became quite successful in Europe with her funny English accent. This cover is from 1963.

7. une voiture rouge - alice dona

At the age of 18 she was already quite a star in France. Three songs on this EP were written by the  teenage girl. The finger-snappin' "Une voiture rouge" about a red car brings you back to 1964. A Pathé release.

15. mais je t'aime - marie laforet

Her real name was Maïtena Doumenach. Although her best recordings were during the 60s, this 1973 release is not that bad at all. A Polydor release.

8. il faut oser - les missiles

French version of The Beatles' "I'm a loser". This French band was formed in Algeria and has existed for about four years until 1966. This comes from a 1965 EP on Ducretet-Thomson.

16. rock des karts - les chaussettes noires

Singer was Claude Moine and soon to become Eddy Mitchell, an alias he has used ever since. He co-wrote this B-side of "Le twist" in 1961 for Barclay. Together with Les Chats Sauvages they were France's best known and most popular rock 'n' roll band.