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mix number one. an exploration of the french yé yé movement (pt. I)
In France during the 1960s, French pop was taking cues from both American and British bands, and adding their own special twist to it. Girls of the era were picking up guitars and microphones, and making the music they wanted to. What was created was the French yé-yé movement; female-fronted songs with the same gritty edge as British and American rock artists, but with extremely complex orchestrations intertwined around them.
There's something undeniably charming about these songs, and I cannot place my finger on it, exactly. There is more substance in these sublime, short pop songs, (few even reaching three-minutes in length), than some artists' entire albums. Left-of-center instruments, such as the accordion, flute, sitar and Hammond organ, intermingle seamlessly with the standard guitar, bass and drums, as majestic string and brass arrangements wrap around them both.
The girls, though mostly marketed by record labels, often wrote their own songs after Françoise Hardy began to in 1965. And there's something simultaneously feminine and tomboyish about these cute French girls, regardless of the strength of their voices, (which is often less than perfect), just getting up there and truly and wholly rocking out. The yé-yé girls set the latest fashions, were cultural idols.
But lest you think that they were image-driven artists, just take a listen at the beautifully-complex songs provided in the following mix, and discover the gold mine of brilliant 1960s pop created in the French yé-yé movement.
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1. Marie Laforêt - "Marie douceur, Marie colère"
This stunning reworking of The Rolling Stones' classic, "Paint It Black", is an unexpected treat. With its wavering vocals and propulsive ferocity, it packs a stronger emotional punch than the original, with a passion unmatched by any version since. It's rare, and perhaps blasphemous, to say a cover improves on the original, but in the opinion of this writer, Marie Laforêt's "Paint It Black" has.
2. Clothilde - "Saperlipopette"
A French twist of the groovy British girl-group sound, Clothilde's "Saperlipopette" swells and explodes with its inventive use of off-kilter instruments such as the marimbas and harpsichord, and undeniable catchiness. I dare you not to smile.
3. Pamela - "Une autre autoroute"
A sweet little ballad by Pamela, who seemingly only released this 45' for Vogue Records. Her rough voice adds a character to the divine arrangement, found often in yé-yé songs. Pamela, though her career was seemingly short-lived, charms with "Une autre autoroute".
4. Serge Gainsbourg - "Le poinçonneur des lilas"
While the man himself, Serge Gainsbourg, is not technically a yé-yé artist, his influence and presence in the movement was perhaps one of the most profound. A cultural icon in France, Serge Gainsbourg's "Le poinçonneur des lilas" takes the perspective of the man who takes tickets at the subway. The song's bustling pace mimes that of a train station, and juxtaposed with lyrics of the loneliness of the ticket-taker, creates a wonderfully complex Gainsbourg classic.
5. Françoise Hardy - "Je n'attends plus personne"
My personal favorite, and arguably most influential of the yé-yé girls, Françoise gives a rollicking and unexpectedly fuzzy tune dated from 1964 (!!!). "Je n'attends plus personne" keeps building to an absolutely insane guitar solo and perfectly placed choral arrangement, underneath Françoise's soft voice. All this chaos is happening around her, yet she holds her ground, as usual, and makes it all cohesive. And in its wake is a stunningly powerful rock song, whose experimentation with overdriven distortion predates any British Invader's first foray with gritty fuzz.
6. Delphine - "Les prisons de sa majesté"
From its opening sitar drones, Delphine's "Les prisons de sa majesté" holds your ear and doesn't let go. The combination of sitar with punching brass section doesn't seem to work, yet it's just like peanut butter and jelly in this song. The harmonies in the chorus pushes everything to the stars, and before you know it, shivers form on your skin.
7. Françoise Hardy - "Et même"
Another Françoise gem, the simple piano bass notes and acoustic strum constantly move forward towards the song's breathtaking climax. This was the second Françoise song I had heard, and hasn't let me go since.
8. Charlotte Leslie - "Les filles c'est fait pour faire l'amour"
Roughly translating to "The girls are made to make love", this almost too-fun song by one of my favorites, Charlotte Leslie, makes it impossible not to dance around. The chorus is brilliant, it's catchy as fuck, it's fuzzy, and it has overtly sexual lyrics--what more could you want? Charlotte really lets herself go, nearly screaming her lines. I can just imagine Charlotte jumping around, yelping the lyrics, just going all out with it, taking control of the stage and her audience. Pure sex-pop gold.
9. Christine Pilzer - "Café crème"
Another sexy song, (well, let's be honest: they all are,) Christine Pilzer's "Café crème" is brilliantly realized with spotlessly arranged brass that accentuates Christine's delivery, and intertwine the entire song's vibrant mood. Wonderful.
10. Chantal Kelly - "Caribou"
With its introductory timpani strikes and ominous snare rolls, "Caribou" is haunting, chock full with eerie background vocals, reverb that just feels like a giant empty room. Its pace never ceases, maintaining an emotional impact, all while slowly building and building. As far as I know, this is the only single Chantal realized, going the same way as Pamela, and it truly is a shame. "Caribou" is one of the finest from the era, and fortunately, she left us with this one gem.
11. Adèle - "Je ne veux plus d'accordéon"
Even though I personally love the accordion, French fireball Adèle really could do without it, and the aristocracy that carelessly dances to it. Adèle's voice is an acquired taste, but her passion and readiness to just kick everyone's ass is present in this song that has serious badditude. Its ending is one of the coolest/shocking upon first listen that I can recall.
12. Zouzou - "Il est parti comme il est venu"
This folksy tune is just great. That's all.
13. Charlotte Leslie - "Allez tu peux souffrir"
From the sassy girl who brought us track 8, comes another fiery song that perfectly combines the propulsive danciness of "Les filles..." while maintaining a stunning emotional core to it. The song's refrain, which translates to "Go, you can suffer!", breaks down to an almost theatrical verse of Charlotte's impressive pipes intermingling with a string section that perfectly complements her strong voice. Listening to this after "Les filles..." shows the range of Charlotte Leslie, to go from screaming bad girl to fragile heartbroken girl, in no time at all. This song is absolutely stunning, and a must-listen.
14. Cettina - "Cettina"
Though Cettina has written a song about herself, I presume, its light, happy fun quickly shifts to a slightly haunting descending harmony at the end of the chorus that sends shivers up and down the spine. And then back again. The emotional range of this, and all of these songs, is quite impressive--moods shift constantly and flawlessly, all while remaining undeniably poppy.
15. Adèle - "J'ai peur parfois"
In a slightly uncharacteristic song of hers, Adèle is caught up in a sweet-sounding piano-twinkler that flies contrary to her rough and tumble voice and image. I like this song because it all works.
16. Chantal Goya - "Ma premiere tendresse"
Chantal Goya, star of Jean Luc Godard's exploration of the yé-yé movement, Masculin Feminin, gives us a lovely ballad that transcends the language barrier, and is a perfect closer to the first installment of this mix.
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with love, chris osborn.
