Yves Montand- Extraordinaire!

Here is a French record I got for $3.  I was not sure who this Yves Montand cat was but he looked pretty dapper. We are doing international records this week.

Montand was born in Monsummano Teme, Italy in 1921 with a rather Italian name (Ivo Livi).  His family, however, left for France two years later, due to the rise in Fascism and his father’s Communist beliefs which would have for sure conflicted with said rise. He grew up in Marseille and became a music hall singer.  He was discovered by Edith Piaf in 1944 who put him in his act.  He went on to have a good career as a crooner as well as a star on film and stage.  He died of a heart attack in 1991.  He was on the set finishing up the last shot on the last day of filming of a story of a man who died of a heart attack. He was 70.

So I listened to this record and selected samples before researching the subject thoroughly. Among other things, he was married to French actress Simone Signoret . Signoret’s daughter (Montand’s step daughter), the French actress Catherine Allegret wrote her autobiography in 2004 that she had been sexually abused by Montand since the age of 5, but the two reconciled later in life.  So now, in the current environment , which I assume is still a thing in early 2019, I am less jazzed to present this record.

But we are here and I am going to take the moral low ground and proceed with the record.  Which is from the Phillips Connoisseur Collection.  It includes some of the bigger numbers of Montand’s career.  Not as good or as sharp as Brel, but still pretty good.  Comes complete with lyrics in French and English as well as a quick bio which I did not bother to read. I don’t know.  I lost interest in going much further with this post.

For a sample, I went with “Rengaine Ta Rengaine” (Pocket Your Old Tune).  The song is from 1961.  I am not sure when this record came out.  Sometime in the 1970’s I am guessing.  I also really liked “La Bicyclette” off this album but decided to just post it as a video below:

This record is alright but I feel creepy now about posting it although I am doing nothing to stop this post.  So meh.

Edith Piaf- The Best Of

Here is a best of Re-issue of a 1969 Capitol Records greatest hits compilation of French international Super Star, Edith Piaf.  It was $6.  I was a bit peeved a month later when I found a different greatest hits package for cheaper.

Edith Piaf, the Little Sparrow of France.  The queen of the chanson.  Born in Bellevile, Paris in 1915, she had a tough life including some time spent at the her mother’s brothel.  She took this pain and expressed it in her songs.  She would pass before her time in 1963, from liver cancer, brought on no doubt from her hard living ways. She was 47.  They made numerous movies about her, the most notable being La Vie En Rose, starring Marion Cotillard as Piaf.  It was named after her best known song.  Cottilard won a Best Actress Oscar for her effort.

Pretty standard greatest hits package from an exceptional artist.  All the songs are pretty good.  A lot of them have become instrumental standards.  Well, some of them anyway.  So this is the first time for me hearing these with vocals.  And what good vocals they are. Anyway, I whittled it down to “La Vie L’Amour:, “La Goulante De Pauvre Jean(Poor People of Paris), and “Les Trois Cloches”.  However, when I heard the last number on the album, I decided to throw this out for all the Inception fans out there, “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”.  Odd that Inception also featured Cottilard.

Satisfactory record.

Gerard Souzay- Henri Duparc

If you are reading this post and you find any statement to be in error or any generalization to be off the point, please drop me a comment explaining the truth as I kind of phoned this post in today, This was $1.60.  I figured I have become such a fan of the French chansons as of late that this might put some historical context into it.

Except that these are not chansons.  These are melodies. the French equivalent of the German Lied or art song.  Basically poetry put to music as composed to the folk song style of the chanson.  More romantic and lyrical as opposed to the bleak and straight forward chanson. This album compiles this genre with a focus on Henri Duparc (1848-1933).  The Parisian former student of Caesar Franck, his star burned short but bright.  An illness as well as some bitterness led to no more than 40 or so of his works being around today.

The music on this record was performed by the baritone Gerard Souzay (1918-2004), who is regarded as one of the best interpreters of melodies. He also did some some consequential work in the opera scene. Dalton Baldwin rounded out this effort on piano.  This was released by Phillips sometime in the 60’s I am thinking.

After listening, I still prefer the chanson.  The sparseness of the music was one strike.  Also the singing was slightly lacking and since I did not understand the words, this shortcoming really stuck out.  Other than that, I found it likable.  I went with “La Vauge et La Cloche” or “The Billow and the Bell”.  It is a strange song, again, which sounds poetic, about a guy who had a dream that he was out floating in the sea, and then alone in an ancient belfrey.  The singer then wakes up and questions his existence.  I am unable to tie all these concepts together in the song unfortunately so it is kind of like three unrelated things happened. Anyway, the words were written by French poet Francois Coppee.  The song was released in 1873 and on this album, it is dedicated to French composer Vincent D’Indy (1851-1931).  Not sure if this was done by Duparc or Souzay.

Cheap enough to keep it out of solid meh territory but still not among my favorites. Also, a lot more research on this then I planned today.  EH?  I am in good mood today so Satisfactory.

Roger Roger and His Orchestra- Invitation to Paris

This was one dollar.  Sadly enough, I got it for the bad Airplane! joke.

At first I thought Roger Roger was not a real person, but there is a small bio on the back cover.  According to this source, Roger(1911-1995) was a prolific recording artist as well as the writer of music for over 500 films.  His father was a conductor who was a student of Debussy, but the son discarded classical for pop.  His mood music was used as stock on many radio and television programs.  He also recorded and released a handful of records.

Space Age Pop Bio

This record, released in 1960 on Everest Records, is a collection of French ditties focusing on the City of Lights, Paris.  Decent stuff.  About half the songs I would expect on this type of record.  The other half are somewhat new to me (and I have listened to a whole lot of French albums). Very heavy on the accordion.  Of course that is a plus for me.  Still, there is a good amount of orchestration that keeps this from being purely an accordion album.  Roger shows his abilities as an arranger and band leader with this record for sure.

For a sample, I went with “Les Triolets” which best tied together the thoughts i was trying to convey above.

Not bad.  Satisfactory.

Charles Aznavour- Le Grand Charles!

Winding the month down with yet another French singer.  I got this album for $4 at Half Price Books in Sugar Land, while killing time.  Unfortunately for the music loving community of Houston, HPB-Sugar Land has decimated their foreign records section.

Charles Aznavour, born 1924 in Saint Germain-des-Pres, Paris, to Armenian parents, is one of the most respected pop/chanson singers in France.  Known as the French Frank Sinatra, he was written over 800 songs and sold more than 200 million records. He was discovered by none other than Edith Piaf, who used him as an opening act. Known for his wide ranged voice, he has performed all over the world and in front various dignitaries.  He also has stared in over 80 movies.  Among his many honors Aznavour was given a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016.

This album, released in 1967, boasts of newly recorded songs from Paris, but my bet is this is a compilation album of sorts.  Pretty good stuff.  All the songs are either written or co-written by Aznavour.  12 songs, all in the pop/ chanson style.

For a sample, I went with “J’en Depuis Que Je T’aime” which Google Translate puts as ” I Have Since I Love You”.  I am sure it is something else, but for the purpose of getting this post done, we will leave it at this.

Satisfactory

VA- La Chanson Francaise Grand Moments Vol 3

Three years of doing this blog have made me jump on anything French I can find.  However, it is hard to find a lot of good French music for less than $8.  Well, here is this.  I got it for one dollar.

The Chanson.  The French ballad.  Is there any finer music?  Well, some but the Chanson is still a good music form.  From the early French epic poems to the Nouvelle Chansons of the last century, the lyric driven songs have been an integral part of the country’s culture.

Here is this record, the third volume in a collection of how many, I do not know.  It came out in 1973.  It features such luminaries as Gerard Lenorman, Sacha Distel, Marie Laforet, Gilles Dreu, and the Greek superstar Nana Mouskouri.  Decent stuff.  I liked the French versions of “Go Tell It On The Mountain” and “Where Do I Go ” from the musical Hair.

However, the song I felt was the best was by one Hugues Aufrey.  “Moi Et Mon Camion” or “Me and My Truck”.  Really rocking stuff compared to other tracks on this disc. Aufrey, born in 1929 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, in an accomplished French musician, who among other things was the first to translate and perform Bob Dylan’s songs in French.

Decent enough record.  I may not have felt this way had I paid much more for it though.  Satisfactory.

Paul Mauriat- Blooming Hits

dscn5298-800x772This was 80 cents.  At the time, I kept seeing this record over and over in the used record bins.  I guess I still see it from time to time.  After I while, I break down and bite at the repeat offenders.  The inclusion of “Penny Lane” also probably influenced the decision to buy.

© http://paul-mauriat.com
© http://paul-mauriat.com

Paul Mauriat was a French orchestra leader, born in Marseille in 1925.  Starting in music young, he began recording in 1957.  He recorded what looks like at least 100 albums.  His big hit was 1968’s “L’Amour Est Blue (Love Is Blue)”.  It was a #1 hit single in the US for 5 weeks. As of this writing, he is the only French performer to score the #1 spot in the US.  Mauriat would die in 2006 at age 81.

A more in depth Biography from his web site.

This album was released in late 1967 by Philips.  I am guessing it was a vehicle to promote the hit single discussed above.  Despite being a prolific composer, the songs on this album are all covers of pop tunes.  The album does showcase Mauriat’s arranging skills as he brings out the colors of each song.

There a a bunch of decent moments.  Highlights include not only the hit single, but “Adieu A La Nuit”, “Inch Allah”, “This Is My Song”, and “Mama”.  The rest of the songs, sadly, are a bit too corny for my liking.dscn5299-800x786

For a sample, I wanted to go with “Penny Lane” when I bought this.  Normally, I really like rock/pop songs that are translated into orchestrated works.  However, songs such as “Penny Lane” that are already heavily orchestrated kind of fall flat.  I mean, not a whole lot is added.  So I went with the hit single “L’Amour Est Blue”.  Sonny and Cher’s “Mama” was up for serious contention as well.paul-mauriat-1968

Overall meh for me.  Maybe because it is Tuesday. Maybe because the corny moments can not save the good parts, which I should note that I really do like.

Soeur Sourire- The Singing Nun

DSCN4630 (800x794)This was $3.00.  I had seen it in the used racks for some time before I finally bit. Not sure why the day I bought it was that day.  I also did not know the back story.deckers singing_nun

The Singing Nun, aka Soeur Sourire or Sister Smile, aka Sister Luc-Gabrielle, aka. Jeanne Deckers was born in Brussels in 1933. At a young age, she showed an interest in both music and being a nun.  She would join the   Missionary Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of Fichermont in 1959.  During her time in the convent, she would write, arrange, and perform her own songs which were well received by her fellow sisters as well as visitors.  she was encouraged by her superiors to record an album, which she did for Phillips in 1961.  This is that album.  The single, “Dominique” became a Top Ten hit all over the world, hitting #1 on the US Billboard charts. The album would sell nearly $2 million copies and her life was made into a movie, The Singing Nun starring Debbie Reynolds, although Decker would call the film complete fiction .  953932

This is the part where the cheesey VH1 Behind the Music clichés kick in.  Deckers did not see much gain from her new found fame as Phillips took in a big chunk of the money while her convent got the rest.  A second album did not do as well.  Furthermore, Deckers felt censored by her superiors, only being allowed to write happy songs and the like.  A greater rift between her and the Catholic Church caused her to leave the convent in 1966.  A song she wrote a year later, a pro-contraception song called “Glory Be to God for the Golden Pill” did not help the matter.  Also, the fact that she could not record under her previous monikers hindered what was left of her career.  Deckers_and_Pecher_at_Annie_s_school

There was some bright spots later in life, however.  She enjoyed a brief but successful period in the 70’s.  Also, despite maintaining a simple and mostly chaste existence outside the convent, fell in love and entered a relationship with her roommate, Anne Pecher, who would start a center for autistic children. But just as things seemed to be improving, bad luck struck again.  The Belgium government informed Deckers that she owed $63,000 in back taxes from her first album although she never saw a cent.  The convent denied any responsibility for this debt and as a result, the autism center was forced to close.  Unable to pull herself out of this hole, Decker and Pecher killed themselves by taking an overdose of pills and alcohol in 1985.  As per their wishes, they are buried together in the Cheremont Cemetery in Wavre, Walloon Brabant, where they died.28711907

As stated above, this was Decker’s first and most successful album.  It is  collection of songs accompanied by acoustic guitar. Some songs have a scant female chorus to them. The songs are mostly religious but all are upbeat. The simplicity of the arrangement puts the focus on Decker.  The songs are all song in French.  There are a lot of good moments on this album, including “Dominque”, “Soeur Adele”, a ballad about her guitar, and “Fleur de Cactus”  all stand out.DSCN4632 (800x795)

The album included a illustrated story of Soeur Sourire, a lyric sheet with English translations, and a pouch where watercolors of the convent apparently used to be.DSCN4631 (800x716)

For a sample, I decided to go with the big hit single, “Dominique”.jeanine-deckers_getty-hero-

A simple and satisfactory album.

The Double Six of Paris- Sing Ray Charles

DSCN3156This was a dollar.  Who does not like Ray Charles tunes?LesDoubleSix

The Double Six of Paris was a French jazz vocal group.  They got the name because the would record two sets of vocals of each member. They were around from 1959 to 1966.  The founder of the group was Mimi Perrin.  Her decline in heath led to the dissolution of the group. mimi-perrin-with-the-double-six-of-paris-lugano-1964

Mimi would pass in 2010.  Many members would go on to perform with the Swingle Singers, including Ward Swingle.

This album was actually nominated for a Grammy for Best Vocal Performance of 1965.  It is exactly what the title states: a collection of Ray Charles tunes done in a Jazz vocal style.  This album to me is ok.  The vocals could be hipper or jazzier.  The horns could be better.  But it is not too terrible. It just was not as great as I was hoping.DSCN3157

For a sample, I was torn between “Hit The Road Jack” and “Hallelujah, I Love You”.  I thought the music on “Hit The Road” was better but I felt “Hallelujah” had better singing.  Well, this is a singing album so let’s go with “Hallelujah”. mimi-perrin-with-the-double-six-sanremo-1965-photo-roberto-polillo

Eh.  This record can be satisfactory, I guess.

 

Patachou- La Belle Epoque/ Sings the Songs of Aristide Bruant

DSCN2391This was $2.00. Seemed interesting enough.  At the time, I was hard pressed to find records by French chicks.  For the most part, I still am, especially under $5.00.bruant

Aristide Bruant was a singer, songwriter, nightclub owner, and an embodiment of the Paris/ Montmartre night life of the 1900’s. Born into a respectful family with good roots in 1851, he became one of the centers of the Bohemian scene. Known for a quick wit, stinging insults, and being rude to customers (a rude Frenchman? Who would have thunk it?), his songs reflected the seedy underbelly of the Paris streets. He would die in 1924. He is probably best known today by the art work of Toulouse Lautrec, who captured him in his trademark black hat and red muffler.

bruant_03

 

Bruant’s Wiki Page

Henriette Ragon, better known as Patachou, has a different story.  Born in Paris in 1918, she worked a variety of odd jobs until 1948, when she and her husband took over a Montmartre cabaret.  She began to sing in the bistro and as she began to  gain fame, critics called her Patachou, which was the name of the cabaret.  I do not know is she invented this or not but she used to cut the neckties off of customers who would not join in the singing. Based on her cabaret success, records, acting gigs, and awards would follow.  She died this year at the ripe old age of 96.24956176

The songs on this album are ok. I would probably like them better if I knew the words. Very Moulin Rouge-esque, they reflect the gritty subject matter such as thieves, pimps, whores, and underdogs of the streets. This style of realistic song is known as Chanson realiste.  Bruant is generally credited as the father of this style.  In turn, Patachou is a fine singer with roots in Montmartre style. She does a good job with this material. Oddly enough, the Chanson realiste genre is mostly female driven. Highlights include “La Binette”, “A Grenelle”, “La Belle-soeur a Eloi”,and “Nini Peau d’chien”.

DSCN2392

For samples, I went with two songs. “Aux Frais de la Princesse” was a song written during Bruant’s failed campaign for public office. It is a biting commentary on government officials of the day. The official in the song wants to live like a king at the public’s expense but needs more money to do so. That is why the official will vote himself a raise of 6,000 francs. Kind of sounds familiar today. The other song is “Rue St Vincent” It is about a poor girl named Rose who was beautiful and smelled of roses. After working in the snow, she met Jules who was nice to her. They made love near the old cemetery. However, Jules was a pimp and asked Rose to go with other men. When she refused, Jules stabbed her to death. The gravediggers remarked how small and white she was. This was typical of the songs Bruant performed in the nightclubs.

Satisfactory record.