A guest mix by Jonathyne Briggs, author of a fascinating and highly recommended book on French pop history, Sounds French: Globalization, Cultural Communities, and Pop Music, 1958-1980 (Oxford University Press, 2015):

1971—the transition. The destruction of Les Halles in Paris began in 1971 in order to make way for a more modern marketplace, and this action symbolizes how the French found themselves in a period of transition. Just prior to the economic and social problems that would emerge with the oil shocks of 1973, the French were still very much enjoying the economic boom of the economic miracle and continued to embrace new ideas and technologies, albeit with some hesitation manifest in the protests against expanded military bases at Larzac. The Events of 1968 and the death of Charles de Gaulle were just a few years past and the centenary of the Commune reminded many of the revolutionary hope symbolized by the student protests and strikes. In the realm of popular music, French audiences continued to fragment with more and more stylistic influences emerging in different subgenres with the appearance of new artists. And yet, established artists began to experiment with new styles and ideas. 1971 in many ways is a watershed moment in French pop, in which the adventurousness of the French underground is echoed in the music of more popular acts and there was a moment of brief harmony of leisure and introspection. – Jonathyne Briggs

1. Stone et Charden “L’avventura”
2. Serge Lama “Superman”
3. Jean-Jacques Perrey “Baroque Hoedown” (1971 rerelease)
4. Michel Polnareff “Computer’s Dream”
5. Serge Gainbourg “L’hôtel particulier”
6. Catharsis “Masq”
7. Leo Ferré “La solitude”
8. Françoise Hardy “La question”
9. Johnny Hallyday “Fils de personne”
10. Alan Stivell “Pop Plinn”
11. Dalida “Mamy Blue”
12. Nino Ferrer “La maison près de la fontaine”
13. Claude Nougaro “Un grain de folie”
14. Catherine Ribero + Alpes “Diborowska”
15. Jacques Higelin “Aujourd’hui Blues”
16. Mouloudji “Le Temps des cerises”

Links: The Great Albums: History Of French Pop Music

Radio Télévision Suisse has an excellent online audiovisual archive which includes a number of videos featuring 1960s French pop stars. You'll find all the big names like Serge Gainsbourg, Françoise Hardy, France Gall, Johnny Hallyday, Sylvie Vartan, Sheila and Jacques Dutronc, as well as some rare clips of more obscure artists. There is much to explore on the site, so here are a few of my picks:

Tucked away twelve minutes into a May 1967 episode of news magazine Carrefour is a performance by yé-yé girl Chantal Kelly (I've clipped out her part above). One of my favourite French pop girls of the era, she remains puzzlingly uncomped and unreissued. I wrote about this nine years ago, mentioning she'd only made it onto a couple of compilations, and nothing has changed since. It's hard to understand, as her songs are as worthy as those of the most beloved and frequently reissued girls. Unlike some singers saddled with tame rehashes of American and British hits, Chantal got to record quality originals by top songwriters (the above song is co-written by André Popp), including some highly inventive songs like 'Caribou'. There is more than a whole LP's worth of material begging to be anthologised – someone make it happen.

Wow, this is twenty incredible minutes of Françoise Hardy in London in 1965. The footage includes Hardy recording her album L'amitié at Pye studios, and walking around the city with her then-boyfriend, photographer Jean-Marie Périer.

Each episode of the Swiss series Chansons à aimer focused on a single music artist, giving the subject a chance to showcase a handful of their songs and be interviewed at some length. In this 1969 episode, Michel Polnareff performs 'La poupée qui fait non',  'Jour après jour' and 'Pourquoi faut-il se dire adieu'.

You might not expect to find a decent music guide in a 70s teen girl magazine, but that's exactly what I came across in the November 1974 issue of an American publication called The New Ingenue. In "50 Albums You Can't Live Without", the magazine does not condescend to its young female demographic with the usual list of tight-jeaned teenybopper pin-ups, but instead presents a serious guide for fledgling collectors.  It was written by Ed Naha, at the time a music journalist who wrote for esteeemed publications like The Village Voice and Rolling Stone, and who later became a science fiction and fantasy author and screenwriter. 

(Click to enlarge / Right-click for full size or to save)

The article is not only an interesting snapshot of its era, providing a glimpse into critical tastes as well as the culture of record collecting at the time, it still works as a great starting point for anyone wanting to explore 60s to 70s rock. The list covers a good range of styles, from rhythm and blues to "lofty rock", though for my tastes, it's weighted a little heavily toward hard rock – not surprising given when this was written. While it's filled with staple classic albums like Dark Side Of The Moon and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, it also has a few more obscure choices that have since fallen off the critical radar. Then there is something like Love's Forever Changes, which was not a success when released, but whose reputation saw it rise to become a cult classic over time. Here we see it beginning to achieve this status, as well as the insight that it "attracted a lot of praise and condemnation" at the time of its release.

The New Ingenue seems to have been trying to do something more progressive and feminist with the medium of the teen girl magazine. Among the usual makeup ads and fashion tips, there are some atypical articles that show they expected intelligence from their audience, like a feature on the juvenile detention system or a technical guide to hi-fi. A subscription ad boasts the magazine has a broad range of content, with "columns on crafts, ecology action and all the occult" (all of it!). Describing their target reader, it says "she isn't under anybody's thumb and she's not up on anyone's pedestal". I bought several issues from the collection of the lovely Dixie Laite, who described The New Ingenue as "sort of a precursor to Sassy in terms of content, attitude and down-to-earthiness."

As part of this approach, the magazine had a particular interest in bringing quality music journalism to young women. I found an advertisement in a December 1974 issue of Billboard magazine which emphasised The New Ingenue's commitment to musical content. It proudly proclaims the magazine's line-up of respected critics, that its music column is "not a monthly gossip column" and that it features "the first and only chart designed by and for the young American woman".  

I've made a Spotify playlist featuring one song from each album in the list:

Happy Bastille Day! Enjoy this mix of 60s-70s French psychedelic rock, psych-pop, freakbeat, experimental/avant-garde sounds and other mind-bending goodness: Quatrième Dimension.

Tracklist (Show details)

1. 5 Gentlemen - L. S. D. 25 ou Les Métamorphoses de Margaret Steinway (1967)
   From L'integrale 1965 / 1968 (2005) on Magic Records.
2. Brigitte Bardot - Le diable est anglais (1968)
   From The Best of Bardot (2004).
3. Les Maledictus Sound - Jim Clark Was Driving Recklessly (1968)
   From Mucho Gusto Records' reissue of Attention (2011).
4. Victoire Scott - 4ième dimension (1968)
   From Ultra Chicks Volume 6: Vous dansez mademoiselle (2002).
5. Papy - Toi le Shazam (1967)
   From Wizzz! Volume 3 (2015) on Born Bad Records.
6. Alessandra and The Atomic Crocus - Ombilic Contact (1974)
   From Smile At Me / Ombilic Contact.
7. Françoise Hardy - Il est trop loin (1967)
   From Ma jeunesse fout le camp...
8. Alice - Viens (1970)
   From The BYG Deal (2009) on Finders Keepers Records.
9. Brigitte Fontaine & Areski Belkacem - Je t'aimerai (1977)
   From Vous et nous.
10. Pat Prilly - Polymorphoses (1972)
    From Moog Expressions.
11. Claude Lombard - Midi (1969)
    From MPLS Ltd's reissue of Claude Lombard chante (2010).
12. Antoine - Un éléphant me regarde (1966)
    From the Un éléphant me regarde EP.
13. Les Fleurs de Pavot - Hippies nous voilà (1968)
    From the reissue of Les Fleurs de Pavots (2006).
14. Serge Gainsbourg - New délire (1968)
    Originally appeared on the soundtrack to the film Manon 70. From Le Cinéma de Serge Gainsbourg (2015).
15. Les Papyvores - Le Papyvore (1967)
    From Wizzz! (Psychorama français 66-71) (2001). Reissued on Born Bad Records in 2011.
16. Les Yper-Sound - Too Fortiche (1967)
    From the Too Fortiche / Psyché Rock EP.
17. Dick Rivers - Via Lucifer (1966)
    From Beginner's Guide To French Pop (2012).
18. Jean Le Fennec - Le Sorcier (1969)
    From the reissue of L'abandon (2010).
19. Yamasuki - Yama Yama (1971)
    From Finders Keepers Records' reissue of Le Monde Fabuleux des Yamasuki (2005).
20. Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - Alpes 1 (1971)
    From Âme debout.
21. Zouzou - Il est parti comme il était venu (1966)
    From L'intégrale (2003).
22. Sullivan - Haschish-faction (1967)
    From The Atomic Café: French Cuts (1999).
23. Miss JJ - Soolaimon (1970)
    Neil Diamond cover from Hally holly hé / Soolaimon.
24. André Popp - Pour celui qui viendra (1972)
    From Wah Wah Records' reissue of Le Cœur en fête (2012).

This post originally contained the Mixcloud mix below, an earlier version of the mix I hadn't intended to upload but am leaving up since some listeners liked it. 

Mixcloud tracklist

1. 5 Gentlemen - L. S. D. 25 ou Les Métamorphoses de Margaret Steinway (1967)
2. Brigitte Bardot - Le diable est anglais (1968)
3. Les Maledictus Sound - Jim Clark Was Driving Recklessly (1968)
4. Victoire Scott - 4ième dimension (1968)
5. Papy - Toi le Shazam (1967)
6. Igor Wakhévitch - Sang pourpre (1971)
7. Alice - Viens (1970)
8. Brigitte Fontaine & Areski Belkacem - Je t'aimerai (1977)
9. Pat Prilly - Polymorphoses (1972)
10. Françoise Hardy - Il est trop loin (1967)
11. Antoine - Un éléphant me regarde (1966)
12. Les Fleurs de Pavot - Hippies nous voilà (1968)
13. Serge Gainsbourg - New délire (1968)
14. Delphine - Les Prisons de sa majesté (1967)
15. Les Papyvores - Le Papyvore (1967)
16. Les Yper-Sound - Too Fortiche (1967)
17. Jean Le Fennec - Le Sorcier (1969)
18. Yamasuki - Yama Yama (1971)
19. Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - Alpes 1 (1971)
20. Dick Rivers - Psychédélic (1966)
21. Bernard Fèvre - Skeese (1975)
22. Zouzou - Il est parti comme il était venu (1966)
23. Sullivan - Haschish-faction (1967)
24. Miss JJ - Soolaimon (1970)
25. André Popp - Pour celui qui viendra (1972)

Links: Playlists

1. Eva - Moon River (1974)
2. Eddie Lee Mattison - El río de la luna (1972)

A joyous, uptempo pair of covers of the Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer classic, 'Moon River'. Eddie Lee Mattison's version is a pop reggae take (similar to Greyhound's version, as someone at 45cat notes) sung in Spanish, which I've ripped from the vinyl single.

Eva's funk cover comes from a CD reissue of her 1974 self-titled album. Born Eva Correia José Maria, Eva was usually known as Evinha. At just seven years old, she formed the vocal group Trio Esperança with her brother and sister. The trio, whose recordings mostly fit the Jovem Guarda style, scored a number of hits throughout the sixties. Evinha left them in 1968 and went onto a successful solo career. The group continued without her – replacing her with another sister – until the 90s, when she rejoined them.

Links: Evinha on AllMusic.

This blog has gained many new readers since I first posted my Spiked Candy Canes mixes in 2005, so I thought I'd share them again for anyone who missed out the first time around. Hopefully they'll give you an idea of the abundance of lesser-known but fun, interesting, weird or sometimes beautiful Christmas songs that are out there, and maybe introduce you to some artists you haven't heard before. If you're looking for more info and links to purchase anything that's still in print, have a look through the December 2005 and the December 2006 archives.

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