Renee Claude

Just back from a great week in Montreal for Jazz Fest... Got there on opening night in time to see Stevie Wonder in the street with like 100,000 people, managed to see most of the show from about 300 yards from the stage, not bad at all... There was so much good music going on that week, from Beantown pal Eli "Paperboy" Reed to dubstep producer The Bug, who brought MC's Daddy Freddy and Flo Dan (a personal favorite of mine from the Roll Deep Crew) along with him. Also, I attended a Quebecois music blog BBQ, hosted by the lovely Sebastien of Patrimoine, PQ, and attended by the folks in my Fellow Travelers list to the right, among others.

I picked up a grip of good records and figured I am long overdue on updating. I bought a really good Renee Claude LP, which made me pull out the one I already have. I went through both LP's and pulled 3 tracks from each.

Renee Claude started recording in the early 60's in a traditional chanson style, recording her own versions of songs by French singers like Leo Ferre. She eventually began to move away from French covers and towards songs mostly written and produced for her by Stephane Venne (staff producer at Barclay Canada and the man who wrote the Expo 67 theme song). She was a polished performer, having come up in the cabarets of Quebec City and seems to have played everywhere. She appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1967, performed at both Expo 67 in Montreal and Expo 70 in Osaka, Japan and even appeared with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in 1970.



The material I am using is from her late 60's/early 70's records on Barclay, all of which are produced by Venne. They are very interesting records, with very sophisticated arrangements that reference both underground rock and mainstream pop. For some reason, they remind me a little bit of Gal Costa's material from this era, thought not quite as experimental. It isn't just the arrangements that separate this from run-of-the-mill chanson stuff, Claude's voice and phrasing is also a cut above.


Renee Claude- Imaginary 6 song EP

songs are:

Combien J'Aime La Vie
La Rue De La Montagne
N'y Vas Pas
Qui a Peint La Terre En Rouge
Salut
T'oublier

Johnny Hallyday Update

Ol' Johnny has been in the news quite a bit in the last week or two. Reading the New York Times last week I opened up to the Arts section to see a front page article on the Cannes Film Festival featuring a picture of Johnny and prominently mentioning the film he's now starring in called Vengeance. Johnny plays an aging ex-hitman who travels to a foreign country (in this case, Macau) to investigate his daughter's murder. Sounds cool, but I may have liked it better the first time when it was called The Limey.

It's directed by Hong Kong director Johnnie To and is very much a homage to the 60's and 70's French gangster films of Jean-Pierre Melville, to the extent that To originally wanted Alain Delon, the star of multiple Melville films to play Hallyday's part. Melville himself was always interested in Eastern philosophy and began his film Le Cercle Rouge with a Buddhist quotation scrolling down the screen in silence. Hong Kong directorial icon called Melville's film Le Samourai "the closest to a perfect movie that I have ever seen."

Check the trailer here:


Also, apparently last month, Johnny has announced his retirement from being Johnny, stating his desire to plain old Jean-Phillipe Smet. He is currently on a 6 month goodbye tour. If this is true, I admire the ironic decision to end his career with dignity. As Johnny says, "I saw Frank Sinatra sing at 80 and despite his immense talent, I was disappointed.” I get where he's coming from. And especially with rock and roll, a genre built on youth and energy. Speaking of, apparently the Stooges are now going to tour with Raw Power guitarist (and current Sony Electronics Executive James Williamson on guitar). Will this guy still be able to produce solos that sound like caged ferrets being poked with sticks?


Anyways, with Johnny in the news again, thought I'd repost my Johnny Hallday mix. Enjoy!

Jacques Duvall, In the Ginza

According to the book my mom got me about the history of the French language (which, in and of itself is hilarious, as I DO NOT SPEAK FRENCH...), in France, the Quebecois accent is often mistaken for a Belgian accent. I relate this amusing anecdote as a way to luring my faithful Quebecois readers into learning about a song sung in English (an exception I have previously only made for Michel Pagliaro).

According to the liner notes of the compilation these songs are from, they were "chosen by a jury of 31 personalities from the music world of Belgium's French Community." In fact, the record was made with the assistance of the General Commission for International Relations of the French Community of Belgium. Their insidious stratedy must have worked, as I found this record at a store in NYC and now have a fairly high opinion of French speaking Belgians (including their unofficial worldwide ambassador, Jean Claude Van Damme).




My favorite song on the record is "Casual Feelings" by In the Ginza. It's an amazing track, an arty post-punk attempt at pop with tinges of electro. The opening horns recall stuff like Konk; a skronky approach to the classic disco horn line. The geeks who stood in the corner at high school dances attempt to make a dance song. I can't tell if the drums are programmed or triggered. The snare clapping sound is definitely digital, but the overall feel of the drum is human, like a guy beating a kit, not programming a machine.

Anyways, the song has a very special vibe to it, like if "Enter the Groove' by Madonna was recorded in an art gallery in Bruselles in 1984 by European punks who just got sent a package of Washington DC Go-Go records in the mail. The chorus melody is catchy and epic, without being overblown. The last record of this sort that got me this juiced was when DJ Gilles LeGuen played me the Chandra 12" in 2004 (pay attention bloggy come laters...)



In the Ginza were a French speaking group (just not FRENCH SINGING) from Brussels. I guess they were not well known in Belgium or otherwise, as I can't find much of anything about them. The bass player has his own web page, but only mentions them in passing and and in a somewhat dismissive manner.



However our second subject, Jacques Duvall, has plenty of info online... Has his own web page and myspace and everything... Apparently he co-wrote Belgium's entry into the 2009 Eurovision song contest. He has put out three solo records, but only one during the 80's, as far as I can tell. His track on the Bruxelles Rock comp is not nearly as arty as Into the Ginza, it's way more of a straight ahead white funk/rock workout. If this record had some out 3 years later, it would have sounded like INXS. However, the groove is nice and Jacques pulls off a credible white man funk vocal.



He recently recorded a fairly interesting cover of Leonard (born in Montreal) Cohen's "I'm Your Man" as part of a duet album with Elisa Point. Well, she sings it (and without changing the sex of the protanganist... well, golly what will they think of next?), but anytime someone takes a song from Leonard's Casio period and records it with real instruments, it makes me happy.

Casual Feelings- In the Ginza
Belle et Rebelle- Jacques Duvall

Jacques Desrosiers

Jacques Desrosiers is best known in Quebec for being a fucking clown. Like Bozo... See?











Generally speaking though, he was known as a comedic actor, in both film and television, starting out in the nightclubs and caberets of Montreal in the 1950's. Working throughout the 60's and 70's, he appears in the famed Quebecois "maple syrup porn" "Apres-Ski" (a movie more known for its funky soundtrack by Jacques Crevier than for any cinematic merits). He eventually settled into the role of Patof, the Bozo of the North, for which he is beloved to this day.







Coming of an age in the caberets of the 50's, naturally Derosiers had singing experience. He seems to have had quite an active recording career, yet as an outsider Anglophone, I can't figure out if it's serious or not. He appears on cast recordings for caberet shows he was in, as well as albums under his own name.


The first of his records that I heard were Nino Ferrer covers (Le Telephone and Mao et Mao, I think) that added nothing to the original. I am still confused by them. Is he slavishly aping Ferrer in a bid for respectability, comically imitating him in a "look at these crazy kids!" way, or merely hopping into the studio to make some quick cash?

Neither record is worth posting here. However, he DID record a very cool original single in 1970, called "Pollution De L'air."



Again, not speaking French, I have no idea if this is a wide-eyed hippy plea or a wiseassed Great Generation retort. Regardless, it's a great song with a loose, natural, funkiness that doesn't always come easy to Quebecois performers! The earnest folky strumming of an acoustic guitar is offset by the showbiz slickness of the horn arrangements... yup, this a record that hits to all fields!

Jacques Desrosiers- Pollution De L'Air

Jean Claude Vannier

Jean Claude Vannier is probably best known for arranging Histoire de Melody Nelson for Serge Gainsbourg. He worked with most of the other big names in French Pop of the early 70's from Polnareff to Hallyday.


However, he also put out some interesting solo records and soundtrack work, the most revered probably being his 1973 album "L’enfant assassin des mouches,” a concept record of sorts. All in all, I think it's an OK album. It certainly has some peaks, but it can be dull in parts. Luckily, the Youtube clip above features some of the better music of the album, performed live for a Yves Saint Laurant fashion show from 1973.


This clip has made the rounds on the internet, but it's certainly worth posting again. Also, thought I'd bump my recent Eddy Mitchell post.

Ce soir c'est ma fête pt. II

Yes, Kiss and Tell's annual French pop night is here again! Last year was a blast, Melody Nelson played some great stuff, and I got to play Luc Cousineau for a dancefloor... This year I am going to bring everything from Ye Ye to Quebecois disco, with a few stops inbetween. I promise to play Le Rap a Mad Dog...

For those who can't read the fine print, it's Thursday March 19 at Coco 66 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Ce soir c'est ma fête- Les Sound Track

Les Soundtracks are probably best known for their track "STP", which was featured on one of the Freak Out Total comps. They were a garage band from Trois-Rivières, Quebec. They only put out 2 45's, this is the A-side of their first one. All in all, it may be the weakest of their 4 sides, but hey, it fits the theme... Oh, and it's a cover of "Birthday" by the Beatles.

Eddy Mitchell

< A reader recently pointed out to me that I had no Eddy Mitchell posts, so I thought I would remedy that fact. Eddy Mitchell is a perfect candidate for this blog, in that no one under the age of 50 listens to him. Like Johnny Hallyday and Dick Rivers, his shtick is that of a Francosized crooning Elvis, complete with generic fake Anglo name.

Out of the above three, Eddy's persona may be the most interesting. Besides an enduring Chuck Berry fetish, he is not as "rock" as Hallyday or Rivers, which is to say unlike them he doesn't seem to have been affected much by the sounds of Swinging England. As far as I know, he doesn't have any Mod covers; no versions of Kinks, Troggs, or Animals songs. His steez is probably closest to Tom Jones, with his earnest erzatz "Soul" singing. He even went as far as to record in Memphis with the Stax-Volt session players.

Sadly, even the best session men in the world (from Paris to London to Memphis and back) could not do much with Eddy's intestinal bellow. After his soul period, Eddy eventually settled into a Kenny Rogers lite country period, much like Hallyday. He recently put out an LP on NYC based Sunnyside Records that is a lot better than it should be. He covers Hank Williams and Eddie Cochran and features guest appearances from both Johnny Hallyday and Little Richard. The years have added a pleasant smokiness to Eddy's voice that tempers his delivery slightly.

That said, like a lot of the more mainstream artists I profile, Eddy has a few gems. He has a trunkload of soul covers like Sunny, Tighten Up, Hold On I'm Coming, Hard to Handle, Superstition, and Spinning Wheel. But, rather than focus on his covers (most of the good ones are on the album "7 Colts Pour Schmoll" which I believe is getting a vinyl rerelease soon), I'd like to present an original track.

First of all, I like Moi, Sans Toi, because even a monolingual moron like myself can understand the title. Tres Droll. I think this is basically leftover material from Eddy's London and Memphis LP, a split LP with one side recorded at Muscle Shoals (note: Muscle Shoals is in Alabama and is about 150 miles from Memphis, but he did book Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns on the session if that counts...) and the other with London sidemen like Big Jim Sullivan and Vic Flick.




Moi, Sans Toi is recorded with these same London sidemen and they are consummate pros. These are many of the same players who recorded Histoire de Melody Nelson with Gainsbourg. In all honesty, their side on the split LP is more impressive than the American one, which feels a little bogged down. Anyways, on Moi, Sans Toi, they cook up an effective funky groove, reminiscent of European "Library" records. Over this backdrop, Eddy sounds good; sincere and theatrical at the same time. It's a solid record and I am a real sucker for the change at the chorus.


Eddy Mitchell- Toi, Sans Moi