Customer Reviews

France Gall - Poupee de Son

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This CD contains a nice collection of France Galle's songs of the 60's. I chose it because it has some of my favorite oldies including "Laisse tomber les filles", "N'ecoute pas les idoles", and "Nous ne sommes pas des anges". But with 23 songs on one CD, it is apt to include some so-so songs, too. I enjoy France Galle's uniquely girlish delicate voice and her happy youthful style that is quite melodious.

Being a fan of FRANCE GALL,i found out that almost all she recorded between 1962 and 1968 with a few exceptions is quite good, even if FRANCE herself has not fond memories of that time.It is quite obvious today that FRANCE GALL was the first of the so called LOLITA type of singer.This collection does a good job .All the hits are there including SACREE CHARLEMAGNE (her least favorite),POUPEE DE CIRE,POUPEE DE SON and my favorite LES SUCETTES with a double meaning lyric to match.All of FRANCE GALL 's early recordings have been reunited on a 4 cd collection.Thank God!There is only one FRANCE GALL, beware of imitators.

Actually, I have the 4-CD box set of which this is a selection. That's how much I like this stuff. Yeah, there are some real duds (eg "Sacre Charlemagne"), but they are easily redeemed by the rest. Creative, inventive 60's pop, perfect arrangements, and delivered in that little girl voice that some people just hate. Her pitch is a little off (noticeable because she uses no vibrato), but her sense of rhythm is impeccable. If this is 'ye-ye' music --and that's very debatable-- then it's time to rehabilitate that label. Okay, the Gainsbourg tunes are among the best, but what a shame not to look any further! (Interesting: not a single cover version here, in an era dominated by adaptations of the Anglo-American top ten.)

This is a great collection with all of her important singles.

If your taste runs to infectious, throwaway French Lolita-Pop from the 60s this may be the very thing for you. At least half of the 23 tunes included are almost the epitome of pop music they're so naggingly catchy. If, on the other hand, you think music should be a matter of "artists" doing "work" that is "important" then the sheer bubbling joie de vivre on display might be hard to sit through. There's not a hint of gravitas; if anything the prime attitude is one of mocking exultation in ephemerality of all kinds.

Happily there may be a way for the sober-minded rocksnob to, if not enjoy, at least take seriously the music within. Serge Gainsbourg, noted "provocateur", was involved with eight of the tracks so we can be sure there's a deliciously "subversive" element at play underneath the mirth and inanity. And the fact that the singer herself was innocently unaware of the double-entendres she was mouthing will undoubtedly provide an added aesthetic frisson. If somehow the word "deconstruction" can be added to our list of attributes then the satisfaction of even the most carping rock critic will be complete!

But half-seriously I find it hard to see how any household can fruitfully exist without a copy of Gall's biggest hit, "Poupee de cire, pouppe de son". Or the marvellous jazz-waltzes, "Jazz a gogo" and "Pense a moi". True, there are a couple of cutesy-pie singalongs (Sacre Charlemagne" and "L'Amerique") that might prompt the unwary to retch but overall this is an excellent compilation of pop at its 60s peak.

The major drawback (that caused me to dock it a star) lies in the terrible mastering. Sound which should burst from the speakers is reduced to a dull, thick, muddy morass which comes close to ruining my enjoyment. This wasn't present on the original recordings: three of the tracks here are also on Gall's album, "1968", and on that they are as vividly presented as can be wished for. In fact, I'd recommend people interested in this singer to buy that CD first. It's a gem. Perhaps in the interim Polygram will give this one the needed remaster.

It was so much fun to discover this innocent sounding, sweet voiced singer just recently. I am not a big fan of music that's not in English, but France Gall is a joy to listen to. I tried to listen to some other Ye Ye singers of the 60's, but none measured up to France Gall. These are fun, enjoyable songs, even if you don't understand the words. Suggest you watch a couple of her videos on You Tube to see what she is all about. I especially liked La Cloche and Ein Bisschen Geothe, En Bisschen Bonaparte, both which unfortunately are not on this album. There are plenty of other good songs here though. Try it, you'll like it!

This is a great CD by France Gall with 23 songs of the yé-yé era. Though France Gall did not get the international exposure as did Françoise Hardy or Sylvie Vartan, she performed many fine songs. Serge Ganisbourg wrote several of her best, including "Les succettes," "Baby Pop," and "Poupée de cire, poupée de son," which are included on it. Other ones to look for are "Sacre Charlemagne," "N'éoute pas les idoles," "Bébé requin," ond others. Additional ones that are exceptional are "Avant la bagarre" and "Ne sois pas si bête." France Gall offers a wise range of styles in this compilation. While the selections are uneven as to quality, there's a lot that's really good. The songs are happy, varied, satisfying, and very good as evocative of the 1960's French music. In general, that music was much better than its detractors painted it. Especially the amusing Sacré Charlemagne: surely the best expression of children everywhere to the dubious experience of attending school.

Even if you don't understand French, this CD by France Gall is worth getting and listening to! Just listening to it lightens my mood, even while I'm doing busy work.

I liked this album a lot. Though France Gall doesn't have a strong voice, she does a good job of providing some interesting singing. She was one of the "Ye-Ye" girls of the 1960's.

The "Ye-Ye Girls" were not rockers like a Nancy Sinatra or even Lesley Gore. They didn't pretend to be singers, but mostly good looking girls who tried to vocalize.

France Gall does her best work on such delights as "Sacre Charlemagne" in which she talks about the misfortune of having to go to school and blames it on Charlemagne!!

Songs like "Bebe Requin" and "Baby Pop" are a lot of fun too.
Her version of Serge Gainsbourg's "Les Sucettes" supposedly had a sexual double meaning and sports a catchy tune.

"L'Amerique" is Gall's vision of what the United States represented to French teenagers.

This is a fun album despite Gall being out-of-tune on some songs.
The recording has good sound quality and is recommended.

Melodies are just beautiful. Voice is exquisite. Everything is "typically french" here. France's father was Robert Gall, a composer whose "La Mama" song for Charles Aznavour became one of the greatest hits of the century in France.

They had me hooked on this France Gall collection sampling the title track sound byte when I heard "Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son" which (if it translates to another tune - my not speaking French) is a cover of one of my all-time favorite "Twinkle" tunes: "Lonely Singing Doll"! Outside of that, the other songs in this collection don't seem to be covers of anything else, so it's always pleasing to me as a collector to find some "new" material from the 60s I hadn't heard before! France Gall is (agreeably to other posters) both childlike and "Ye-Ye", but I happen to enjoy that. This collection to me doesn't let the listener down even on the lesser things.