Customer Reviews

Polnareffs 1

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Yet another example of the superiority of French pop. 1971 also gave the world Gainsbourg's "Melody Nelson" and Francoise Hardy's "La Question". Like these other masterpieces "Polnareff's" takes huge musical chances with stunning chords, melodies and beautifully deranged orchestrations. French pop rules!

I would assume the majority of people arriving at this page have gotten here with some sense of purpose. Perhaps you've read an article about Michel Polnareff in an old Mojo, or you've been enjoying ye-ye and Gainsbourg and are looking for something similar.

This disc is most certainly worth having. You might be surprised at the complexity of the productions contained within. For one thing, the whole disc is heavily orchestrated, with plenty of strings, percussion, horns, piano, electric piano, organ, acoustic and electric guitars, sound effects, female backing vocals, etc. For 1971, the production on these recordings is absolutely phenomenal, giving such well-produced LPs as The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust or Big Star's #1 Record serious competition. It'll put a good stereo through the paces nicely.

The songs range from hauntingly familiar-sounding ballads to orchestral interludes to fairly rockin', catchy, uptempo pop numbers, all carefully sequenced to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Although the tunes generally do not run together, the effect is akin to that produced by side two of The Beatles' Abbey Road, except with perhaps even more thematic variety, and certainly more variety in orchestration and arrangements. I'm not saying this is the "French Abbey Road," but that's the best comparison I can muster.

Mr Polnareff's voice is strong throughout. He's much more of a "singer" than Dutronc, Hallyday, Gainsbourg. On the rock songs, think of a much less gritty, less R&B, and more silken voiced Tom Jones and that would be a good starting point. Then again, sometimes he sounds an awful lot like Udo Jurgens (and if anyone who ever reads this knows of whom I speak, they'll get a good laugh...)

I would consider Polnareff's an essential FrenchPop milestone. It was obviously a labor of love for Mr P., and for sheer variety and depth of soundscapes it holds up well against recent discs by Mercury Rev, The Flaming Lips, or even Dungen.