Customer Reviews

Twistin' the Rock V.9

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Gillian Hills was a great talent who managed to maintain a minor film and musical career in the 60's and early 70's. She is best remembered as the Brigitte Bardot want a be in the fun British cult film Beat Girl where she played a bratty bad girl. But she also made a number of EP's in the ye ye genre and if you like France Gall and Sylvie Vartan you'd probably like Gillian. In her short singing career she tackled a number of different styles from jazzy (Jean-Lou) to rock (Oubile) to folkie (Rien N'est Change).
Gillian also wrote a number of her songs, the strongest of which is Rien N'est Change, where she managed to successfully emulate Francoise Hardy. My favorite song though is strangely enough a cover. Usually I'm lukewarm to covers but Rentre Sans Moi is every bit as good as The Zombies' Leave Me Be. She adds her own touch. It's just not a carbon copy. Gillian also collaborated with other artists like Les Chaussettes Noires with C'est Bien Mieux Comme Ça and Serge Gainsbourg. Unfortunately the later is not included in this package. Both of these videos can be found on the internet and are a joy to watch. After her entertainment career, Gillian continued on with another artistic profession illustration. She proved to be excellent in this as well.

Hills is probably best known to American audiences for her starring role as a rich teen with a juvenile delinquent streak in the 1959 film Beat Girl. She can also be spotted in such cultural icons as A Clockwork Orange and Blow Up. Her music career started with novelty sides that included recitations, cha-chas and sound effects, and went on to include French language covers of Helen Shapiro's "Don't Treat Me Like a Child" and "Kiss `n' Run" ("Mon Coeur Est Prêt" and "Les Jolis Coeurs"), Bobby Helm's "Jingle Bell Rock" ("La Tête A L'Envers"), and others. She eventually escaped the overly cute arrangements, found a bit of rock `n' roll in the French yé-yé movement and a bit more depth by writing her own songs. "C'Est Bien Mieux Comme Ca" provides some twist action with a guitar solo modeled after an early Beach Boys record and a cover of the Shirelles' "Mama Said" ("En Dansant Le Twist") is rudimentary rather than overdone. More successful are the evocation of Francoise Hardy's forlorn ennui in "Avec Toi," "Qui a Su," and "Rien N'Est Changé," the blues "Ne T'en Fait Pas" and "Maintenant Il Téléphone," and the terrific beat pop "Oublie." The set closes with a fine cover of the Zombies' "Leave Me Be" ("Rentre Sans Moi"). Disc one and the first half of disc two are mostly forgettable, but the second half of disc two is filled with winners. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional reviews. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]