Les Baxter "Percussions tropicales" Mode Disques, 196?

Hey ! Wait a minute...this is definitely not french, this is not even european, this is american ! ok, i know, when i started this blog, i've decided to devote it to lost (or not so lost) european and french vinyl records...but once in a while i will make a twist to my own rule and moreover, this is a french pressing.
No need to be an Exotica specialist to recognize Les Baxter's 1963 "Soul of the drums" LP cover behind this strange "Percussions tropicales" title and this is exactly what it is.
Everything i would say about Les Baxter would be less than what you'll find about him here and there so...
Exotica has never been a genre of its own here in France, even if some astonishing records wich now belong to this musical field were recorded in this country (Michel Magne's "Tropical fantasy" or Nino Nardini/Roger Roger's "Jungle obsession" of course, but one can also add "Gainsbourg Percussions" Lp to this list).
In France, Calypso, Mambo, Cha Cha or any "Quiet village" or "Jungle drums" covers were labelled under the same "Tropicale" or "Exotique" generic names. Some of the best known lp's from the Exotica masters were available, Martin Denny of course and Arthur Lyman with Taboo 1 & 2 released as "Les sons exotiques d'Arthur Lyman vol.1 et 2", but i had never heard of any Les Baxter french release until i found this LP and here it is...

By the way, i'm quite sure that my vinyl pops and clicks LP rip can't be mistaken with this 2 on 1 CD version, but i want you to know that it is available in this format.

See you soon !

The zip file contains high resolution cover scans and tracks encoded at 192 kbps.

percussions tropicales

André Popp "Le coeur en fête" Disc AZ, 1972

You have heard about the loony André Popp of the "Delirium in hi-fi" LP, you have listened to his sexy arrangements on the Francine Laine 45rpm, now be prepared for the groovy progressive Popp of the early seventies !
If i judge by the André Popp record collector's standards (there must be at least 4 or 5 of them in this damned world), this is what we can call a rare one.
Released in Germany, Canada and France, out of print about one year after its release it has never been reissued or compiled ever since. This is quite unbelievable since this record contains the grooviest track ever recorded by André Popp, a 9 minutes long instrumental version of his own "Pour celui qui viendra", a song written for Marie Laforêt in the sixties.
It also contains other cool tracks like the groovy "Theme in G minor" or "Ophelia", a beautiful wordless female vocal song.
There was no written orchestrations on this LP wich was conceived in "the broadest spirit of Pop-Music" (quote from the liner notes). With the help of musicians like André Arpino or Raymond Guiot, Popp went Pop for the time of a recording session.

See you soon !


Some links...

Space age Popp : Biography of André Popp on the Space Age Pop Music website

Popp Musique : Excellent André Popp compilation released by Tricatel, the label of Bertrand Burgalat


and now, to the music...


The zip file contains high resolution cover scans and tracks encoded at 256 kbps.

le coeur en fête

Nancy Holloway "Hello Dolly" Concert Hall, 1969

Because it contains her incredible cover of the Soul classic "Hurt so bad", this record is on the "want list" of quite a lot of people, but the fact is that few ever heard it entirely.
Born in the U.S.A. Nancy Holloway became famous in France in the mid sixties with her cover of the Bacharach classic "Don't make me over" renamed "T'en va pas comme ça" for the french market, she then began to perform on stage in France and abroad. she surely met Daniel Janin at the legendary "Olympia" of Paris, he was in charge of the orchestra there from 1961 to 1964.
In 1969 (or early1970, the exact date of recording remains unknown), both of them went to the german town of Cologne to record what you're about to hear.
One look at Nancy's discography tells us that this "Hello Dolly" LP is something special. It marks the end of her "Ye Ye" period.
I can't help but think of an other LP when i listen to it, Shirley Bassey's "Something", the album Johnny Harris produced and arranged. I think Daniel Janin succeeded where Johnny Harris failed. While the later push the strings section up in the mix, Daniel Janin put the Bass in front and this Bass has one of the most beautiful sound i've ever heard. Big, fat and groovy...

For more info and sound about Daniel Janin and Nancy Holloway, i greatly recommend the "Mélodie en Soul sol" compilation that the label Kif released in 2002.

...See you soon !

The zip file contains high resolution cover scans and tracks encoded at 192 kbps.

hello dolly

sounds of champaign is offering a rare commercial release of french library music.
The first LP is by the "band" Resonance.
Certainly released to cash in with the minor success of the track "ok Chicago", this LP was put together using the following sources :
The two singles signed by Pierre Bachelet and Mat Camison under the pseudonym of Bacson, "Ok Chicago/Yellow train" and "Moto rock/Safari love". Five tracks composed by Pierre Alain Dahan and available on the 1971 Telemusic LP "Continental Pop sound" (TM-3021) and finally, two tracks composed by Pierre Alain Dahan and Mat Camison, taken from an other Telemusic LP released in 1973, "Discotheque" (TM-3038).
The second disc offers by number06 is an LP by The Peppers, a kind of supergroup of library music session men. Band members were Pierre Alain Dahan, Mat Camison and Tonio Rubio. Since the tracklisting of the original release of this album differs from the one of this double LP set, you may see it share on this page on the future.

Don't miss this and thanks again number06 !

If someone is interested, high resolution cover scans of the Resonance LP and singles can be find in the zip file of the Momoshare link below :

resonance

Claude Bolling "Big piano" Philips, 196?

I found this one about a week ago and to be frank, i was reluctant to take this album back home when i first saw it. Claude Bolling was linked in my record collector's memories to lousy Boogie Woogie/Ragtime records or dull soundtracks. Of course i heard a couple of tracks here and there that were ok, i even heard some which were really good, but i never heard a record by him that stands a high level of quality from the beginning of side one to the end of side two...ho, how i was wrong...
Quite certainly labelled "Twist" and released to cash in the "Twist" craze of the early 60's, what we have here is an excellent Rhythm and Blues instrumental LP with chorus and orchestra. All the tracks except one were written by Ray Charles or were part of his songbook.
My favorite track ? Well, let's say the "Cha-Cha Twist" version of "One mint julep" or maybe the cheap version of the more than famous "What'd i say"...no, i'm quite sure that it's the only original track "Preachin' Charles", no...sorry, i can't make a satisfying choice. I think i really, really like this record, that's why i've decided to make it the first ever LP to be share on this blog.

...More to come, see you soon !


The zip file contains high resolution cover scans and tracks encoded at 192 kbps

Big piano