Monthly Archives: April 2015

Jacques Dutronc

Maybe somebody noticed that Jacques Dutronc was missing from the big wave of tribute albums that crashes French coastlines almost every year. Maybe the 72nd birthday is something of an occassion in Franca. Maybe Jacques isn’t doing well. Maybe somebody thought, what the heck, why not have a string of big French names record a JD-cover? Whatever the reason was, April 28th marked the 72nd birthday of Dutronc, and the release of Bon anniversaire M’sieur Dutronc (Spotify link). Artists like Zaz, Miossec, Brigitte (great version of ‘Opium’, the duet JD recorded with Bambou), Camelia Jordana and JD’s son Thomas all recorded covers. Below, you can watch Zaz sing ‘Il est 5 heures’.

Hollydays

Ready to jump into Elli & Jacno-territory again? Hollydays is a French duo (Elise and Sébastien) who made a little name for themselves with a cover of Niagara’s classic L’Amour a la plage (watch), an acoustic version that got a fairly nice remix (this one) and who debuted last year with an EP with 80s referring synthipop (here). They keep up that reference on their new 3-track EP, featuring this track (video):

Juliette Gréco

  • Posted on 01/04/2015
  • /Under Video

Mark Sullivan offers an April surprise

To welcome in Spring, here is Juliette Gréco in a wonderful performance of Gainsbourg’s ‘La Javanaise’ live on TV in 1991, with Gérard Jouannest at the piano – new on Youtube.

While we wait for the new albums expected in 2015 from Coeur de Pirate, La Grande Sophie and Barbara Carlotti – and CdP’s is not far away now – will any of them be performing their classics at the age of 64, let alone at 86, as here in 2013 at Ramatuelle?

And here is Juliette in her heyday almost 50 years ago, in 1966
with parts of ‘Jolie Môme’ and ‘Un petit poisson, un petit oiseau’ either side of an atmospheric interview, with a glimpse of Georges Brassens. (Though posted by the British Pathe News archive, it is all in French.)

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