Françoise Hardy, “Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles” (Light in the Attic, 2015; original release 1962)
Hardy was a ‘60s female generational rock icon in the Francophone world in a way to which nobody in the Anglosphere came close until Janis & Grace Slick. This is the album that made her name, and it’s sharp, gorgeous pop in a Phil-Spector-in-a-Left-Bank-cafe mode, with Hardy’s lunar, crystalline alto vocals on top.
Try 1, 7
4/17/16

Françoise Hardy, “L’Amitié” (Light In The Attic, 2015; original release 1965)
The melancholy queen of ‘60s French pop, with that distinctive Seine-shimmering-in-high-wind quaver in her voice, is showcased here in an increasingly folk/psych-filigreed style, complete with harpsichord. Like all her ‘60s work, it’s great.
Try 1, 7
4/17/16