France Gall - 1968 - Vinyl Record

This is the strangest record France Gall ever made. Released in 1968, it takes the psychedelia she was flirting with on Baby Pop and commits to it: sitars, tape effects, echoes of the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks and Pet Sounds era Beach Boys running underneath songs that remain unmistakably, stubbornly French.

Much of the credit goes to English expat producer and arranger David Whitaker, who brought an airiness her earlier sessions never had. Serge Gainsbourg contributes two of his oddest pieces here: Nefertiti, and Teenie Weenie Boppie, a bright little pop song about an LSD trip that ends in a drowning. Gall sings both in the same sweet, unbothered voice, which is exactly what makes them land.

Between those poles are Bebe Requin, La Fille D'un Garcon and the closing duet with actor Maurice Biraud, La Petite. An essential record for anyone following where ye-ye went once it got weird. Part of Third Man's series of first authorized North American vinyl pressings of Gall's albums.

Side A
1. Toi Que Je Veux
2. Chanson Indienne
3. Gare A Toi Gargantua
4. Avant La Bagarre
5. Chanson Pour Que Tu M'aimes Un Peu
6. Nefertiti

Side B
1. La Fille D'un Garcon
2. Bebe Requin
3. Teenie Weenie Boppie
4. Les Yeux Bleus
5. Souffler Les Bougies
6. La Petite