Mar201010

4

Zoo bi zoo bi zoo

I suppose not too many people would associate “funk” or “groove” with French music. Well…that’s their loss.

“Groove is in the heart”, as ye olde Deee-Lite adage goes.

French band Zoo were an exception. Initially a 9-piece group, with Joël Daydé as lead singer in 1969, who quickly left the band to pursue his own solo career (as “Daydé”), Zoo certainly had the grooves, the heart and the soul.

In 1970 and to replace Daydé, the band put up an ad for a singer in Brit mag Melody Maker. Subsequently, British singer Ian Bellamy stepped in and a year later, Zoo put out their most successful single in history, “Hard Times, Good Times”. Here’s the scopitone!

But whoa, hoooold on there! “Tupamaros”, the single’s instrumental B-side, kicks this already amazing tune on its derrière! A few people noticed too, like NYC’s WABC-FM, who took on “Tupamaros” as theme song for its Soul music show.

Zoo went on to play with French superstars Eddy Mitchell and Nicoletta, amongst others, and released two LPs, until 1972.

Recently, the band reformed in France, playing a live show in January 2010, which will soon be available on CD.

In the meantime, here’s Tupamaros!:

Zoo – Tupamaros



Feb201014

0

Love is a Headache

For this Valentines Day, who better to teach us about love and all that rubbish than Anthony Quinn?

That’s right, Zorba the Greek recorded an entire album of “love songs”, or rather, of him pondering about “love” while most likely drunk in a studio, along with the Harold Spina Singers and Orchestra.

If you have difficulties expressing your emotions to someone you love, let Anthony Quinn show you how it’s done.

In “What is Love”, Quinn tells his long time wife romantic gems such as “I don’t even know that I love you NOW! but I’m aah…comf-ta-bull-ah”, or “You’re a headache I can put up with” or “I don’t even mind at bedtime when you take off that girdle and you yawn and scratch yer-self” and “I uh….I guess I love you”.

Rest assured, Quinn was not 100% serious when he released this LP. The idea came to him at a party with Spina, when they were both bamboozled and kidding around. It was so funny, they decided to record it.

Shockingly, the ladies failed to appreciate Quinn’s sense of humour, and the album didn’t break any record sales.

I, however, LOVE IT!

Anthony Quinn – In My Own Way…I Love You
Anthony Quinn – What is Love
Anthony Quinn – Love is a Headache



Feb201013

3

Je t’aime bien…moi non plus

Oh…Bourvil. How I love thee.

I suppose, however, that not too many people outside of French speaking countries would know who he was.

Bourvil was a French comedian, mainly known on the big screen for his roles in Louis de Funès movies. His comedy persona usually consisted of a naive, vulnerable and good natured man (much like Jacques Villeret, another gone-too-soon French comedy actor).

An underrated dramatic actor as well, Bourvil’s last role before his untimely death at the age of 53 was in one of my all time favorite movies, by my all time favorite French movie director, Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterful “Le cercle rouge“, in which Bourvil plays a police detective, on Alain Delon and Yves Montand’s pursuit. Casting Bourvil in this role was a brilliant move, and he is shockingly poignant and graceful as detective Mattei.


Bourvil in Le cercle rouge

With Paul Piot’s orchestra, here is Bourvil performing two classic Serge Gainsbourg songs, along with French comedian Jacqueline Maillan (“Pauvre Lola” & “Ça”). In “Ça” (“That”, a cover of “Je t’aime, moi non plus”), Bourvil & Maillan play an old, tired couple sitting in front of the TV and going on about their routine, until they decide to finally do…”that”, amidst lots of giggles!

Both these covers are actually quite endearing.

Come back tomorrow for more !

Bourvil & Maillan – Ça
Bourvil & Maillan – Pauvre Lola



Feb201012

1

Ma femme et mon chien

All right ladies: take a good look at this guy.

Have you not been seduced yet by the double/triple/quadruple vision of extreme hotness?

Oh yes, it’s À la carte’s countdown to Valentine’s Day! In the next couple of days I shall be bringing nothing but LUV songs for all my gentile readers.

First off, in case you haven’t noticed, all the MP3s previously archived on this site are gone. From now on, every post will feature MP3s for 2 WEEKS ONLY! Before you hit the panic button, hit the “Subscribe to à la carte” button on the right hand corner of this blog. You’ll have a choice to subscribe to either my RSS feeds, or to receive email notifications everytime I post to my blog. That way you are sure to never miss a post!

Back to Monsieur Charby : Pierre Charby was a French/Moroccan singer whose claim to fame was that he participated – and didn’t win – in Eurovision’s 1977 contest.

This song is an ode to his fans. It’s also the greatest and creepiest tribute to “fans” I’ve ever heard from any artist in my life.

First off, the song is GREAT and is always a dance floor favorite. It has grooves you would not expect from someone wearing *that* shirt.

Secondly, the lyrics are just insane. In a nutshell, Charby has a huge hard on for his “petites fans chéries” (his “young female fans”). As he puts it, he loves them because they “follow him everywhere”. So, this song is for his psychotic league of fans. Love it! (so does he!)

He also doesn’t have “one wife”, he sings, but “5000 wives”. Big Love!

But how much does he love his fans, I hear you ask? “More than my wife, and my dog”. The greatest love of all!

He’s a keeper!

This one goes out to the Facebook Pierre Charby fan page!

Come back tomorrow until Sunday, February 14 for more Valentine’s Day offerings!

Pierre Charby – Mes petites fans chéries



Jan201030

1

Boss Radio: Flipped Out’s “The Subterranean Jungle”!

Back when I was a wee little kid (cough), I used to listen to this crazy radio show on Montreal’s CKUT radio (McGill’s campus station) called “The Subterranean Jungle”, a fixture of Montreal airwaves for nearly 15 years, from 1985 to 1999. The show was an hommage to the crazy, delirious radio personalities of American AM radio of the 60s, such as the Mad Daddy or Howlin’ Wolf, and to the wild and cool 60s garage punk sounds of those days.

But the impressive thing about the show was its host, Flipped Out Phil. Besides his ability to talk at the speed of light and transform his voice into any character, Flipped Out Phil would interject in rhymes in between each set of songs.

Flipped Out impressed whoever listened, regardless of their musical tastes. I remember a few years back a very serious jazz music host from CKUT telling me that it took him 5 years to realise the show was broadcast *live* and was not, in fact, a rehearsed or edited tape.

The show influenced a great number or people, myself included, and musicians, most of whom later formed Montreal’s flourishing garage scene of the 90s.

Well behold: “The Subterranean Jungle” is now archived, finally!

Flipped Out is one of my best friends in the world, and I’m very happy this project has finally been brought to life, as we had talked about digitising his shows for many years now. What seemed like an overwhelming task (15 years of weekly shows!) has now been seen through, thanks to friends who stepped in to help. Now, with this wonderful invention called the Internet, the rest of the world can finally hear this great staple of Montreal radio.

His wife, cartoonist Sophie Cossette (mentioned before on this site), designed his website and voilà! Blast your ears off:

http://www.flippedoutphil.com/

Flipped Out



Jan201009

1

Amy Winehouse, eat your heart out

*photo taken from Last FM*

The first time I heard Amy Winehouse, I was immediately reminded of this 45 I had of a female duo called “Barbara and Brenda”. Her voice, singing style and even her songs were all similar to (and not as good as) this record.

Barbara and Brenda were a niece & aunt duo consisting of Barbara and Brenda Gaskins (although they are also sometimes referred to as cousins). They recorded a string of singles on Heidi and Dynamo Records, and this one, according to Mr. Google, was their first release (on Avanti). And what a song! This record has followed me to every DJ night I’ve played at in the last 15 years and has always consistently been a hit on the dance floor, even though it’s most certainly not in mint condition. And I am not lying when I say that I’ve been asked now and again by some confused young’uns which Amy Winehouse single this was.

Brenda quit the music biz early on but Barbara later married, changed her name to Barbara Roy and became the singer and songwriter for Roulette label’s soul band Ecstasy, Passion and Pain.

In 1986, the lovely lady had a dance hit called “Gotta See you Tonight“.

And of course, this was the single’s cover photo:

Enjoy!

Barbara and Brenda – Let’s Get Together (1963, Avanti)



Dec200931

2

Bonne année! Happy New Year!


Bonne année à tous les lecteurs de à la carte !
Happy New Year to all à la carte readers!

While I have your attention, I suggest you take the time in the next month to dig all the music you can grab on this blog, because I will be taking down all the MP3s as of February 1st, 2010. From now on, all posts will offer links to downloads, like most other music blogs do. If you are scared of missing a post, please feel free to subscribe to my feeds (at the right corner of this page) or follow my blog on Facebook’s Networked Blogs (scroll down this page for the link). This is for obvious reasons, but also because a lot of the songs featured on this blog will soon be made available on a CD comp, which I will tell you more about when the appropriate time comes.

Happy New Year to everyone, and if you drink, don’t drive!! C’est pas prudent!

Go Michèle!

Michèle Richard – C’est pas prudent!



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