THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Wizzz! saga continues with a fresh selection of ’60s and ’70s rarities gathered from the unchartered nooks of the French-pop galaxy. Stars, underbosses and unknown artists rub shoulders on this tangy new compilation. Take off on a sonic journey through the starry night of the late ’60s.
On the playlist: Al Awni Bouarane, better known as Abdelwahab Doukkali, was one of the greatest figures of Middle-Eastern music. Je Suis Jaloux, sung in French, was released on the label Philips in 1967. Tom — a crepuscular mid-tempo with a touch of soul produced for Barclay in 1968 — is François Bernheim’s first solo release. Michel Handson signs the B-side Le Bric a Brac with a touch of hip-hop in 1973 for the label Butterfly. Boeing, a track from the Swede Matty Kemer‘s only single, a tribute to freedom and aviation, was recorded for the label Disque d’Or.
Gilles Janeyrand’s track Filles 2000 was recorded in 1969 at the Studio des Dames. Albert-Henri Rykaert aka Alain Ricar was a comedian, singer, and songwriter, performing in cabarets or for the theatre, in Paris and in Belgium. Paul Dupret captivates with Je T’aime Trop, the debonair B-side of the one and only single he released for the label Vogue in 1970. Richard Hertel’s first single as a singer on the label Liberty, Patatras Hola, also sees him play the drums and organ. Perfect groove, amused lyrics, and atonal gimmick.
From a mainly folk corpus emerges Michel Didier’s flashy cover of Rainbow Chaser by the English band Nirvana, here renamed Comme Un Arc-En-Ciel, soaked in trippy effects by Jean-Claude Vannier. Vedette international is the work of the mysterious Liberatore. Alain Serco signs a frantic homage to his best friend Kiki, the B-side of his sole single, released on South Records at the beginning of the ’70s. Gérard Gray, sensitive to rare or exotic instruments, search for a “different” sound and put together demos tinkering with a Revox tape deck and a variety of object for Le Poisson Vert.
Le Grand Méchant Loup by François Faray revisits Charles Perrault’s tale of sexual liberation, yielding an ambitious glam-rock track. Patrice Lamy is a romantic singer from Lausanne. Laisse-Moi Médire Que Je T’aime is the B-side of his third record. The Tunisian crooner K.R. Nagati’s Sidi Bou pays tribute to a summer romance and the town of Sidi Bou Saïd, perched on the cliffs overlooking Carthage and Gulf of Tunis. Les Missiles are a group of four buddies from the city of Oran (Algeria). The band’s sound on Le (Nouvelle) Guerre de 100 Ans veers towards garage, or even pre-psychedelic music, filled with sound effects.”
