What can be said about this album? It is, above all, a quirky, enjoyable piece of flimsiness, and the cover is bound to delight anyone with a hair fetish. No-one should take this too seriously or expect any kind of depth, but it holds up nicely as an early-1960s French pop record. Stylistically, it's a very rich mixture of just about anything from yé-yé, chanson, tango, jazz, ballad... you name it, it's probably there. Most of the sound is carried by the arrangements of musical director Claude Bolling, who was firmly rooted in the jazz idiom and delivers some good work here, even though the highlight of this album is still Serge Gainsbourgs 85-second miniature "L'appareil à sous". This is fine, fluffy and perfectly enjoyable for everybody with a sense of humour.
By: hprill