Formed and managed by
Claude Bolling in 1964,
Les Parisiennes were a kicky
French pop vocal quartet whose modest Terpsichorian talents were utilized during carefully choreographed bouts of televised entertainment. During a four year period they concocted no less than four albums for the
Philips label. In 2007,
Fremeaux & Associes amassed all of these in an unprecedented 71-track triple-disc
Parisiennes anthology. Unlike previous samplers and "best-of" collections, this set re-links the group with
Bolling and will likely be found listed under his name.
Les Parisiennes' campy novelty music is mainly based in the
Dixieland/
trad jazz pop trend that swept through Europe and the U.K. during the late '50s and early '60s, which accounts for the periodic onset of
go-go rock & roll and jet set "twist" arrangements. This means that
Les Parisiennes were alternately accompanied by a slaphappy nostalgia band consisting of banjo, tuba, ragtime piano, trumpet, and tailgate trombone or a
pop/rock bubblegum studio ensemble. With the exception of the moody
"Je Te Deteste," almost all of the tunes are weirdly geeked exercises in corn taken at brisk tempi. The most intriguing episodes are a Japanese routine called
"Yamamoto Kakapote," a thrilling revival of a traditional
vaudeville music hall favorite retitled as
"Tha Ma Ra Boum Di He," and a perfectly proportioned cover of
Al Hirt's lucrative hit
"Java." Not for the squeamish. ~ arwulf arwulf
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