Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son is the legendary French vocalist's fifth album. Released in 1965, it is best remembered for its
Serge Gainsbourg-penned title track that won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965. As a whole, however, it offered a shift in direction from saccharine ye-ye pop and embraced a decidedly French version of the Mod and "psychedelic" sounds coming over from England and the U.S.
Produced by
Denis Bourgeois and arranged by
Alain Goraguer, the material found here -- penned in 1964 and 1965 -- is more consistent in quality than her earlier records. Another
Gainsbourg composition, "Laisse Tomber Les Filles," borrowed its vamp directly from
Neal Hefti's surfadelic "Batman Theme" groove and is among the set's many highlights. Another is the hip Euro-pop-cum-jazzy fusion of "Le Coeur Qui Jazze" by her father
Roger Gall and
Goraguer that provides an early example of the more disciplined and mature singer who would emerge during the '70s. "On Se Ressemble Toi et Moi" is a melancholy, melodic pop/rock ballad with horn and strings that equals the best mid-'60s
Burt Bacharach/
Hal David material, while "Le Temps de La Rentree" is an unusual, jerky-tempoed, minor-key track that melds harpsichord and driving guitar, it's
Gall's best rock number of the decade. These two tracks demand a place on any responsible anthology of
Gall's best work. "T'Avait Prevenue" -- also penned by her father with
Vline Buggy and
Guy Magenta -- is modeled on the girl group sound pioneered by
Phil Spector and
Luther Dixon. "Un Prince Charmant," by
Jacques Datin and
Maurice Vidalin, is a catchy ye-ye number delivered with a bright, colorful horn chart framing an unforgettable melody. There are songs that aren't quite as successful. The
Roger Gall/
Alain Goraguer composition "Au Clair de La Lune" is an example: Its formulaic melody and twee production combine to reveal
Gall's limited vocal range. "Nounours" is sad lyrically, yet bright and tuneful musically, as it weds chanson to breezy American-styled pop. Closer "Bonne Nuit" (also penned by her father and
Goraguer) combines a nursery rhyme melody and lyric with jangly folk pop instrumentation to send the record off optimistically. While
Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son doesn't approach the high-water mark set by
1968, it does offer some of
Gall's greatest material from the era and points to the direction she would follow through the end of the decade and into the '70s. ~ Thom Jurek
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