Pardon My French by Norman Bates

Favourite français artists et their meilleurs works à my avis.

100; c'est a bit short; désolé Julien Baer, Syd Matters, Monsieur Saï, Mathématiques modernes, Sapho, St Germain, Noir désir, Yeti Lane, Angil, Klub des loosers, De Crécy, et beaucoup more.

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1. (2) Up1
Bien... Si Bien 
Compilation
Buy album United States
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Bourvil is more famous today for his humorous parts in countless French comedys of the 50s and 60s, and for his part as a policemean in Melville's Le Cercle Rouge. He was, however, a good singer too, generally playing the part he had trained in cabaret, i.e. the village idiot. But he could also sing this ("C'était bien" - "It was good", a melanchory memory of when the narrator used to dance with his girl):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXV-1ZebdBs
[First added to this chart: 11/03/2012]
Year of Release:
2005
Appears in:
Rank in 2005:
None
Rank in 2000s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Boris Vian was a poet, a novelist, a trumpet player, and a singer. He was an early influence on young Gainsbourg. He sang wrily humorous songs with incredible class, and no technique at all. Brilliant.
"Je bois" ("I drink"), where Boris enumerates the reasons why he drinks (including the wondrous "Pour oublier ma gueule / To forget my face")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhdgLe57F4Y
[First added to this chart: 11/03/2012]
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
221
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Aznavour had an incredible span in the early sixties, with brilliantly orchestrated music hall chanson and wonderfully crafted simple cruel lyrics. Check also "Il Faut Savoir" (1961), or any good best-of compilation.
"Monsieur est mort" (Monsieur is dead), Monsieur being the rich gentleman who employed the narrator.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0esjuxFTLM
[First added to this chart: 11/03/2012]
Year of Release:
1961
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16
Rank in 1961:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
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4. (5) Up1
L'intégrale 
Compilation
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A mathematician teacher, Lapointe was also a no-nonsense lyricist, spitting his hilarious plays on words and sounds at frightening speed and with his cruel, implacable absurdous logic.

"Saucisson de cheval" (Horse sausage) is utterly untranslatable, but it's great :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9HshYGmMCA
[First added to this chart: 11/03/2012]
Year of Release:
1998
Appears in:
Rank in 1998:
None
Rank in 1990s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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He wrote the music to Godard's Le Mépris and countless other beautiful scores.

"Camille" (from Le Mépris, 1963)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ3yN0m5Gk0
[First added to this chart: 11/03/2012]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank in 2000:
None
Rank in 2000s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Jo Privat was a "musette" accordion musician, meaning he played dance songs for popular bars along the rivers of the Parisian countryside. He was also a close friend of the Reinhardt family (he covers "Minor Swing" and "Nuages" in this lovely LP), which is why you can see him and his band bringing a copy of the vinyl to Django's widow in her caravan on the cover of "Manouche Partie". There couldn't be a French music chart without "musette" and accordion.

"Java Manouche" ("java" was a very popular dance in "bals musette", "manouche" means "gipsy")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZp0TaO3YmU
[First added to this chart: 11/03/2012]
Year of Release:
1961
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3
Rank in 1961:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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When he began singing, around 65-66, Dutronc sounded like the French version of a garage chanson singer. Check it out :
"Et moi et moi et moi" ("And me, me, me")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJm4Ul7hO68
[First added to this chart: 11/03/2012]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
121
Rank in 1966:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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"Psyché Rock" people ! Jerk by Colombier, weird electronic sounds by electro-acoustics pioneer Henry, choreography by Béjart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOqfWj0HqNE
[First added to this chart: 11/03/2012]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
14
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Countless bizarre avant-pop soundtracks. Here, a sample from La Scoumoune featuring Belmondo :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8RJ7xjigmo
[First added to this chart: 11/03/2012]
Year of Release:
1998
Appears in:
Rank in 1998:
None
Rank in 1990s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
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  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
This is from one of Brigitte's first LPs on Saravah, a collaboration with the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Brigitte always remained impossible to categorize, all her 70s work, solo or with her companion Areski Belkacem, must be listened to. Adventurous and poetic.
"Comme à la radio" (Like on the radio)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVuCaVUda0s
[First added to this chart: 11/03/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
378
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10

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Pardon My French composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 1 1%
1960s 5 5%
1970s 20 20%
1980s 15 15%
1990s 32 32%
2000s 27 27%
2010s 0 0%
2020s 0 0%
Country Albums %


France 90 90%
Reunion 5 5%
Algeria 1 1%
Netherlands 1 1%
Switzerland 1 1%
Belgium 1 1%
Mixed Nationality 1 1%
Compilation? Albums %
No 96 96%
Yes 4 4%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%

Pardon My French chart changes

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Pardon My French ratings

Average Rating: 
92/100 (from 19 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

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85/100
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07/14/2023 23:01 MadhattanJack  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 15584/100
 
100/100
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03/18/2018 17:47 jnfbn  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 31496/100
 
95/100
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12/03/2017 21:55 Onater  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 46290/100
 
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07/03/2017 20:59 Yann  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3983/100
  
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12/21/2015 00:16 mostlymor  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 4689/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
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This chart is rated in the top 1% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 92.2/100, a mean average of 95.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 95.2/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 5.4.

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Pardon My French favourites

Showing all 15 members who have added this chart as a favourite

Pardon My French comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 18 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
90/100
From 07/03/2017 21:03
Great work. Great to see Dutronc, Diabologum, Daho etc.
Have you tried Arnaud Fleurent Didier "La Reproduction" (2010): amazing album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 03/18/2015 14:58
thanks for writing down all the notes and for sharing these albums Norman.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 11/13/2014 16:10
Je pensais connaitre un peu la chanson francaise, mais en fait j'ai encore plein de choses à découvrir. Merci pour ce classement très documenté !
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 10/29/2014 23:05
Excellent. Impressionnant. Grosses recherches. De Roubaix dans le Top 10, j'en chialerais :-)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 08/20/2014 23:58
An excellent and educational chart! Thanks for introducing me to Françoiz Breut, Kas Product and many other artists.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 06/08/2014 13:26
Hier j'ai enfin écouté "Remué" de Dominique A. Sublime !
C'est uniquement grâce à toi que je suis allé dans la section Variété Française et je t'en remercie ;)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/08/2013 00:34
My time to use this to discover French stuff.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 08/26/2013 08:37
spectacular list.
So many artists I don´t know (mayby nobody outside france?!)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 07/18/2013 13:04
Ah bah alors là pour le coup, jmen fous j'écris en français. Boby Lapointe et Bourvil dans le top 10 quoi ! \o/ Trop trop bien!
Je te met 90 parce qu'il manque à mon sens AU MOINS un des 3 suivants : Brassens, Brel ou Ferré. Mais bon sinon, au poil ce classement.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 07/02/2013 19:51
You are awesome. Thank you, Sir.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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