Tous les garçons et les filles (album)

Tous les garçons et les filles is the debut studio album by French singer-songwriter Françoise Hardy, released in November 1962 on Disques Vogue. Like many of her following records, it was originally released without a title and to be referred to, later on, by the name of its most popular song.[1] Released when Hardy was 18 years old, the album was a commercial success and "went on to top charts".[2] It was originally released in the United States under the title The "Yeh-Yeh" Girl From Paris! in 1965 on "proto-world music label" Four Corners.[3]

Tous les garçons et les filles
Studio album by
Françoise Hardy
ReleasedNovember 1962 (France)
StudioStudio Vogue, Villetaneuse, France
GenreYé-yé
Length28:55
LanguageFrench
LabelDisques Vogue
ProducerJacques Wolfsohn
Françoise Hardy chronology
Tous les garçons et les filles
(1962)		 Le premier bonheur du jour
(1963)
Singles from Tous les garçons et les filles
  1. "Oh oh chéri" / "J’suis d’accord"
    Released: 1962
  2. "J’suis d’accord" / "Tous les garçons et les filles""
    Released: 1962
  3. "Ça a raté"
    Released: 1962
  4. "J’ai jeté mon cœur" / On se plaît""
    Released: February 1996
  5. "Tous les garçons et les filles"
    Released: 1963
  6. "Le temps de l’amour" / "Ton meilleur ami"
    Released: 1963

Composition

Tous les garçons et les filles is a yé-yé album that combines elements of rockabilly, folk, jazz and blues.[2][4] Marc Hogan of Pitchfork felt that the album "finds an enduring middle ground between rockabilly shimmy and Gallic introspection".[5] It has been noted for its simplicity, featuring a minimalist jazz percussion, prominent bass, and twangy guitars.[2][5] Stewart Mason of AllMusic considered the album to be "the '60s pop equivalent of Shaker furniture: free of ornamentation and exquisitely simple."[3] This distanced Hardy from the "bombastic" music of her yé-yé contemporaries.[4] John Paul of Spectrum Culture felt that, although Hardy's music has "its origins in the American girl group sounds and their trademark harmonies," it is interesting that it "[features] little more than this stripped down approach, allowing for her voice to ring through clearly without being saddled with superfluous instrumentation and backing vocals."[4]

Although Tous les garçons et les filles followed the formula of the yé-yé movement—characterized by attractive teenage girls singing innocent pop songs about adolescence—Hardy set herself apart from her peers by writing most of her own material. Moreover, her love-focused lyrics were "devoid of older, male sexualization or control, a privilege not many others of her era enjoyed.[2] Hardy's vocal delivery has been described as "disarmingly conversational".[5] Mason felt that throughout the record, she sings "in an attractive but chilly drop-dead monotone that's far removed from the perkiness of almost every other female singer (minus Nico and Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las) of the '60s."[3] Hazel Cills wrote in 2015:

Her lyrics would never hew this close to yé-yé traditions again: See the "whoa-oh-oh" echoing on tracks like "Il Est Tout Pour Moi" and her cover of Bobby Lee Trammell's "Oh Oh Chéri". The title track "Tous Les Garcons Et Les Filles" remains an iconic vision of Hardy's aesthetic: frank music for romantic wallflowers.

Legacy
Professional ratings
Retrospective reviews
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Exclaim!(10/10)[1]
Pitchfork(8.6/10)[2]

Hardy's output during the early 1960s saw her "artistic stock rise above the teenybopper fray", allowing her career to last "well beyond yé-yé's faddishness."[4] It established Hardy as one of the few French pop stars of her era to cross over to international audiences. She continued to record frequently in England and France, serving as a muse to designers like Yves Saint Laurent, inspiring rock artists such as Bob Dylan and Mick Jagger, and "[keeping] company with members of the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and the like.[2][1] She remains "an icon as both a songwriter and public figure", and Tous les garçons et les filles continues to be acclaimed in retrospect, considered a classic of the French chanson.[1][6] Stewart Mason of AllMusic considered it "an outstanding record."[3] Writing for Exclaim!, Cosette Schulz described Hardy as, "a master of crafting simple but stellar tracks."[1] Pitchfork's Hazel Cills praised Hardy's songwriting, which she called "profoundly lonely, frequently insecure." She further wrote: "Hardy’s songs feel timeless in how they emphasize a universal dream for pure love. Is this music antique in its sound? Surely. In its sentiment? Hardly."[2] In 2017, Pitchfork included Tous les garçons et les filles in its list of The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s at number 90, with Marc Hogan writing: "Her music would grow more intricate and eclectic over the years, most notably on 1971's bossa nova–tinged masterwork La question, but the reasons she ruled over the yé-yé period are apparent on her debut album."[5]

The album's most popular song, "Tous les garçons et les filles", also continues to receive praise by critics. Robert Dimery included the track in his 2010 reference book. 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die: and 10,001 You Must Download.[7] Pitchfork placed it at number 170 in its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s", with Joe Tangari writing: "Hardy's vocal is a nonchalantly solitary midnight waltz through swinging Paris."[8] Rockdelux and writer Giannis Petridis listed the song as one of the best of the 20th century.[9] Several French writers and publications have included "Tous les garçons et les filles" in their lists of the best French songs of all time, including Christian Eclimont, Hervé Bourhis, Le Nouvel Observateur, Pierre Saka and Stan Cuesta.[9]

Australian plunderphonics group the Avalanches sampled "Oh oh chéri" in their acclaimed 2000 album, Since I Left You.[10] "Le temps de l’amour" was covered by April March and Vanessa Paradis, and was included in the soundtrack for Moonrise Kingdom, a 2012 film by Wes Anderson.[11][12] Moreover, "Tous les garçons et les filles" has been covered by several artists in various languages, including Lill-Babs, Ginette Reno, Catherine Spaak, Steve Perry, Eurythmics and Gigliola Cinquetti, among others.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Françoise Hardy; all music is composed by Françoise Hardy and Roger Samyn, except where noted.

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Tous les garçons et les filles"  3:08
2."Ça a raté"  2:02
3."La fille avec toi"  2:40
4."Oh oh chéri" (original title "Uh Oh")Bobby Lee Trammell, ad. by Jil and Jan.[13] 2:22
5."Le temps de l’amour"Lucien Morisse, André SalvetJacques Dutronc[14]2:27
6."Il est tout pour moi"  1:58
7."On se plaît"  2:09
8."Ton meilleur ami"  2:10
9."J’ai jeté mon cœur"  2:33
10."Il est parti un jour"  1:49
11."J’suis d’accord"  2:05
12."C’est à l’amour auquel je pense"  3:10
Total length:28:55

Personnel

Editions

LP records: first editions in English-speaking world
  •  Canada, 1964: Trans-Canada Record/Disques Vogue (LD-600).[15]
  •  United Kingdom, 1964: Pye Records(NPL 18094).
  •  Australia, 1965: Disques Vogue/Festival (SVL 933.199).
  •  New Zealand, 1965: Disques Vogue/Festival (SVL 933.199).
  •  South Africa, 1965: Disques Vogue (VGL 7002).
  •  United States, 1965: The "Yeh-Yeh" Girl From Paris!, 4 Corners of the World (FCS‑4208).

Some reissues on CD

Reissues on 180g Vinyl
  •  United Kingdom, September 2014: The Original Debut Album From The French Icon, Not Now Music (NOTLP134).
  •  USA, January 2016: Tous les garçons et les filles, Light in the Attic Records/Future Days Recordings (FDR 614)

References
  1. Schulz, Cosette (October 15, 2015). "Françoise Hardy – Tous les garçons et les filles / Le premier bonheur du jour / Mon amie la rose / L'Amitié / La maison où j'ai grandi". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  2. Cills, Hazel. "Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  3. Mason, Stewart. Françoise Hardy at Allmusic. Retrieved October 14, 2012. Note: This review is of the American release entitled The "Yeh-Yeh" Girl from Paris!
  4. Paul, John (October 27, 2015). "Françoise Hardy: Tous les garçons et les filles, Le Premier Bonheur du jour, Mon Amie la rose, L'Amitié, La Maison oú j'ai grandi". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  5. Hogan, Marc (August 22, 2017). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  6. Méndez, Antonio (March 29, 2006). Guía Del Pop Y El Rock 60, Aloha Poprock (in Spanish). Editorial Visión Libros. p. 180. ISBN 978-8498212396.
  7. Dimery, Robert (November 2010). 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die: And 10,001 You Must Download. Universe Books. ISBN 978-0789320896.
  8. Tangari, Joe (18 August 2006). "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s: 200-151". Pitchfork Media. Condé Nast. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  9. "Tous les garçons et les filles". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  10. "Oh Oh Chéri". WhoSampled. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  11. "Le Temps De L'amour". WhoSampled. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  12. Moonrise Kingdom (Original Soundtrack) (Audio CD) |format= requires |url= (help). ABKCO. May 22, 2012. ASIN B007PSH7R4.
  13. Pseudonyms of Gilbert Guenet and Jean Setti, cousins of Jacques Wolfsohn; they wrote some successful songs for Johnny Hallyday.
  14. SP Vogue (EPL 7966) : "Barbara", "Par le bout du Nez", Ray Charles, "Le Temps de l'amour" ("Fort Chabrol").
  15. Songs "La Fille avec toi" and "Il est parti un jour" don’t exist on this record.
  16. With cover replica published in 1965 in the US.
  17. An compilation containing 12 tracks of the album with cover replica published in 1965 in UK, with 10 tracks of the album Françoise Hardy canta per voi in italiano.
  18. With cover replica published in 1962 in France.
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