My all-time favourite chanteuse is nothing less than a pop and style icon whose appeal is not only timeless but global. She is indeed loved by fans all over the world! She's also one of the most collectable artists ever. I personally own hundreds of her international releases. You'll find here a couple of my reviews, the interview that I conducted with her in 2005, at her Parisian penthouse, as well as my compilation and valuation of her UK and French Discography, all commissioned by Record Collector Magazine. It is complemented by my two features about her Collaborations and Unreleased Material. Additionally, as a bonus to fans and collectors, I'm delighted to add the three other sections that had to be edited out for lack of space. Thanks to the net, the feature can now be seen by all as it should have been ... complete! So here, for the first time anywhere, are my three additional exclusive articles: 'Hardy's Cover Versions Explained', 'The DIY Definitive 'Best Of' Compilation' (with Francoise's own comments) and 'The Complete Foreign-Language Recordings'. Finally 'restored' to its original form, I'm told this is the most comprehensive and authoritative Francoise Hardy feature in existence. Comments welcome alexgerry@googlemail.com (spam filtered).

ADDITIONS (to the above)

In COLLABORATIONS, Add: Adieu Triste Amour and Mon Amour M'A Baise, both performed with Benjamin Biolay, from his 2005 album A L'Origine. Also, a gorgeous song entitled 'Quelqu'un Qui Me Ressemble', originally penned by Etienne Daho for his late 1986 album 'Pop Satori'. She sings it with him and Sylvie Vartan. Lastly, 2006's 'Parentheses' is an album featuring 12 duets.

In UNRELEASED MATERIAL OF THE 60s: This last paragraph was edited out:
Dozens of alternate takes of released material are also gathering dust. Amongst many, Mickey Baker’s production of ‘Mon Amie La Rose’; an early recording of ‘C’Est Le Passé’, entitled ‘Passe Ton Chemin’; different takes of ‘La Maison Ou J’Ai Grandi’, ‘Comme’ and ‘Rendez-Vous D’Automne’. An acoustic version of ‘La Mer, Les Etoiles Et Le Vent’ and a string section-backed ‘Celui Qui Dort’ from 1968, have also survived on tape.

In INTERVIEW, the last question/answer was edited out:
How about your artistic future? Do you still see yourself writing and recording in 10 years’ time?
‘Tomorrow’s another day. The older you get, the quicker time passes. You can still do things at 60, but it might be more difficult at 70. Having said that, my friend Mireille (who ran Le Petit Conservatoire, where Françoise originally studied singing) made her stage comeback at the age of 89! Don’t worry, you won’t catch me doing that in a hurry. All I can say is, I just made this album. I’m completely happy with it, happier than with the previous one, which I already quite liked. I find it very exciting to make a new record, simply because I always hope to better the previous one.’

CORRECTION

In French Discography, LPs: One line has been moved by mistake (presumably thanks to the design dpt!). The listed album: 70s Vogue SLD 761 'Les Grands Succes', £15 ... is in fact a single album, not a 3-LP box set as stated. However, the following one is the 3-lp set (70s Vogue COF 02 'Francoise Hardy', £40)

FRANCOISE HARDY COVERING OTHER ARTISTS’ SONGS IN THE 60s.

Many people from Annie Lennox to Jane Birkin, The Stinky Toys and Jimmy Somerville, have plundered Françoise Hardy’s material. Nothing uncommon here given that she’s a talented, prolific and popular songwriter. However, that’s not to say that she wouldn’t use other people’s songs herself. In fact, she did just that right from her very first disc. After all, albums and EPs had to be released with alarming regularity and suitable original material wasn’t always available. First off, she hiccupped her way through the obscure ‘Oh Oh Cheri’, originally ‘Uh, Oh’, as cut by equally obscure rockabilly singer Bobby Lee Trammell, marginally better known for his previous ‘Shirley Lee’. More successfully, she had a go at ‘The Love Of A Boy’ (‘L’Amour D’Un Garçon’), originally composed by Burt Bacharach for Dionne Warwick. Unlike her contemporaries, she was bent on ignoring obvious chart hits of the day. She turned her attention to the lovely ‘A Wonderful Dream’ (‘Je Pense A Lui’), by The Majors, an early '60s harmony group from Philadelphia, as well as ‘Your Nose Is Gonna Grow’ (‘Qui Aime-T-Il Vraiment’), a respectable US hit by geeky teen idol Johnny Crawford. There were also two flops by Paul Anka and Buddy Greco, ‘Think About It’ and ‘It’s Gonna Take Some Time’, which respectively became ‘Avant De T’En Aller’ and ‘On Dit De Lui’. More appropriately, Françoise tackled the sweet and little-known ‘I Still Love Him’ by girl group The Joys (‘Pourtant Tu M’Aimes’), as well as a Dusty Springfield B-side, ‘Once Upon A Time’ (‘C’est Le Passé’). As for the song ‘Only You Can Do It’ (‘Je Veux Qu’Il Revienne’), it was apparently composed for The Vernon Girls by Hardy's producer/arranger Charles Blackwell and was oddly credited to B.Well. English and Italian rockers found themselves on Françoise’s menu as well. ‘Your Tender Look’ (‘C’Est La Première Fois’), from our very own Joe Brown, was quickly followed by ‘Pas Gentille’, i.e. Marty Wilde’s better-known ‘Bad Boy’. Not forgetting a credible English-language cut of Perry Como's 'Catch A Fallin' Star'. We were then treated to ‘Je N’Attends Plus Personne’, adapted from Little Tony's ‘Non Aspetto Nessuno’ (He was Italy’s answer to Elvis Presley), as well as ‘Nous Etions Amies’, translated from ‘Eravamo Amici’, from another transalpine pop singer called Dino. More obscurities came in the shape of ‘Say It Now’ (‘Dis Lui Non’), concocted by one D. Skelton (?!?), then ‘Alle Nächte’ (‘Son Amour S’Est Endormi’), a German song credited to P. Moesser that no one seems to know much about. One of Patsy Cline’s rare uptempo pop cuts, ‘When I Get Through With You’, proved to be a more suitable choice for Miss Hardy. She named it 'Quel Mal Y a-t-il A Ca?' and her rebellious, feminist lyrics struck a chord with her female fans. There was also 'Ce N'Est Pas Un Reve', alias 'Don't Come Any Closer', another Blackwell number apparently originally penned for Samantha Jones. Italy was again the next port of call as Françoise handpicked three beautiful songs: ‘La Maison Ou J’Ai Grandi’, one of her most heartfelt and popular tracks, was adapted from Adriano Celentano’s ‘Il Ragazzo Della Via Gluck’. Then ‘Ci Sono Cose Piu Grandi’ from Edoardo Vianello (also recorded by Tony Renis) became the gripping ‘Il Est Des Choses’. Lastly, ‘Se Telefonando’, from the wonderful Mina, got the Hardy makeover as ‘Je Changerai D’Avis’. While ‘Mon Amour Adieu’, i.e. ‘Baby Goodbye’ (credited to Hasell), remains a mystery to these ears, ‘Je Ne Sais Pas Ce Que Je Veux’ turns out to be ‘Tiny Goddess’ from legendary UK band Nirvana (she did an English version of it too). At around that time, she also chose 'La Fin De L'Ete', a nostalgic Brigitte Bardot ditty. 1967 saw three more memorable covers of French chansons: George Brassens' 'Il N'Y A Pas D'Amour Heureux', Guy Bontenpelli's 'Ma Jeunesse Fout L'Camp' and Danyel Gerard's 'Il Est Trop Loin'. Subsequently, ‘Suzanne’ naturally came from Leonard Cohen’s first album and her own resigned 'A Quoi Ca Sert' became 'Why Even Try'. As for ‘Ou Va La Chance’, one of Françoise’s personal favourites, it was actually ‘There But For Fortune’ from Phil Ochs. She liked it so much, she cut it in English as well as part of a dozen songs for her album En Anglais. It included Gilbert Becaud's classic 'Je T'appartiens' ('Let It Be Me'), Tim Hardin's inspiring 'Hand On To A Dream', Buddy Holly's 'That'll Be The Day', Elvis' 'Loving You', The Shirelles' 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow', as well as two obscure Simon Napier Bell compositions: 'Never Learn To Cry' and 'Empty Sunday'. She also recorded the former as 'Mon Monde N'est Pas Vrai'. Then, the over-orchestrated ‘La Rue Des Coeurs Perdus’ was adapted from Ricky Nelson’s ‘Lonesome Town’, as well as 'Parlez Moi De Lui' from Kathy Kirby's little-known 'The Way Of Love'. 'Le Mesange', another odd choice from the Antonio Carlos Jobim catalogue was 'Sabia'. More noteworthy, as it is one of Hardy's very best, is a German language-only cover of Marlene Dietrich's 'Traume". Françoise Hardy ended the '60s covering two of France’s best-loved songs, ‘La Mer’ and ‘Les Feuilles Mortes’, better known on these shores as ‘Beyond The Sea’ and ‘The Falling Leaves’. There were two average German productions only recorded for the purpose of a TV show, but Vogue paired them as a French single without Hardy's knowledge. Don't expect their re-release any time soon as she can’t stand them.

THE VERY BEST OF FRANÇOISE HARDY

Let’s face it, you’ll never ever get a half-decent compilation in the shops, even -especially- when the artist claims to have chosen the songs personally. Key songs, rarities, foreign-language cuts, alternate takes and unreleased numbers will predictably be overlooked in favour of more mundane, over-familiar, or just plain hideous material. So why not just burn your own 4-CD set? Here’s the carefully hand-picked crème de la crème, in no particular order: strictly the 96 songs that have stood the test of time. Thrown in for good measure, next to the song titles, find Françoise’s sometimes horrified comments (between "..."), alongside my own in green. Bearing in mind the inherent modesty, you can automatically assume that "not bad" means excellent, "good" ... outstanding, and "very good" ... a masterpiece!

1962-1966 ‘The Vogue Years’ (Ignoring the dated early hits)
1) La Nuit Est Sur La Ville. “I haven’t heard that one for years. I think it has a good melody, but I can’t say I’m mad about it.”
2) So Amour S’est Endormi. “Very German.” Indeed, very Bert Kaempfert, but ethereal enough to qualify.
3) L’Amitié. “Yes!”
4) Ce Petit Coeur. “At a pinch!”
5) Je Pensais. “Oh Not that!”. Largely forgotten, understated cut from the fourth album.
6) Il Se Fait Tard. “Dunno, I haven’t heard that one for ages”.
7) Mon Amie La Rose. “Yes!”
8) All Over The World. “Yes, of course!”
9) Il Saluto Dil Mattino. “Good choice! I didn’t like the original French cut (‘Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour’)." The Italian version has a far better arrangement by Ezio Leoni.
10) Ci Sono Cose Piu Grandi. “That song really brought tears to my eyes when I first heard it. I entitled it “Il Est Des Choses”, but it should really be ‘Il Y A Des Choses’ (grammatically-speaking).”
11) Autumn Rendez Vous. “Yes!”
12) Er War Wie Du. “Of all the songs I recorded in German, this is the only one I liked.” Except, that is, the hypnotic ‘Traüme’ from the following decade. Actually a little edit is required here, as the short instrumental break is truly ghastly.
13) L’Amour Ne Dure Pas Toujours. “I can’t stand that one!” This is a very basic track from the second album (the earliest here), which actually works well, thanks to Marcel Hendrix’ minimalist, jazzy Hammond arrangement and its fatalistic ‘film noir’ lyrics.
14) Tu Ne Dis Rien. “Can’t even remember that one!”
15) Pars. “Not bad ... at the time.”
16) Tu Es Partie. “I’ve never ever heard of that one.” This is in fact a track - of unknown origin - that languished in the vault until 1989. It was released (just the once) on a remix album that year.
17) La Maison Ou J’Ai Grandi. “I find Adriano Celentano’s original far superior to mine.” Again, Françoise is being typically modest here, as this is one of her all-time greats - far superior to the original.
18) Tu Verras. “Not bad.”
19) Peut Etre Que Je T’Aime. “Not bad.” In reality, just brilliant.
20) Comme. “Not bad.” As above.
21) Si C’Est Ça. “Too intense!”
22) Je Serai La Pour Toi. “Not bad.”
23) Qu’Ils Sont Heureux. “Not bad.”
24) Tu Es Un Peu A Moi. “Not bad.”
25) Mes Jours S’En Vont. “Not bad.”
26) It’s Getting’ Late. The English-language versions didn’t always work. This one (adapted from ‘Il Se Fait Tard’) does.

1967-1970 The Asparagus/Hypopotam years
(* Tracks criminally omitted from current box set ‘Messages Personnels, 1967-2000’)
1) Ma Jeunesse Fout L’ Camp “I much prefer these songs …”
2) *Avec Des Si
3) Des Ronds Dans L’Eau “Very good.”
4) Parlez Moi De Lui “Very Good.”
5) Träume “Very good.”
6) Fleur De Lune “Very good.”
7) Tu Ressembles A Tous Ceux Qui Ont Eu Du Chagrin “Very good.”
8) Viens Là “Very good.”
9) C’Est Lui Qui Dort “Good.”
10) Au Fil Des Nuits Et Des Journées “Comme ci, comme ça.”
11) J’Ai Coupé Le Téléphone “Good.”
12) Loving You “I love the Charles Blackwell arrangement.”
13) Soleil “Sweet.”
14) La Terre “Very good.”
15) Il N’Y A Pas D’ Amour Heureux “Very good.”
16) J’ Ai Fait De Lui Un Rêve “Good.”
17) L’ Anamour “Good song, but I don’t like my vocals, nor the arrangements.”
18) A Quoi Ça Sert? “Good.”
19) Ou Va La Chance “I love that one.”
20) *Mais Il Y A Des Soirs “I don’t like the arrangement.”
21) *C’ Etait Charmant “As above.”
22) *Mon Amour Adieu “I love the melody.”
23) *La Mer, Les Etoiles Et Le Vent “That didn’t age well.”
24) *Hang On To A Dream “Good.”
25) *That’ll Be The Day “Average.”
26) *Laisse Le Moi “Are you sure about this one? I don’t even know it.” Mysterious track only found on the remix album.
27) *Au Fond D’ Un Rêve Doré “Very good.”
28) *La Fin De L’Eté “Average.” It’s in fact a lovely cover of a Brigitte Bardot throwaway.
29) *Qui Peut Dire “Average.”
30) *Il Est Trop Loin “Not bad.”
31) Why Even Try? Great Version of A Quoi Ça Sert?
32) *Les Feuilles Mortes. “A monstrosity! This is one of the most beautiful songs ever, not anymore. I was asked to cut it for a German TV programme. When Vogue released it as a single, without consulting me, it made me physically sick.” It's actually a quite charming version, sweetly sung in a little girl manner, which naturally belies the mature nature of the lyric. The cod Hammond cha cha arrangement adds to the charm no end.
33) Comment Te Dire Adieu. Over familiar but, what the hell, the Gainsbourg-penned ditty still cuts the mustard.

1971-2005 The Hipopotam, Warner Brothers, EMI, Flarenach and Virgin years.
(* Tracks criminally omitted from current box set ‘Messages Personnels, 1967-2000’)
1) La Question “Very good.”
2) Chanson D’ O “Very good.” The Lounge classic.
3) Le Martien “Very good.”
4) *Même Sous La Pluie “Not as good.”
5) *Mer “Good.”
6) *Si Mi Caballero “Good.”
7) *Bati Mon Nid “Good.”
8) *Rêve “Good.”
9) Et Si Je M’ En Vais Avant Toi “Very good.”
10) If You Listen “I love it!”
11) *Cafard “Very good.”
12) *Et Voila “Not bad, quite like it.”
13) *Je N’ Aime Pas Ce Qu’ Il Dit “As above.”
14) *Première Rencontre “Good.”
15) *Take My Hand For A While “Good.”
16) Message Personnel “Good.”
17) *Star “Good.” Realistically, one of Hardy’s most fabulous songs.
18) *Brouillard Dans La Rue Corvisart “I didn’t sing that one very well.”
19) *Profil “Good.” Great unreleased 1992 cut.
20) Revenge Of The Flower. In retrospect, the ill-fated Malcom McLaren collaboration retains a certain charm.
21) To The End (La Comédie). A mite disappointing for a Blur effort, but it's a grower.
22) Le Danger “Good.”
23) Mode D’ Emploi? “As above.”
24) Un Peu D’ Eau “As above.”
25) Les Madeleines “As above.”
26) Regarde Toi “As above.”
27) Jeanne “Not bad.”
28) *L’ Obscur Object “Not bad.” In fact, just great.
29) Si Ça Fait Mal “Love it. There are two versions.”
30) Duck’s Blues “Good.”
31) So Sad “Good.”
32) Clair Obscur “Good.”
33) Tant De Belles Choses. Immensely pleasing death song.
34) A L’Ombre De La lune. Enticing bossa a la Benjamin Biolay.
35) Moments. Nostalgic to a fault.
36) Adieu Triste Amour. Gentle, nostalgic Benjamin Biolay duet.
37) My Beautiful Demon. Weird, wonderful and beautifully produced Ben Christrophers duet.

FRANÇOISE HARDY’S COMPLETE FOREIGN-LANGUAGE RECORDINGS