various artists

the impeccable taste of the saint etienne pair pete wiggs and bob Stanley has resulted in this fascinating and hugely enjoyable set of French pop that deals with the hardship and joy of an incendiary time in france’s history.

The events of May ’68 are seen as a turning point in France’s social history - pictures of the barricades are still potent images. Lines were drawn politically, culturally, socially, and pop music was not exempt. This compilation brings together an extraordinary blend of several previously independent strains – French chanson and yé-yé, American jazz and funk, British chamber pop – shot through with the era’s underlying mixture of optimism, uncertainty and darkness.