Customer Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding overview
Comment: This compilation is magnificent. It's even more indispensible since much of her pre-1967 material is presently in legal limbo due to a dispute between Hardy and her record company. Luckily this collection appears to be have been issued under a separate license than many of the currently unavailable french BMG Vogue reissues.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Music lover
Comment: Had her music in phonograph format collection. Compare audio quality from CD and my record player showed very similiar which indicated high quality reproduction. Recomment to anyone whose interest in it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Indispensable!
Comment: This double CD collection covers Francoise Hardy's recording period with Vogue Records 1962-1967. Hardy was only 18 years old when she recorded the songs for her first album in 1962; so it was very unusual that she was allowed to record so much of her own material; great thing she was, because she was ( still is ) a very accomplished songwriter. In fact most of her biggest were written or co-written by Hardy herself.
The song selections concentrate on her first 5 albums ( 1962-66 ) and contemporary singles and EP tracks. Her 6th much-acclaimed Vogue album "Ma Jeunesse Fout le Camp" is only represented by "Qui Peut Dire" and "Voila". Most surprisingly that her last Vogue original album ( in Frech language ) "Comment te Dire Adieu" is not represented at all.
Never the less, this is a great compilation featuring the vast majority of her best songs of the period - obviously some great songs had to be left out; simply because lack of space. I can't help mentioning just a few songs that are missing ( seek them out elsewhere!) . The 1964 EP-track "Jaloux" is one of my favourites, which I have not yet been able to find on a CD. The album tracks "Avant de tén Aller" and "Je Pensais" would have been great additions as well.
These early recordings from Hardy which founded her reputation as the greatest French international pop-star of the 1960's have stood the test of time, and sound remarkably appealing after all these years; where the output by many of her contemporary colleagues like Cilla Black, Petula Clark, Connie Francis or even Marianne Faithful ( her sixties recordings!) often sound pretty dated.
If you are not familiar with the early years of Francoise Hardy's career this collection would be the ideal place to start getting to know her. Outstanding songs like "Le Premier Bonheur du Jour", "Le Maison Ou Jaí Grandi", "Ce Petit Coeur" or "Rendezvous Automne" are more than likely to hit you - actually most of these songs are!
The 16 pages booklet features some nice pictures and a short biography, but only sparse information about the songs themselves; where they were first released etc. Personally I would have loved to have a little more information about the recordings, circumstances around them etc.
Still, until the 4 CD box featuring her complete Vogue recordings is available again, this CD is indispensable!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beautiful French pop music
Comment: What can I say about this album. It's stunning, it's elegant and it's really a joy to listen to ( you probably thought for a minute there I was talking about her and not her music!)!You have a fascinating little biography from Bob Stanley on her who speaks of her as a fan of her music and well what more can I say really. You need to hear this album and I mean that
Oh I should mention one thing is that I'm glad that these songs are all sung in French. It gives the songs a dimension of sensuality which I don't find in many English/American singers
Customer Rating:
Summary: French pop singer of the sixties and seventies
Comment: Some say that Francoise recorded her best music after she left Vogue in 1967, but this compilation covering her early music from 1962 to 1967 is of a consistently high quality with presentation to match. Regardless of the quality of her later music, the music here is what she is best remembered for. Francoise wrote most of her own material. Her voice had a limited range but Francoise knew that and wrote her songs accordingly and any lack of range was compensated by quality. She recorded English versions of some of her songs but none of those are included here. All fifty songs here are in French. Because I don't know any French, I don't understand the words but when music is this good, it's worth hearing anyway. Francoise was clearly influenced by many different styles. Folk-pop is perhaps the main style but you will also hear elements of rock'n'roll, R+B and country here and there, as well as the influences of her own French heritage. The set opens with her debut hit, Tous les garcons et les filles, which sold over two million copes in France. In those days, France did not bother much with singles or albums - records were four-track EP's. Subsequent EP's all did well without matching the success of her debut. In 1964, Francoise moved to London and was rewarded with a UK top twenty hit - All over the world - here in its French version as Danse le monde entire, which opens the second CD. The Seekers also recorded the song and I wonder how big a hit it would have been if their version had been released as a single instead of Francoise's.
In the sixties, Francoise spent some time socializing with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. While her music is not as important as theirs, it has a certain Gallic charm all of its own.
