Jean Claude Pierric

Ella B. Gibson and Her Hammond Organ
ABA 3378, France, 197?

Every now and than I dig up an album that I don't know but somehow I feel it's going to be great. Something I've never seen or heard of before. A discovery. A chest thumping moment of glory in a poor digger's life.
Well, this is such a record.

Never heard of Ella, never heard of ABA. Do I really need another hammond LP?
Back of the record lists tracks with titles like Organ Speed Nice and Stainless Steel. Oh, and what's that ? All tracks credited to J.C. Pierric ?? Ah - to relive that moment - it's like a digger's satori. I knew !

Pierric often teamed up with ex-musical director of L'Olympia, Daniel Janin. They both were on the Les Tréteaux label - churning out tracks of silly grooves (and some deep mean and nasty ones, too) on a seemingly infinite number of comps which were memorably shitty if not for the two instrumental cuts provided by the duo... Also on Les Tréteaux is a classic Euro groove 4 tracker called Eddy Driver à l'Orgue Hammond - which is generally considered to be Janin's doing. So this Pierric was no light-weight and I gladly split with my 1 Euro to take this home.

Well, the album certainly delivered. What I got for my money (ha!) is a set of tracks that cover some ground. The Eddy Driver sound is not far off (actually, I think Pierric's role on that LP has been underestimated by most) and on another track he manages to sound like a leisurely Brian Dee on Amphonic...

It's finds like this that keeps me motivated !

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A ZIP FILE CONTAINING ALL TRACKS, COVER ART AND INFO

Chicken Curry at Oops

Over at Oopswhoops you'll find the Chicken Curry and his Pop Percussion Orchestra LP, a classic gem of Belgian grooves.

Oops also mentions the track Malaria Febre which is another El Chicles related cut to be found on a staple of Belgian fleamarkets. It's by Brasil Tropical Sound (hey - it wasn't me who came up with those names, alright !?!) - a nice moogish EZ groover it is - sort of a delirious take on Les Chakachas' Jungle Fever.

As a little extra I'm throwing the track your way. Here it is ! And more coming soon !

Piero Umiliani

Piero Umiliani : L'Uomo e La Citta
Liuto, LRS 0059 (Italy, 1976)

Piero Umiliani was so prolific an Italian soundtrack composer and jazzbo, I'm not sure to what extent an introduction is needed.
Much of his excellent soundtracks and even obscure library albums have been reissued on CD but in the 60s and 70s his output was so vast that many important albums are still only available on original vinyl - with the prices reflecting their scarcity.

Man and the City is a library album and as far as I know there are only a few tracks that made it on the excellent Easy Tempo compilation series.

A rarity of Italian cool that reflects life in the city in all its rich variety.

EDIT:
It has been brought to my attention that this album has been reissued after all ! Easy Tempo... I should have known ;-)
Anyway, the idea behind this blog is to share hard to find albums that are currently not available on CD. Easy Tempo has been doing great work over the years by digging up some mighty obscure music. Their releases are high quality in form and content. That's why I've deleted the link to this rip. Instead, I'll point you to this place where you can order a copy of the CD if you desire to do so.
Sorry about this, folks. I'll make up for this and share something else tonight.
Oh, and as you maybe noticed, the cover art for the new CD is quite different from the original. That's why I'm leaving the scan for now - simply click on the image to see it in all its glorious detail.

Claude Thomain

Claude Thomain et son Orchestre : Accordeon Electronique
Epervier, AL 18601 (France, 197?)

One of my first shares on this blog was an album by the Travelling Orchestra under direction of Lucien Lavoute. The Orchestra and the men around it were part of a tight group under the creative direction of André Lutereau. Pick up any Epervier LP and you'll encounter the same names. Lutereau, of course, Michel Lorin on percussion, Lucien Lavoute as conductor, A. Butet as recording engineer... Claude Thomain is another on the list and I always thought of him as Lutereau's right hand man in the recording booth.

Then I found this LP, which has Thomain playing an electric squeeze box, playing his own compositions and leading 'his' orchestra (which is in fact the ever modulating Travelling Orchestra in yet another guise).

As always the arrangements (credited to Thomain) are dense and lively - the interaction between players fast and elegant. The Lutereau touch is omni-present but it's Thomain who's the revelation here.

Please enjoy this slice of furious accordeon !


CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A ZIP FILE CONTAINING ALL TRACKS, COVER ART AND INFO

PS : HERE's a link to an early Epervier related entry...