Album Mini-review: Wizzz! French Psychedelic 1966-1969 Volume 1
France has long been notorious for its musical insularity. Listen to a bootleg of the Beatles‘ February 1964 show – the height of worldwide Beatlemania – and you can hear the group just fine; the Parisians merely clap. And they simply couldn’t accept the real Elvis Presley; they had to mint one of their own, Johnny Hallyday. France was seemingly resistant to outside musical influences, and that worked both ways: Françoise Hardy and Serge Gainsbourg were huge stars at home, but got relatively little traction internationally. But a newly-reissued collection shows that French musical artists did pay attention to what was happening elsewhere. Fuzztone guitars, combo organs and simple, trashy melodies are all the rage on this fourteen-track set. Is it derivative? Sure. But it’s always undeniably French, with a vaguely square café jazz vibe applied to songs worthy of (if not The Seeds, then) Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood.
An edited version of this review previously appeared in the Colorado Springs Independent.
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Bill Kopp
With a background in marketing and advertising, Bill Kopp got his professional start writing for Trouser Press. After a stint as Editor-in-chief for a national music magazine, Bill launched Musoscribe in 2009, and has published new content every business day since then (and every single day since 2018). The 4500-plus interviews, essays, and reviews on Musoscribe reflect Bill's keen interest in American musical forms, most notably rock, jazz, and soul. His work features a special emphasis on reissues and vinyl. Bill's work also appears in many other outlets both online and in print. He regularly hosts lecture/discussions on artists and albums of historical importance (including monthly events Music to Your Ears and Music Movie Mondays), and is a frequent guest on music-focused radio programs and podcasts. In Spring 2023 he taught a history of Rock 'n' Roll at UNC Asheville's College for Seniors. He also researches and authors liner notes for album reissues -- more than 30 to date -- and co-produced a reissue of jazz legend Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's final album. His first book, Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2018, and in paperback in 2019. His second book, Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave, was published in 2021 by HoZac Books. His third book, What's the Big Idea: Great Concept Albums will be published in 2024. Read even more about him here.