Welcome to the Good, the Bad and the Ugly for another Japanese inspired special, this time with tracks crate dug from across the islands focusing on non-Japanese artists. And yes, mainly French, but some awesome Italian thrown in. There is a long history of French artists being incredibly popular in Japan, with Polnareff, Vartan and Gainsbourg all having massive followings in Nihon. I won’t say these are rarest singles out there, because as one who has shopped in Japanese record stores knows, they can be ludicrously pricey, but they are a lovely bunch of tracks that are not especially common. Enjoy!

We start with Sylvie Vartan, with two tracks from 1970 produced by Jean-Claude Vannier.

 

Les Hommes Qui N’ont Plus Rien a Perde – Sylvie Vartan
Dans Tes Bras – Sylvie Vartan

Two English language tracks now, one from the US and the other from the whacked out rock film Privilege, starring Paul Jones from Manfred Mann. Paul Jones is highly underrated in my opinion, and this soundtrack is psych at its best.

Go Go Girl – Colleen Lovett
Free Me – Paul Jones

Pinocchio – Daniele Vidal
Go Kart Twist – Gianni Morandi with Ennio Morricone

In Un Fiore – Wilma Goich
Un Bucca Nella Sabbia – Mina

Je Cherche un Job – Michel Polnareff
La Californie – Julien Clerc