À Toi, Joe Dassin

American expatriate Joe Dassin was one of France's most popular singers during the late '60s and '70s, initially building his name with stylized adaptations of folk and country material from his birthplace. As his career blossomed, Dassin turned increasingly to traditional-style chansons penned by some of the genre's best writers, scoring an all-time classic with his 1975 smash "L'Eté Indien." Notorious for his perfectionism, Dassin could play the introverted romantic, but his persona also played off of American archetypes and imagery. His premature death of a heart attack in 1980 robbed French pop of one of its greatest modern-day practitioners.

Joe was an easy listening pop singer who died in the early eighties while still in his prime. This collection contains the best of his music from 1965 to 1979. Some of the songs are of French origin and it would appear from the credits that he co-wrote some of them. He sings one of the tracks here (The guitar don't lie) in English, although the other 45 tracks are all in French. Apart from the French songs, there are a number of other songs that he sings with French lyrics. It is clear from the titles that at least some of them have completely new lyrics rather than being translated from the original. I conclude this review with a list of some of the songs that might be familiar to you, to give you an idea of his range of material. Despite his easy listening style, the sources of the songs are diverse, including country and folk as well as mainstream pop songs.

American expatriate Joe Dassin was one of France's most popular singers during the late '60s and '70s, initially building his name with stylized adaptations of folk and country material from his birthplace. As his career blossomed, Dassin turned increasingly to traditional-style chansons penned by some of the genre's best writers, scoring an all-time classic with his 1975 smash "L'Eté Indien." Notorious for his perfectionism, Dassin could play the introverted romantic, but his persona also played off of American archetypes and imagery. His premature death of a heart attack in 1980 robbed French pop of one of its greatest modern-day practitioners.

Ce coffret en carton est une édition petit budget de l'intégrale de luxe de Joe Dassin parue en 1995 sous la forme d'une grosse boîte à cigares. Elle contient 244 chansons, listées sur la page suivante avec liens pour les paroles.
Une intégrale pour pas cher c'est bien beau, encore faut-il avoir envie de l'écouter car contrairement à Mozart ou Léo Ferré, la seule présence des oeuvres complètes de Joe Dassin dans votre salon n'épatera personne.

30 ans déjà, 30 ans que Joe nous a quitté. Et pourtant, il est toujours là, ses chansons continuent de rythmer nos vies, au cinéma, à la radio, en TV, ou sur les Champs-Élysées, fredonnées par un touriste en balade. Joe est certainement l'un des artistes qui aligne le plus de tubes, son palmarès est étourdissant : Bip Bip, Guantanamera, Comme la lune, Les Dalton, Marie-Jeanne, Siffl er sur la colline, La bande à Bonnot, Ma bonne étoile, Le chemin de Papa, L'Amérique, Les Champs-Élysées, Le petit pain au chocolat, Salut les amoureux, L'équipe à Jojo, À toi, Et si tu n'existais pas, Ça va pas changer le monde, La fl eur aux dents, Il était une fois nous deux…

American expatriate Joe Dassin was one of France's most popular singers during the late '60s and '70s, initially building his name with stylized adaptations of folk and country material from his birthplace. As his career blossomed, Dassin turned increasingly to traditional-style chansons penned by some of the genre's best writers, scoring an all-time classic with his 1975 smash "L'Eté Indien." Notorious for his perfectionism, Dassin could play the introverted romantic, but his persona also played off of American archetypes and imagery. His premature death of a heart attack in 1980 robbed French pop of one of its greatest modern-day practitioners.

American expatriate Joe Dassin was one of France's most popular singers during the late '60s and '70s, initially building his name with stylized adaptations of folk and country material from his birthplace. As his career blossomed, Dassin turned increasingly to traditional-style chansons penned by some of the genre's best writers, scoring an all-time classic with his 1975 smash "L'Eté Indien." Notorious for his perfectionism, Dassin could play the introverted romantic, but his persona also played off of American archetypes and imagery. His premature death of a heart attack in 1980 robbed French pop of one of its greatest modern-day practitioners.

American expatriate Joe Dassin was one of France's most popular singers during the late '60s and '70s, initially building his name with stylized adaptations of folk and country material from his birthplace…