Les Orgueilleux The Proud Ones (1953)

4 Cd Quality 80-track anthology of the great vocal group's singles incl Just For A Thrill, My Prayer, That's When Your Heartaches Begin, Stranger In Paradise and more.

Digitally re-mastered deluxe edition of this 1982 album from Southern Rocker Johnny Van Zant, brother of Ronnie (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and Donnie (.38 Special). Last of the Wild Ones was the JVZ Band's third studio album and finds the them returning to a more authentic sound, a style in keeping with their highly praised debut album, paying less heed to commerciality and more attention to traditional 70s style southern rock. It also marked the return of veteran producer Al Kooper, a man who not only discovered, signed and produced Skynyrd but also sat behind the recording desk of the debut JVZ Band album. Sharper, more concise and rougher around the edges than their second album, Last of the Wild Ones takes no prisoners, leaping out of the speakers all guns blazing. With brother Donnie co-writing half the album, this is truly a joining of forces and a serious statement of intent.

The late-'60s film starring Marianne Faithfull and Alain Delon has a cult reputation, if only because it's one of Faithfull's few film appearances (and has rarely been seen, especially in the U.S.). The soundtrack has enough of a groovy late-'60s period feel to merit a cult reputation of its own, with its bordering-on-bizarre mix of solid '60s Hammond organ grooves, soothing quasi-classical interludes, lush '60s Europop along the lines of the theme from A Man and a Woman, and brief flashes of psychedelia and avant-gardisms. (Faithfull fans be cautioned: Marianne does not sing on the soundtrack at all.) The recurring motifs are quite insinuating, and treated with a number of imaginative arrangements, making this a pretty interesting find for fans of '60s Euro easy listening/pop hybrids, even if they're not interested in having a souvenir of the film. The CD reissue does the job right by adding good liner notes and three bonus cuts by vocalists Mireille Mathieu and Cleo Laine, who recorded these tracks after Les Reed added lyrics to three instrumental pieces from the film.

Le 14 juillet 1953, la traditionnelle manifestation célébrant la fête nationale prend un tour tragique lorsque la police ouvre le feu sur le cortège. Les tirs ciblent essentiellement les représentants du parti nationaliste algérien et font de nombreuses victimes. Fruit de 4 ans d'enquête, le livre de Daniel Kupferstein décrypte les faits au plus près des témoignages d'époque et fait lumière sur ce non-dit de l'Histoire qui servit de déclencheur à la "guerre de libération" initiée par le FLN.