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The first volume in Polydor's four-part series documenting Gall's 1960s recordings for the company; all but four of the 16 tracks are from 1964 (the others date from 1963). In general, these were Gall's most innocuous Polydor recordings, by extension meaning that these are among the most innocuous pop records of the era, French or otherwise. Nine of the cuts also appear on the Poupee de Son best-of, and these are decisively the best of the lot, highlights being "Jazz a Gogo," "Les Rubans et La Fleur," "N'ecoute Pas Les Idoles," and "Laisse Tomber Les Filles," the last two of which were penned by Serge Gainsbourg. So this compilation is superfluous for non-completists, especially as some of the rest is pretty vapid early-'60s teen pop. A couple of the non-greatest hits, however, aren't bad; "J'entends Cette Musique" is a ballad with a haunting melody and dramatic arrangement reminiscent of some of Françoise Hardy's records from the time, though of course Gall doesn't have nearly as good a voice. ~ Richie Unterberger
