LES SULTANS TD 356 (-66) MONO CANADA

French Canadian beat group. Formed 1962 in Quebec as a four piece instrumental band - "The Dowries". From 1963 including singer Bruce Huard, earlier in local combo "Les Majestics", and issuing six singles on three different small labels. Towards the mid sixties they started to play music influenced by British pop, signed a contract with Teledisc Records 1966 and got a chance to record this debute album. It's a blend of Zombies style beat and contemporary French pop, recorded with few overdubs and lots of presence. I get two rockers and one blues number, the rest softer ballads with prominent acoustic guitar. The backing is direct and appropriate with some minor flaws only making it more authentic. What really turns me on here is Bruce Huard's vocals - clean and secure, easily adapting between rude and soft, yet personal and very attractive. Sung in French and even if I don't understand all it fits and probably a lot better than if they'd tried to do it in broken English. Track list is a mix of covers and self-written numbers. I'm a little confused by some of the song credits though. The Zombies cover "Je T'aime Bien" ("You Make Me Feel Good") and the "Kinda Kinks" number "Nothin' In The World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl" (here - "Il N'y A Rien Au Monde Que Je Ne Ferais Pas Pour Cette Fille") are both credited to Les Sultans. "Apprends A Vivre" seems to be a version of Crispian St Peters "The Pied Piper" and "Tu Es Impossible" a cover of Them's "I Can Only Give You Everything" rather than composed by the band. I'm having a hard time believing such obvious rip-offs so it was probably just an ignorant mistake by the record company. To have "Dis-Lui" ("Leave Me Be") attributed to both original composer Chris White and Bruce Huard seems more fair since the latter was behind the French lyrics. Audio on this mono is absolutely perfect - big, clear and natural. Favorite tracks - the Michel Polnareff cover "La Poupee Qui Fait Non" and "Dis-Lui". Original release in Canada only. Don't know of any CD issues of the album, but some of the songs appear on later LP or CD compilations. First came with label as shown here and thick, glossy fold/out cover. (ÖGÄ*) (ÖXCÅ*) (GZÅ*) (YZÄ*)