Septième Vague

French pop composer extraordinaire Laurent Voulzy revists the music that influenced him on La Septième Vague. The nostalgic title track is the album's only original, but it is surrounded by covers of mostly '60s-era tunes, whether they be from French or American sources. Highlights include fine readings of Charles Trénet's "La Piano de la Plage," and Pierra Barouh and Francis Lai's "A Bicyclette," as well as Paul Simon's "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" and Robert Freeman's "Do You Wanna Dance." The realy oddity here is a deft interpetation of Sade's "Smooth Operator," that sounds like it could have been recorded during the original Saravah era. ~ Thom Jurek