Les 5-4-3-2-1 -- Jazzuru Kokoro（ジャズる心）

 

It's been amazing that this is yé-yé and chanson singer France Gall's fourth entry in "Kayo Kyoku Plus" starting back in 2018 when her "Le temps de la rentrée" was an unlikely choice as an ending theme for the anime "Hisone to Masotan"（ひそねとまそたん...Hisone & Masotan）. But hey, it worked in a great way and the ending credits were always fun to watch even though the anime itself didn't end with a particularly satisfying conclusion, in my opinion.

Gall was still in her late teens when she released the April 1965 album "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" which included the swinging "Le Coeur Qui Jazze" with jazz pianist  Alain Goraguer and His Orchestra backing her up. Goraguer composed the song with Robert Gall, France's father, coming up with the lyrics. Some nice vocalese by the singer as well. I almost feel like booking those tickets to Paris and hitting a jazz club with champagne.

Just about a year ago, I first mentioned the Shibuya-kei band Les 5-4-3-2-1 and their interesting take on Burt Bacharach's classic "Bond Street". That was in 1996, but even earlier than that in 1993 via their album "UN", they recorded their version of "Le Coeur Qui Jazze" translated into "Jazzuru Kokoro". It comes with a rather graphics-filled music video to help viewers get into the swinging mood, and the arrangers even threw in some psychedelic electric guitar, to boot, and it even gets to play some of the French national anthem at the end.

Les 5-4-3-2-1 -- Bond Street

 

Back in my childhood (and no, this isn't a ROY article although one will be coming up later tonight), I remember watching a Canadian game show called "Party Game" with Billy Van, Julie Christie, Jack Duffy and host Bill Walker. If I recollect, "Party Game" popped up in the afternoon hours just after lunch or before dinner depending upon the channel, but it was basically good-natured competitive charades taking place on a set that resembled the basement in a house of a well-to-do family.

Although I hadn't been aware of it at the time, that rollicking theme song for "Party Game" must have made quite an impression on me since when I heard it being used on one of the "Family Guy" running gags, specifically Stewie's Sexy Party, I automatically pegged it as the "Party Game" theme. But then again, I also realized that it had been used in the very first "Casino Royale" with Peter Sellers.

Eventually, I found out that this was composer Burt Bacharach's "Bond Street" from his 1967 album "Reach Out", and listening to it now, I can definitely hear it as a Bacharach tune with all of the go-go boots and hip swiveling dance and of course, the sexy horns and electric piano. I'm wondering whether "Bond Street" even made it onto an "Austin Powers" soundtrack.

I also found out from one of the YouTube comments that there was a cover of "Bond Street" done on a 1996 Shibuya-kei compilation titled "Sushi 3003 - A Spectacular Collection Of Japanese Clubpop". Recorded by a band called Les 5-4-3-2-1 consisting of at least lead guitarist/songwriter Sally Kubota and vocalist Hitomi 19, the only information that I could find thus far of this group is on the All Music website.

Even with the original version, "Bond Street" could have been given honourary Shibuya-kei status on its own because of that Bacharach arrangement pedigree, but Les 5-4-3-2-1 has given the song an adventurous new life of swinging and traveling (the song is probably accompanied by Samsonite products) with sexy scatting vocals taking over for the horns. It's about twice as long as the original, and indeed has an overture-ish quality as if it had been meant as a theme for a movie about airline travel. Keep your seat belts fastened and the tray in the upright position!

Incidentally, Bacharach has actually been part of KKP for a long while since he was also responsible for Hitomi Tohyama's（当山ひとみ）"Our Lovely Days".