Les Sucettes

by John BushWhat France Gall lacked in vocal range and power, she made up for in the innocent seduction of her performances and the almost uniform excellence of the productions behind her. "Tu N'as Pas le Droit," the leadoff track on Les Sucettes, is a brassy, storming girl-group number that became a big hit. Unfortunately, nothing else on Les Sucettes is quite as successful, though most of the tracks have good performances and all have solid productions utilizing a variety of different instruments, styles, and backings. Gall hits the upper limit of her range on the half-cloying, half-endearing "Bonsoir John John," and the schoolchildren vocal chorus on "J'ai Retrouvé Mon Chien" makes her sound a little less young. Elsewhere, producer Alain Goraguer gets much credit for flipping from a rosy acoustic-baroque ballad like "Celui Que J'aime" to the flute trills on the irresistible "Oh! Quelle Famille."