One of the most dynamic and convincing rock musicians in the French '60s scene, Jacques Dutronc recorded several prime garage-pop-psychedelia albums in his time. Stylistically, he may be best compared to Ray Davies of the Kinks: like Davies, Dutronc combined strong American garage-rock influences with Beatle-era "beat" melodicism, along with irreverent homages to the music hall/vaudeville era. Plus, he paired up with Francoise Hardy, the most babilicious of all the ye-ye girls. Later, Dutronc moved into film acting, with roles in many movies, including alongside Catherine Denueve.
Jacques Dutronc "Il Est Cinq Heures, Paris S'eveille" (Vogue, 1967)
A brilliant album, including garage-y pop favorites such as "La Publicite," "Hippie Hippie Hourrah," "Les Metamorphoses," and "Le Plus Difficile."
Jacques Dutronc "Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi" (Vogue)
Jacques Dutronc "L'Opportuniste" (Vogue, 1968)
Jacques Dutronc "L'Adventurier" (Vogue, 1969)
Jacques Dutronc "Jacques Dutronc" (Vogue, 1969)
Jacques Dutronc "Dutronc Au Casino"
Here's your chance to hear Dutronc belt out all his best material live in concert...
Jacques Dutronc "L'Ile Enchanteresse" (Vogue, 1975)
Features several songs by French pop bad-boy Serge Gainsbourg, and a slew of Dutronc's collaborations with Jacques Lanzmann.
Jacques Dutronc "Guerre Et Pets" (Gaumont Musique, 1980)
Jacques Dutronc "C'est Pas Du Bronze" (Gaumont Musique, 1982)
Features several songs co-written by Serge Gainsbourg.
Jacques Dutronc "C.Q.F. Jacques Dutronc" (1987)
Jacques Dutronc "Breves Rencontres" (Sony, 1995)
Jacques Dutronc "Coffret" (BMG, 1998)
2-CD set.
Jacques Dutronc "Madame L'Existence" (Columbia, 2003)
Jacques Dutronc "Jacques Dutronc Story" (Vogue, 1989)
An astounding 4-CD box set which I've only seen in cannibalized form. This collection covers his best years, 1966-76 and is especially useful for its coherent view of Dutronc's less well known post-psychedelic material, where he proves to be a solid chanson/pop singer. (Plus, I never noticed how much he sounds like Phil Ochs!) Well worth tracking down!!
Jacques Dutronc "L'Essential" (Vogue Disc)
This 2-CD set is really the total fab killer collection of all his best, classic material from the late 1960s. Really, this is the one to set your sights for. It has all his best hits ("Le Cactus," etc), and about three times as many tracks as the rather stingy single-disc collections that are more commonly available. Well worth tracking down.
Jacques Dutronc "Completement Dutronc: 1966-1976" (BMG, 1998)
A nice second choice, with 22 classy, classic tracks from Dutronc's first decade as a pop provacateur.
Jacques Dutronc "La Collection" (BMG, 1995)
Ditto.
Jacques Dutronc "Les Grands Succes De...."
...ditto...
Jacques Dutronc "Jacques Dutronc Gold" (Sony, 1994)
..et ditto.
Jacques Dutronc "Cocktail Collection" (BMG, 1998)
Jacques Dutronc/Francoise Hardy "Le Meilleur Des Deux" (Vogue)
An incredibly overpriced import CD that is really a dual best-of, rather than a duets collection. Considering how many Francoise Hardy CDs are out on the market, you're probably better off keeping these two separate -- get whatever you like by her, and keep an eye out for the Dutronc discs, solo.
Jacques Dutronc "33 Ans De Travail" (Sony, 1999)
Jacques Dutronc "33 Ans De Travail v. 2" (Sony, 2000)
Jacques Dutronc "L'Integrale: Annees Columbia" (Sony, 1999)
Gathers material from a 1980-87 stint on the Columbia label.
Jacques Dutronc "1987-1995" (Sony, 2001)
Picking up where the Annees Columbia collection left off... This is a 3-CD box set gathering a ton of his later pop recordings.
Jacques Dutronc "L'Essential" (BMG, 2001)
Not to be confused with the fab 2-CD set above... This is nonetheless a great set of Dutronc oldies...
Bikini Machine "...Joue Dutronc" (Platinum, 1996)
Dutronc "Dutronc! Dutronc! Dutronc!" (Damaged Goods, 1996)
An affectionate, Billy Childish-related, European garage-rock tribute band. Apparently, the group includes a member of Thee Headcoats, as well as Bongo Debbie of Thee Headcoatees Some Dutronc purists disavow this album, but I think it's certainly good enough to check out, if you are fortunate enough to find a copy. Along with this album, the band has released several singles and EPs, and supposedly there is another album floating around in the aether... For the full skivvy, check out the Dutronc web page on the Hangman Records site.
Thomas Dutronc "Comme Un Manouche Sans Guitare" (Universal/Podis, 2007)
The debut album of Thomas Dutronc, son of chanteuse Francoise Hardy and actor/pop star Jacques Dutronc. A mellow, eclectic mix with reverent, nostalgic nods back towards the acoustic swing of Django Reinhardt and the gypsy jazz scene...
Thomas Dutronc "Comme Un Manouche Sans Guitare" (Universal/Podis, 2007)
A deluxe version of the Comme Un Manouche album... Not sure what all the differences are, but this one comes with a thick, fancy, CD-sized hardbound booklet...
Thomas Dutronc "Comme Un Manouche Sans Guitare Film: Le Live" (Universal/Podis, 2009)
French Music Index
French Rock Albums
