Francoise Hardy

Since Francoise Hardy was a melancholy folk-rock singer-songwriter herself, it makes sense for her to do this English-language album. But considering how much bittersweet American, English and Canadian rock influenced her approach what is ironic about this sublime 1973 release is how French Ms. Hardy sounds on tunes written by Neil Young, Randy Newman and others. While Hardy was outside her comfort zone language-wise, the autumnal English folk-rock mood of the album suits her almost as well the one French-language original ("Brulure") does. Fans of Nico's Chelsea Girl will want to listen.