Re-issues: Serge, Sylvie, Sacha & BB

Recently, a couple of nice reissues/compilations came out, featuring music for films with Brigitte Bardot, Serge Gainsbourg's first album and 'the most swinging and most danceable 60's cuts' by Sylvie Vartan.
Although her name is big on the cover, Bardot is nowhere to be heard on the three cd's with filmmusic. I bought Love is my profession/Un Parisienne. The female voice you hear on the tracks for the movie Une Parisienne (1957) is from Christiane Legrand. If you're into romantic, loungy orchestral fifties music, you're in for a treat. Take Mambo Bardot, played by Ray Ventura & his Orchestra for the movie And God Created Woman - BB is hipswaying out of your speakers. Also present: Sacha Distel. Six songs are included, the lovely Brigitte speaks volumes of their relation.
There's no pressing reason to buy Songs on page one: this features Serge's first EP Du chant a l'une, not featuring the bonus-tracks on the regular cd-issue (here).
There's an unremarkable radio-recording from Serge, two SG-songs by Jean Claude Pascal, and six by Michele Arnaud. For albums by the latter you have to look a little harder, but aren't that rare. What's nice though, is the fifties atmosphere of all songs, with jazzy and latin touches. Although there's suicide and murder in Serge's lyrics, it's far from the double entrendres that were about to come.
Sylvie Vartan gave an interview to the compiler of Irresistiblement, which makes the liner notes that more interesting. As an introduction to the early work of France's pop princess, this works very well. The inclusion of four English sides is also good fun.

Ray Ventura - Mambo Bardot
Sacha Distel - Brigitte
Serge Gainsbourg - Ronsard 58
Michele Arnaud - Ronsard 58
Sylvie Vartan - Cette Lettre là
Sylvie Vartan - One more day