From the -like cover shot of a windswept and gorgeous to the oddly chipper title, this 1965 U.S. debut (originally released on the proto- label ) is clearly pitched at the adventurous edge of the U.S. market, pitching as the Gallic . ( was, unbeknownst to the U.S. market at the time, making terrific French-language records herself at the time.) Complicating this, of course, is the fact that 's music, for all its catchiness, is stripped down to its barest essentials -- acoustic and electric guitar, bass, minimalist drums, very little else -- and herself sings her (mostly self-penned) lyrics in an attractive but chilly drop-dead monotone that's far removed from the perkiness of almost every other female singer (minus and of ) of the '60s. Even the perkier tunes, like the enormous French hit single have a measured, restrained quality. is an outstanding record, but it's the '60s equivalent of Shaker furniture: free of ornamentation and exquisitely simple. ~ Stewart Mason