1980 was a turning point for both music and movies in France. The country had woken up to the 70s libertarian utopias and alongside Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Diva which was redefining movie aesthetics, a new generation or actors was rising with the likes of Daniel Auteuil, Isabelle Adjani and the Splendid Troupe. Musically, the same was happening and Michel Jonasz was one of the finest exponents of French music’s new scene led by Veronique Sanson, Michel Berger and Alain Souchon. A gifted singer songwriter, Jonasz had had a few hits in the 70s and had also teamed up with Gabriel Yared to write a couple of albums for Francoise Hardy, “Musique Saoule”(1978) and “Gin Tonic” (1979).
This was the background that saw the film “Clara Et Les Chics Types” come together. The brainchild of famed screenwriter Jean-Loup Dabadie who had risen to fame screenwriting smash hits for directors Claude Sautet and Yves Robert in the 70s, the bittersweet comedy followed a group of friends who have an amateur group (they perform the track “You Kill Me I Kill You” in the opening scene – the song is sung by Guy Khalifa) dealing with the vicissitudes of everyday life at the dawn of the 80s. It gathered this new generation of actors including Josiane Balasko, Thierry Lhermitte and Christian Clavier (from the Splendid troupe) together with Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil and Christophe Bourseiller.
For the soundtrack Michel Jonasz was hired and gathered some of the best session musicians including drummer Manu Katché (in one of his first sessions) and bassist Sylvin Marc (who had recorded a couple of albums for Jef Gilson’s Palm label in the early 70s). Together they weaved a mainly instrumental blend of Jazz funk, reggae and pop which matched the narrative perfectly. Although all the ingredients were there for a success, the film unfortunately stalled and so did the soundtrack. Jonasz went on to become a huge star in France shortly after, but strangely, the Clara soundtrack was never reissued, not even on CD.
Teaming up with the artist and Warner Music France, Wewantsounds has dug out the original master tapes to reissue the album including two bonus tracks. The audio has been remastered by Colorsound in Paris and the album includes a 4-page colour insert with liner notes by French music and movie expert Guido Minisky (having produced the Pierre Vassiliu and Henri Salvador comps for Born Bad) who interviewed both Michel Jonasz and Christophe Bourseiller for the occasion, giving this cult film and soundtrack its first, highly anticipated release in 40 years.
