An ultimate testimony to adolescent rage and the spirit of rock'n'roll, these eight songs by The BLOUSONS NOIRS (Black Jackets) are essential to understanding what rock music is and what it should always be: determined, primitive and wild.

Originally from Bordeaux, The BLOUSONS NOIRS seem to have bought their instruments the morning of their recording session: the singer sings out of time, the drummer is feverish and the guitarist a total wack.

Nothing is repressed with the BLOUSONS NOIRS. Their enthusiasm and carefree attitude are such that the songs are delightfully exuberant.

Their two unusually unique EPs were released in 1961 ("Special Rock" EP) and 1962 ("Special Twist" EP) on the Guilain label.

And as a French band, they quite naturally decided to cover French rock standards_ slaying them with enthusiasm! Les Chaussettes Noires (The Black Socks), Les Chats Sauvages (The Wild Cats) and two of Johnny Hallyday's songs were thus brought to the spotlight.

The only original track was "Les fous du twist" (crazy for the twist) written by their young producer Claude Ghislain.

For the record, their "Eddy soit Bon" (Eddy be Good) was originally Chuck Berry's "Johnny B Good".

Congratulations guys, good job! A long year separated the two recordings and not much improvement was to be heard.

The BLOUSONS NOIRS were bad and obviously didn't really care. The fact that they used the same picture for the cover of both EPs reinforces the feeling of total uselessness and "don't give a fuck" attitude that is so often embraced by rock'n'roll.

This band can easily be treated as a joke or an oddity, but whether you like it or not, the BLOUSONS NOIRS were forerunners of the French punk and DIY scenes.

To gain a better picture, remember that it wasn't until 1964 that Hasil Adkins published his "She Said", 1965 that the Peruvians of Los Saicos put out "Demolicion", and 1966 that the Legendary Stardust Cowboy delivered his killer "Paralysed".

The Shaggs and their late "Philosophy of the world" in '69 were too late to the game. In order to become a band with a cult following, all the BLOUSONS NOIRS had to do was remain anonymous.

Our investigations to try and identify these rock n' rollers were futile. All we know, is that they have nothing to do with the band with the same name that served as backing band to Tony March, the Elvis of the French Aquitaine region.

In fact, the only information regarding the identity of the BLOUSONS NOIRS comes from Marc Liozon (Editor-in-Chief of the club des années 60 fanzine) who found a copy of the second EP dedicated to a certain Minie.

This lead us to discovering that the band was comprised of Clod on lead guitar, Jo on rhythm guitar, Did on drums and Samy on vocals_ A nice bunch! In short, no known identities, no concerts, no pictures, two insane EPs out of nowhere_ Long live punk, long live France, long live the BLOUSONS NOIRS!