POPERA COSMIC - Les Enclaves LP

For the few people lucky enough to have heard the entire album in the five decades since its release, the mythical Popera Cosmic LP is now considered to be France’s first dedicated psychedelic album and the shrouded blueprint for the hugely influential Gallic concept album phenomenon that followed – including Serge Gainsbourg’s Histoire De Melody Nelson and Gérard Manset’s La Mort D’Orion.

Popera Cosmic is a very early William Sheller effort, and is pretty close to an exploitation album (there's even a cover of 'Batman' for heaven sake!). But the album cannot be written off so easily, as there are many experimental, avant garde, and flat out interesting instrumental rock segments that are way ahead of its time for 1969. Also sung in French, which was still unusual for the rock scene in those days.