HISTORY:
Soeur Sourire (Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers) was a Belgium born singer who in later life became a nun (Sister Luc-Gabrielle) She is probably most remembered in the music world for the song "Dominique" which she recorded in 1963 and achieved worldwide acclaim and success.
This is a Taiwanese produced copy of the album, The Singing Nun. In fact it is a major variation (artwork) of the USA release. Why bootleg a French album? (I hear you asking, head loped to one side and with one eye closed) ... the dominant French speaking nation in South East Asia is Vietnam, as a result of French colonisation from the mid 1800's until the mid 1900's and although French is still spoken in Vietnam, the use of the language has declined somewhat.
This unofficial (bootleg) release was aimed at the South East Asian French speaking music marketplace.
As often is the case with bootlegs, the cover was quite different to the original release in both in text, layout and colouration and even the vinyl used.
The vinyl is 120g Red (translucent) not black. This is not a trendy marketing ploy as coloured vinyl is used today but I strongly suspect this is "Evergreen" vinyl, a red vinyl formula that was proprietary to Toshiba, Japan. It is considered much "quieter" than the Western vinyl of the day and often sought out by collectors.
The album cover artwork looks as though the USA version was copied, without the sketches and text though. The front cover image is reversed with extensive Mandarin text added. Background colour is Orange, not White as with the original. The rear of the very simple cover is the lyrics for both sides of the vinyl, in French.
Perhaps the most glaring error with this release, the record label on both sides declares the title of the album is THE SINGING MUN
So, while the music may not be to your taste, this is a little bit of plastic music history - Western musical entertainment infiltrating the Asian marketplace just prior to the Vietnam War.
Cat# MXL 1070
MONO recording
Taiwan release
196x (?) bootleg of the original 1963 release - I am not sure about the release date of this bootleg but 1964~1965 sounds about right. It takes time to copy over the source audio, produce the stampers, press/print and get it down to the markets!
The cover is the most basic of covers ... two pieces of paper only. One page has an Orange background with Red & Green coloured print, this is the front. The other piece of paper is White with Black print, this is the rear lyric sheet. The two sheets are held together with multi-folded clear plastic.
Overall, the cover is in good condition. No tears, no personal writing and no serious damage to that all important clear plastic covering. I have seen far far worse than this.
New plastic inner sleeve provided for the record
The Red translucent vinyl is in very good condition, visually inspected and I can see no obvious scratches or marks on either side although it is very hard to see these things on this red vinyl. The real test is to play the vinyl ... I then played both sides ENTIRELY, every single track, and there are no issues with surface noise or click/pops. A really nice play!
New outer protective sleeve
TRACKS: Dominique, Soeur Adele, Fleur De Cactus, Complainte Pour Marie-Jacques, Je Voudrais, Tous Les Chemins, Plume De Radis, Mets Ton Joli Jupon, Resurrection, Alleluia, J'ai Trouvé Le Seineur, Entre Les Étoiles
