PASCAL COMELADE - MÉTAPHYSIQUE DU HIT-PARADE

Format: LP
Catalogue No.: WE20
Barcode: 4250101495854
Release Date: 10 Jul 2026
Genre: Avant-Pop/Experimental

‘THE PROLIFIC AND ELUSIVE MUSICIAN ARRAGES WELL-KNOWN COMPOSITIONS FOR TOY INSTRUMENTS AND ACOUSTIC/ELECTRONIC PERCUSSION’ - WIRE

Métaphysique Du Hit-Parade is the first vinyl compilation devoted to Pascal Comelade’s favourite cover versions. It spans a forty-year career and traces sixty years of rock and roll history along the way. “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” becomes a soft, soothing lullaby that may well have made the Ramones weep. Then there are his idiosyncratic tributes to Jonathan Richman (“Egyptian Reggae”) and The Kinks (“Sunny Afternoon”), alongside nods to formative heroes such as The Gun Club, Captain Beefheart, and MC5.

Two exclusive recordings stand out particularly: Bob Dylan’s “Girl from the North Country” and Nirvana’s “Come As You Are”—a song that shaped my early youth. Both were recorded especially for this release.

I first encountered Pascal Comelade’s music thirty years ago—and nothing has sounded quite the same since. I was immediately captivated: he is an artist like no other, whose sincere and selfless love of music is always evident, especially in his tender reworkings of other people’s songs.

Comelade seems to work like a watchmaker: meticulous, precise, and obsessive—yet always drifting into something dreamlike. His music opens hidden doors, telling strange and beguiling stories filled with obscurity, kindness, and reserved humour.

Back then, my fascination was instinctive. Today, with a few more words at my disposal, I look to this exceptional 70-year-old French musician and feel exactly the same pull.

Jan Lankisch (Week-End Records), January 2026

Tracklisting
A1 Pascal Comelade Come As You Are 00:02:40
A2 Pascal Comelade Russian Roulette 00:03:22
A3 Pascal Comelade Egyptian Reggae 00:01:02
A4 Pascal Comelade Ramblin’ Rose 00:02:16
A5 Pascal Comelade Johnny Guitar 00:01:48
A6 Pascal Comelade I Love Joan Jett 00:04:00
A7 Pascal Comelade Purple Haze 00:02:04
B1 Pascal Comelade The Sad Skinhead 00:02:06
B2 Pascal Comelade Brown Sugar 00:03:00
B3 Pascal Comelade Sheena Is A Punk Rocker 00:02:02
B4 Pascal Comelade Green Fuz 00:03:18
B5 Pascal Comelade Sunny Afternoon 00:01:04
B6 Pascal Comelade Girl from the North Country 00:01:36
B7 Pascal Comelade Mother of Earth 00:02:44
B8 Pascal Comelade Dali's Car 00:01:26