Best of 3 CD: L'Album Souvenir

The son of noted film director Jules Dassin, Joe Dassin became a singing star in France, embracing American folk, rock, and country sounds and filtering them through a European musical sensibility. After scoring his first major hit in 1967, Dassin continued to pursue an eclectic variety of styles and themes in the course of a career that lasted up until his unexpected death in 1980. Best of L'Album Souvenir is a three-disc set that collects 58 songs, offering a representative cross-section of music from a major figure in French pop and rock. ~ Mark Deming