“A popular melody is as international a language as you will find anywhere in this world of ours. You don´t have to know the text to hum or whistle a happy tune – no matter what country of origin.
It is therefore little wonder that dance band leader Jean Couroyer roams musically across many borders in gathering material for his recording and makes sure of the widest possible acceptance by selecting the most popular dance rhythms.” (J.H. Watson from the liner notes to International Hit Parade)
This is another Swiss Varieton LP that I bought together with the Aprés-Ski in Kitzbühel album. Varieton was a sub-label of the main Swiss label Ex-Libris, used for budget releases like this one. The production is not so bad though, using thick cardboard and slick printing. It looks almost like an american album. The illustration on the sleeve however looks like it was drawn in five minutes by somebody who was not into the job at all. And it probably was. Regrettably I have had similar experiences in the past. The customer doesn´t really care or know the difference and I don´t really care or have the 
time either. So I rush a job. But receiving some product weeks later that reeks of all the reluctance it was crafted with feels bad. It´s embarassing to do poor work. Luckily those jobs are the exception, but at least for some reason they are always the best paying.
The raw and bold brush work and the combination of the innocent big girl dancing with the bald little man stands out though. He´s hanging in mid-air and she´s missing an arm but there´s a primitive charm to it. Most certainly the rest of the album´s design was done by other people than the guy who did the sketch. The Ad Lib font used for the title of the album was designed in 1961 by Freeman Craw for the American Type Founders (ATF), so it was pretty hip at the time. When I see the font I think of Crypt Records, because they have used it excessively on their album covers and for their catalogues since the 1980´s.
Sure, all this analysis is redundant considering that apart from three twist songs the album is pretty forgettable, at least to my ears. But I buy some records for other reasons than the music and I do enjoy this restrained orchestra rock´n´roll that was made for old people. Maybe because I am old. Not a lot of information on the Internet about Jean Couroyer, but I guess he is from Switzerland. (by mischalke04.wordpress.com)
Yes, Jean Couroyer was a guitar player based in the french part of Switzerland. amd he active till the early Seventies as an Easy Listening conductor for many projects.
Here we can hear his versions of popular Twist and High Scholl Rock n Roll from the Fifites … a nice addition for every Easy Listening collection.
Personnel:
Jean Couroyer & His Dance Orchestra
Tracklist:
01. Let’s Twist Again (Mann/Appell) 1.42
02. La Bamba (Traditional) 2.29
03. Il Fault Savoir (Aznavour) 2.34
04. The Boogie-Twist (Davido) 2.03
05. You Don’t Know (Schroeder/Hawker) 2.48
06. Sucu-Sucu (Rojas) 2.06
07. Peppermint Twist (Dee) 2.30
08. The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Weiss/Peretti/Creatore) 2.41
09. La Pachanga (Davidson) 2.06
10. Midnight Twist (Davido) 2.33
11. Vamos A Ver (Davido) 2.11
12. La Novia (Prietto/Mogol) 2.28
13. The Twist (Ballard) 2.42
14. Coco Cha-Cha (Davido) 2.37
ManyFantasticColors 