Kate & Anna McGarrigle - French Record (1980, 1992)

Their own lineage may tilt toward the English side of Quebec's bicultural divide, but Kate and Anna McGarrigle courted their home province's French roots from the outset. When "Complainte Pour Ste. Catherine," recorded for their 1975 debut, proved a hit in France, the McGarrigles repaid the compliment by including several traditional French songs on their second album, then reuniting with "Complainte" lyricist Philippe Tatartcheff for this lovely Francophone collection. It's of a piece with their superb English recordings, decorating its acoustic arrangements with accordion, organ, and occasional, warm gusts of brass. The songs capture the streets of Montreal and the lanes of smaller, rural Quebec villages, and, like the sisters' other songs, ponder the timeless contradictions of amour while inserting canny, modern detail. --Sam Sutherland