Comic Strip

Serge Gainsbourg | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 25, 1997)
• Original Release Date: February 11, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Island / Mercury
• ASIN: B000001EIC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,646 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Requiem Pour Un Con (Bof Le Pacha)

2. Bonnie and Clyde

3. Initials B B

4. Comic Strip [Version Inedite]

5. Chatterton [Version Inedite]

6. Bloody Jack

7. Docteur Jekyll Et Monsieur Hyde

8. Torrey Canyon [Version Inedite]

9. Shu Ba du Ba Loo Ba

10. Ford Mustang

11. Black and White

12. Qui Est In Qui Est Out

13. Hold Up [Version 45 Tours]

14. Marilu

15. Un Poison Violent, C'est Ca L'amour

16. Sous Le Soleil Exactement

17. Soixante Neuf Année Érotique

18. Les Sucettes

19. L' Anamour

20. Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus

Editorial Reviews

-titolo-comic stripartista-serge gainsbourg etichetta-mercury-n. dischi1data-15 ottobre 1997supporto-cd audiogenere-pop e rock internazionale----brani-1.requiem pour un c..ascolta2.bonnie and clydeascolta3.initials b.b.ascolta4.comic stripascolta5.chatter

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Compilation, November 5, 2001

By 

nowhereman (America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Comic Strip (Audio CD)

Where most compilations fail, this one succeeds. Rather than trying to paint a picture of Gainsbourg's entire output, "Comic Strip" focuses on the artist's output from the late 60s, the period most regard as his peak.

While there are a few arguably important songs from the late 60s that are absent here, the track selection is excellent overall. 'Comic Strip' and 'Bonnie and Clyde' highlight Gainsbourg's work with Brigitte Bardot. 'Requiem pour un Con' is a timeless wonder. But what really impresses about this CD is that it does not try to merely provide a greatest hits package. Lesser known songs such as 'Ford Mustang' and 'Un Poison Violent' are welcome additions.

And as the album progresses we get Gainsbourg's late 60s output, accented by his collaboration with Jane Birkin in 'Soixante-Neuf Année Erotique.'

There were a plethora or songs that Gainsbourg wrote very other artists, so his value is doubly important. 'Les Sucettes' and 'Sous le Soleil Exactement' are great examples, and the inclusion of his own versions are very welcome indeed.

This is a wonderful overview of the peak of the most influential French songwriter ever, a man who still casts a large shadow of influence over modern day French, American, and British artists. A very smart buy to become familiar with his work....

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A handful of indispensable tunes., March 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Comic Strip (Audio CD)

I gave 4 stars instead of 5 because a few of these songs are a bit annoying and not for all tastes. But many other songs are absolutely indispensable:

"Bonnie and Clyde" (in French, despite its title) sounds like it could have come off of "The Velvet Undergound & Nico" album (one of the all-time greats). (His companions in his duets serve the same purpose as Nico, who herself was a model/actress not espeically known for her singing.)

"Je t'aime...moi non plus" is a legendary song that hasn't aged; the organ reminds me of Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale."

"Chatterton" and "Requiem pour un con" sound incredibly contemporary - the first time I heard them, I thought they must be re-mixed versions (they aren't) because the beats seem influenced by hip-hop.

"Soixante neuf anne erotique" is pure bubblegum, a perfect song, and a nice companion piece to "Je t'aime." "Sous le soleil exactement" and "Les Sucettes" (with its wah-wah guitar in the background) are strange and beautiful songs. Other songs have the same experimental flavor found on late Beatles albums: "Comic Strip," "Ford Mustang," "Hold Up." A couple songs (especially "L'anamour") are Francoise Hardy-type Ye-Ye pop songs.

Every French rock collection should contain many of these songs; so should any collection of '60s psychedelic/California music.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ...and It STILL Sounds Sexy!!!, June 1, 2006

By 

Thomas D. Ryan "American Hit Network" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Comic Strip (Audio CD)

For those who are unfamiliar, Serge Gainsbourg is (was) a French songwriter and performer who sang almost exclusively in his native language. Comic Strip focuses on pop material that he recorded between 1966 and 1969. If the age of the material or language puts you off, then I appreciate this opportunity to convince you otherwise. First of all, the French lyrics only add to the strange mystery of the music, while these songs sound remarkably contemporary. Imagine a pop song that consists of percussion loops and rhythm samples, recorded in 1967! The leadoff track "Requiem pour un Con" (translated as "Requiem for a Jerk") is just that, with a rhythm that sounds as if it were constructed by the most contemporary urban producer. Since he sings entirely in French, dweebs like me can't understand a thing except for the occasional American phrase that pops up - "Bonnie and Clyde", "Ford Mustang", etc.
Comic Strip can best be described as droll camp. Gainsbourg sings as though he were mocking the musical forms that he is embracing, giving each track a coy sexiness that permeates the entire project. In its time, "Je T'aime...Moi Non Plus" (translated as "I Love You...Neither Do I") was considered so sexy that it was banned in numerous countries, while Brigitte Bardot (!) provides guest vocals on "Bonnie and Clyde". Imagine Ray Davies as an ugly, sensuous Frenchman with a taste for the theatricality of lounge music super-hero Esquivel, and you'll get a pretty good idea of what this collections sounds like. Throughout, Gainsbourg's songs sound like a product of the ambitious sixties (which they are), even though he ignores what everybody else was doing. Simply put, he was an iconoclast who hammered out a niche that is his alone. Pardon my French, but Comic Strip has a certain `gene se qoi'. A- Tom Ryan