Customer Reviews

Gainsbarre

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This was my first introduction to the work of Serge Gainsbourg. Well, not quite this actual set, to be honest - a slimmed-down, 2CD version brought out by Phonogram France, presumably as a budget-price version of the full thing. But it still covers the whole of Gainsbourg's career, from snappily poetic 50s pop to consciously sleazy 80s electro. At any rate, I've listened to most of the titles on this set, and what strikes me above all is the man's amazing capacity for reinventing himself, and remaining himself at the same time.

If you've never heard anything by him, Serge Gainsbourg isn't like anyone else. I tried to tell myself "Well, he's part Dean Martin...part Jim Morrison...part Bob Marley..." but it didn't work. There's a superficial resemblance to Jacques Brel, but Brel is much more heroic and operatic. You get the impression that, had they been born early enough to be adult during WW2, Brel might well have dashed off early on to join the Resistance, but Gainsbourg would have slouched in the bar and lit another Gitane and scowled, only to redeem himself at the last possible moment. He remains tantalisingly unpredictable and anti-heroic.

The early stuff (c.1958-60) is good, bouncy French pop music with a real gift for wordplay, sort of Jacques Prevert meets Bobby Darin. Even an at-best partial Francophone like myself can appreciate Gainsbourg's brilliant lyrics on songs like "L'Eau a la bouche" and "Black Trombone". It must be admitted that, as a constructor of songs, he wasn't on the same level as a Smokey Robinson or a Goffin/King - he never seems to have learnt the value of a good middle eight, and his pleasant baritone voice stays strictly under control. But the canny innocence of a song like "New York USA" is sort of touching - a strident jungle beat, with Serge and a girly chorus hyming how, well, tall, the buildings of New York are. (Though maybe this song becomes more touching with the hindsight available after recent events.)

In the 60s, it gets more romantic, and also more cynical. His brief fling with Brigitte Bardot yielded the wonderful "Bonnie and Clyde", later sampled and rewritten by MC Solaar for his classic "Nouveau Western" - its breakbeat rhythm still sounds weirdly modern. There's also The One Everyone Knows, the breathy, organ-powered "Je t'aime", in which he murmurs to Jane Birkin that he's coming and going between her kidneys (????). I mean, too much information, yes, but it's still a great make-out song, if you can stop yourself from giggling.

In the 70s and 80s, the music starts to take a second place to the lyrics. There's a fair amount of ironic reggae and discopop, with Serge growling his disillusion over the top, and I for one find some of it a little hard to take, although the 1987 "Lemon Incest", recorded with his then-teenage daughter Charlotte, is truly disturbing, and I think meant to be. But there's also one utterly brilliant coda to the whole thing, the 1991 remix of "Requiem pour un con", the title of which is too obscene to translate for a family site like this. A pounding, sinister, funky elegy for an incredible career, and even if it isn't meant to be about him, it's certainly a clear-eyed and sarcastically unrepentant farewell.

Do yourself a favour and plunge into le monde Gainsbourg. He's a dubious companion who you wouldn't want to turn your back on, but he's never less than entertaining. This is a splendid tribute to a true genius of popular music.

I bought this one in France where he is still remembered by most as the man who set fire to a 100 franc note on tv back when 100 francs must have meant something. Serge went through several periods but the 3 cd's seem to break up his life-work into manageable bites: Early jazz raconteur, midlife hippie sex-god, worn-out reggae profligate. All are good - I'm not sure he ever did anything weak - and the parts I didn't like at first have grown on me so that I like everything equally.

There are too many standout songs to mention, but current favorites include Couleur Cafe, chanson de Prevert, Sous le soleil exactement, L'ami caouette, Javanaise, Requiem pour un C, and several others I don't recognise the names of. If you've heard several covers of the songs Je t'aime moi non plus and Bonnie and Clyde (Luna), notably - these are good, but you'll be awestruck at the quantity and sheer quality of the others.

This is music that will last - I'm confident that in 50 years people will still play music by Serge, Muddy Waters, and the Beatles.

I'm French and as such I like Gainsbourg. No matter how provocative, edgy and anti-hero the guy was, every French person of every age loved and still loves Serge; that's what genius is all about. The guy created landmark album after landmark album from the 60's to the 90's, always reinventing himself, sometimes riding the waves of the times, sometimes preceding them. Serge was a true songwriter in the sense that his lyrics and his music perfectly fit each other. He was both a top lyricist and a top composer. Atmosphere is the key word in his art. This is especially visible in his brilliant album-concepts "l'homme a tete de choux" and "Melody Nelson". He was genre-agnostic and could come out with a Jazz, Rock, Pop, or Reggae album with equal success and without ever losing its own strong personality in the mix. Being published in France, Serge could indulge in explicit-yet-never-low-class lyrics. It also meant that his creativity was not curved by commercial considerations. For the last 50 years, French song-writing has been heavily influenced by giants such as Charles Trenet, George Brassens, or Jacques Brel. But if you only go with one, go with Serge. And if you want to sample his works through time, this combo is your best ticket. You won't be disappointed.

Here is a perfect start for anyone interested in GAINSBOURG'S music.This collection is an excellent overview that will give you the variety of his range.When LULU(his nickname) started recording in 1958,he was into his chansonnier trip,but his originality was all there from the beginning.He was willing to go elsewhere and quickly he included different influences like bossa nova and later on yé yé music(a sort of toned down BRITISH INVASION stuff with FRENCH overtones),disco,conceptual albums and even reggae and rap.It is that curiousity and overture to all kinds of music that makes him such an interesting figure.Ten years after his death,he has become a cult figure that new artists discover as years go by.GAINSBOURG was a complex man who didn't take himself seriously;that's a key aspect of his personnality.He was talented to be sure,no one can deny that.Like many great artists,he usually worked fast and often changed his songs just before he recorded them.Buy this and then buy HISTOIRE DE MÉLODIE NELSON and L'HOMME A LA TETE DE CHOU,his two masterful concept albums.It's clear now that LULU won't be forgotten by his fans,and to tell you the truth the guy deserves it.