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IRM
 
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IRM

Charlotte GainsbourgMP3 Music
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

Price: $9.49
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Album Savings: $7.28 compared to buying all songs

  • Original Release Date: November 27, 2009
  • Format - Music: MP3
  • Compatible with MP3 Players (including with iPod®), iTunes, Windows Media Player
 
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  Song Title Time Price  
Play   1. Master's Hands 2:47 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play   2. IRM 2:35 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play   3. Le Chat Du Café Des Artistes 4:01 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play   4. In The End 1:59 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play   5. Heaven Can Wait 2:40 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play   6. Me And Jane Doe 3:19 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play   7. Vanities 3:37 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play   8. Time Of The Assassins 2:44 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play   9. Trick Pony 2:51 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play 10. Greenwich Mean Time 2:24 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play 11. Dandelion 3:15 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play 12. Voyage 4:01 $1.29  Buy MP3 
Play 13. La Collectionneuse 5:15 $1.29  Buy MP3 
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Product Details


Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
(20)
4.4 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Charlotte gives Beck a new voice January 30, 2010
Format:Audio CD
Chalotte Gainsbourg has had a rollercoaster of a life since the release of her last album, 5:55 in 2006. In 2007, she played Claire, a French artist who became one of Bob Dylan's wives in the movie I'm Not There. The same year, she fell victim to a water skiing accident that violently shook her brain and could have easily paralyzed or killed her. After undergoing emergency surgery, Charlotte was miraculously fine, but she had numerous M.R.I. scans afterwards to verify her stable condition. The title of this new album, the French term for M.R.I., clearly reflects Charlotte's mindset as this new album was produced.

Although Charlotte is the sole vocalist on all but one of the tracks on IRM, a great deal of the creative control on this solo record, including the majority of the songwriting credit, is given to Beck Hansen, commonly known as Beck. From the first measure of "Master's Hands," the lead track on IRM, Beck's influence is easily recognizable. Gainsbourg had already seemed to channel Beck's Mellow Gold on 5:55, but IRM captures the more experimental and percussive side of Beck heard on "Modern Guilt," Beck's most recent release.

The title track, "IRM", cleverly uses sample sounds of a running M.R.I. machine as the lyrics "Take a picture, what's inside? Ghost image in my mind" are sung by an intentionally emotionless Gainsbourg. While references to her life after the accident are not always so blatantly present, they can often be found hidden within a verse or chorus; Beck's obvious attempt to keep the music relative to the artist singing. The only track on which Beck does sing, Heaven Can Wait, he and Charlotte share nearly every word with a perfect balance. Neither Beck nor Gainsbourg are particularly gifted vocalists, but their lack of refinement seems to give an additional honesty to the words being sung.

It seems strange to call this a Charlotte Gainsbourg solo album with Beck's influence reigning over every last aspect of the work, but what started as a small recording session between the two blossomed into an incredible success. Charlotte's last record, certified platinum in France, never achieved much success in the US, but with a little help from the cunning king of musical imagery, I have no doubt IRM will finally provide her with the recognition she deserves.

Similar Artists: Beck, Regina Spektor

Track Suggestion: IRM
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM January 26, 2010
Format:Audio CD
The best way for me to describe IRM is as the long-awaited follow-up to Sea Change/Mutations-style Beck, only sans the Beck. I mean, Beck did most of the writing, recording, and producing, but his singing on the record is sparse. Like with Sea Change, Beck's father provides excellent string arrangements, and they really add to the chill atmosphere of the album. IRM is sleek and sexy, and the best example of the album's mood is in "La Chat du Café des Artistes," a rhythmic French number that very obviously brings to mind Sea Change's excellent "Paper Tiger." This is a very cool record, and I really got into it after only one listen, which isn't very common for me, but I think if you give it a shot, you'll see what a mean. Charlotte has a beautiful, sultry voice that she marries perfectly with Beck's production style. This is a record for any Beck fan and anyone still waiting for a new Beck album in the vein of Mutations and Sea Change. Get it while it's hot and steamy.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 stars... Winning album from start to finish February 8, 2010
Format:Audio CD
Charlotte Gainsbourg is a well-known actress, but with a serious musical legacy, being the daughter of Serge Gainsbourg, the French music icon. She's made a couple of interesting albums over the years, her 2006 album "5:55" being quite good. For her new album, Charlotte enlisted the help of Beck, and his presence looms large over this album.

"IRM" (13 tracks; 42 min.) sound to me like a new Beck album, sung by Charlotte, not that I'm complaining. Beck wrote 12 of the 13 tracks on here, and the songs contain the quirkiness you would expect from Beck, but it must be said that Beck wrote the songs just perfectly to Charlotte's personality. The first 2 tracks set the table, "Master's Head" and "IRM" are just fun, dance-along tracks. Next comes "Le Chat du Cafe des Artistes", a moody tune with Charlotte's sultry French lyrics, just great. "In the End" is a short 2 min. interlude that plays perfectly to Charlotte's vocals. "Heaven Can Wait" is a great little song that should find airplay if commercial mainstream radio was any good still (which of it isn't). Most of the songs are pretty short, they make their musical point and move on, and that's just peachy with me. "Vanities" is as haunting as you'll ever hear. "Trick Pony" is a hard-charging short tune that I just love. The album closes with two of its best tunes, the quirky upbeat "Voyage" and the closer "La Collectionneuse" which sums up the album perfectly (and at 5 min. is the longest track on here).

What a fantastic album this is from start to finish. Charlotte is scheduled to play Coachella in April, and this is surely one of the most anticipated sets for me. If you are on the fence about this album, but like Beck, by all means, buy this, you will not be disappointed. If you wonder where you can hear this album, check out WOXY (BAM! The Future of Rock and Roll), the internet-only station that brings the best indie-music in the country and where this album continues to be in heavy rotation as we speak. Meanwhile, "IRM" is highly recommended!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars french
modern soft and amazingly sensual. watch the videos on utube. her voice is like an irish fairy, magical and slyvan.
Published 5 months ago by picky
5.0 out of 5 stars Irm
I bought this album after briefly listening to it. I took a chance and purchased it. I am really happy that I bought it. I enjoy the album very much.
Published 14 months ago by L.R.
3.0 out of 5 stars Great Voice
Great Voice. Some really cool guitar work. This is a Poppy album, but unique in it's sound. I would like to see where this artists sounds evolve to... Read more
Published 16 months ago by B. Lockett
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my personal favorites
Brilliant track after brilliant track, it only gets better if you buy Stage Whisper in addition to this album. Read more
Published 18 months ago by marcus_edens
4.0 out of 5 stars gainsburg?
The songs are written by Beck and it all clearly sounds Beck-esque so just wonder what exactly Charl. Gains. contributed? Read more
Published 21 months ago by S. Sasic
3.0 out of 5 stars We fit together like nickels on a dime.
Here we have and album by French-English actress Charlotte Gainsbourg that was produced by Beck. It sounds like what you would expect a Charlotte Gainsbourg album produced by Beck... Read more
Published on May 19, 2011 by Johnny Heering
4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Album, But No Download Code
I really like the album, but wish they would have squeezed the songs into two or three sides (instead of four) to give it more continuity. Read more
Published on March 13, 2010 by mmmmm
3.0 out of 5 stars not too bad
Charlotte Gainsbourg is a great actress. No doubt about that. It's just she doesn't make mind-blowing albums or songs. The standouts on her second album are "IRM" and "Deandelion. Read more
Published on March 7, 2010 by Mark Wiatrowski
4.0 out of 5 stars Good second album
If her first album had really the 'Air' sound, this one sounds like a Beck album. If you like Beck, go for it, you won't be disappointed. This is a good album.
Published on March 4, 2010 by FrogRacing
5.0 out of 5 stars Quite Simply Impressive
I've been a huge fan of Beck of a long, long time, I have nearly every single Beck record (I don't have the counterpart to One Foot In The Grave, yet). Read more
Published on February 23, 2010 by Mark Abrahamsen
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