Customer Reviews

Master Serie - Vol. 1

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This is a collection of French ballads and pop songs by the famous chanteuse of the sensual Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus). There are three duets with Serge Gainsbourg - the aforementioned classic plus La Décadanse and 69 Année Erotique, while Gainsbourg had a hand in writing and/or arranging most of the tracks.

The opening number Quoi was the theme of the TV series Cinecitta and the breathy English song Yesterday Yes A Day comes from the soundtrack of the film Madame Claude. In the song Ex Fan Des Sixties, Birkin lists her favorite pop stars, including The Birds, The Doors and Jim Morrison, The Moody Blues, The Animals, the individual Beatles, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis, Otis Redding, Janis Joplin and T. Rex.

Je Taime is of course a gem and none of the other attempts at eroticism equals its timeless appeal. My favorites include the tuneful numbers La Décadanse, Mon Amour Baiser, Fuir Le Bonheur and Ballade De Johnny-Jane. Those who like late sixties and early seventies vocal pop like Mary Hopkin, Françoise Hardy and the early, folky Marianne Faithfull will enjoy the work of Jane Birkin.

With the exception of those I have mentioned, most songs unfortunately lack catchy tunes, rendering them less than memorable. But this album is still a pleasant listening experience and it is great to finally hear some of the other work of the moaning singer of Je T'Aime!

If you like GAINSBOURG, this record is worth buying because most of the best songs with JANE are there.It includes the funny RACCROCHEZ C'EST UNE ERREUR in which a sex maniac calls a woman and gives her his fantasy talk;the alternate version of the classic JE T'AIME MOI NON PLUS, and the beautifully sad QUOI in which JANE'S charm is at her best.JANE is the most celebrated of the so called GAINSBOURG muses, and she first met SERGE while making the movie LA PISCINE in 1968.