Customer Reviews

Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

L'Hotel (6) by Michael Stipe is marvellous. This man comes definitely premium after monsieur G. Cat Power gives a sky high performance (2) but Gonzales w/ Feist elevate amazingly Boomerang (9), and Tricky (7) qualifies in Aurevoir Emmanuelle. Portishead's surprise in the Requiem for Anna (4) is more than pleasant. Monsieur must be really proud up there- it's more than his spirit in this album. Great one!!

Tribute albums are so often a bummer, but this one really works. Serge Gainsbourg just seems to be a great artist to interpret for English-speaking bands/performers. Mick Harvey's two albums of Serge covers with English lyrics are absolute gems. And this collection is almost as enjoyable as those. The best track is Kid Loco and Jarvis Cocker's take on "I Have Come to Tell You That I'm Going," which has a late-night, downtempo feel. Not far behind is Marianne Faithful's rendition of the bawdy, hilarious "Lola Rasta" song. Gang of Four wannabees Franz Ferdinand and the Rakes both bring their angular, biting guitar work to the fore, and successfully so. One minor quibble is the Cat Power duet of "J'Taime . . . " - the version is done well enough, but this song has been covered so many times and is so over the top, it really didn't need to be recorded again. If you love Serge you will love this comp.

I can't believe a) no one has reviewed this CD yet and b) I can't believe it's way back at 8,000+ on the sales chart - are there really 8,000+ better CDs than this?! Not on your life. Unlike most tribute albums, which usually feature inferior echoes of the original songs, THIS star-studded tribute CD is very much keeping in the spirit of Monsieur Gainsbourg: sly, sexy, and sophisticated - even groovy. The line-up is stellar and you can't find quite believe all these acts said yes: Portishead, Franz Ferdinand, The Rakes, Marianne Faithful, Placebo/Brian Molko, Marc Almond, The Kills, Feist, Trash Palace, Sly & Robbie - cmon?! WOW! And ALL these artists reinterpret a great collection of songs, making them their own, fresh, unique, and very 2006. From indie rock to reggae to trip-hop to electro-pop and all in between, this is easily one of the best CDs of 2006!

The `All-Music Guide' opens their assessment of Serge Gainsbourg by referring to him as "the dirty old man of popular music." That tells only half of the story but I suppose that it's an epithet that will have to do for most Americans. In this country, very few people grew familiar with Gainsbourg; he never had a top 40 hit and sang (or spoke, actually) in his native French language, which certainly didn't help matters. Music fans knew of him through "Je'Taime Moi Non Plus" (which translates rather humorously as "I Love You - Me Either"), which made some inroads on the radio, despite its overtly sexual content. "Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited" is a tribute album to Mr. Gainsbourg, and it has one or two distinct advantages at reaching a mass audience that Mr. Gainsbourg himself did not have. First of all, the pop artists featured on this collection already have a sizeable following, especially Franz Ferdinand and Cat Power. Second, the lyrics throughout this tribute have been translated to English, making it easier to hear the wry sensuality that defines a Gainsbourg song.
The Franz Ferdinand performance of "Sorry Angel" is good enough on its own to justify a purchase of this disk, especially since the track is also credited to Gainsbourg's musical partner and lover Jane Birkin (the female voice on "Je'Taime Moi Non Plus"), but Cat Power's version of his only near-hit (with Karen Elson) makes this disk essential listening. It is fascinating to hear the English version, and as sung by two women, it not only retains but also in a sense surpasses the sly sensuality that made the original recording so hot, and so controversial.
The fourteen tracks on this collection are remarkably consistent, especially considering that this is a `tribute' album. Not too surprisingly, I find Marc Almond and Trash Palace to be the least effective interpreter here ("Boy Toy"), but even then, I must admit that he does seem to possess an innate understanding of Gainsburg's muse. The artists seem to be reveling in the sexually amorphous nature of the music, and although he has been dead for over fifteen years, it's fascinating to hear that so many artists can still get a rise out of him. B+ Tom Ryan

Brilliant compilation that really sets the mood. Listening to it is like being in the sexiest lounge party in town, surrounded by everyone fabulous, while sipping a perfect cocktail.

I just received this today and actually got the double LP instead of the cd. When typing in the upc code it comes up as a cd but is actually the double lp. Anyway enough of that. This is such wonderful music all of the tributes are spot on. Always nice to hear other people do their own version of something so beautiful. Check it out. If you like gainsbourg you will appreciate this.

Just picked this up in a used CD store, mostly for the awesome tackiness of the cover photo. Amazingly, the music inside is not only NOT tacky, it's just plain awesome. And totally worth quite a bit more than the seven bucks I spent. I feel lucky today...

I have been looking forward to this one. Serge Gainsbourg is someone who was ignored by America when he was alive, but he has been revived, mostly by British bands. Beck has always been a big fan. Mick Harvey did a few cover albums in English of the Gainsbourg work. There has been a group of new French singers who have reminded us of his legacy. So it's no wonder that this album hasn't come out sooner. The first song is a coupling of Franz Ferdinand and Jane Birkin, doing "A Song for Sorry Angel." It's a pretty rocking cut. Cat Power and Karen Elson do a limp version of "I Love You (Me Either)." This song is so well known, that it's hard to improve. One of the early highlights is "I Just Came To Tell You That I'm Going" by Jarvis Cocker & Kid Loco. Jarvis Cocker has become sort of the English version of Gainsbourg. For some reason Portishead and Tricky are on here. They are never good at cover songs. Part of this album is very Brain Molko centric. Molko teams up with Francois Hardy in a techno version of "Requiem For Un Con." Placebo does "Melody Nelson" which was featured on their cover record a few years ago. Placebo spin off band, The Kills, does a pretty good rendition of "I Call It Art." They end up sounding like Blonde Redhead. There are other great moments by Michael Stipe, Marc Almond and Carla Bruni. Probably the best surprise and refreshing bit is "Just A Man With A Job" by The Rakes. This may help the English-speaking and American born world appreciate what genius Gainsbourg had.

I have been looking forward to this one. Serge Gainsbourg is someone who was ignored by America when he was alive, but he has been revived, mostly by British bands. Beck has always been a big fan. Mick Harvey did a few cover albums in English of the Gainsbourg work. There has been a group of new French singers who have reminded us of his legacy. So it's no wonder that this album hasn't come out sooner. The first song is a coupling of Franz Ferdinand and Jane Birkin, doing "A Song for Sorry Angel." It's a pretty rocking cut. Cat Power and Karen Elson do a limp version of "I Love You (Me Either)." This song is so well known, that it's hard to improve. One of the early highlights is "I Just Came To Tell You That I'm Going" by Jarvis Cocker & Kid Loco. Jarvis Cocker has become sort of the English version of Gainsbourg. For some reason Portishead and Tricky are on here. They are never good at cover songs. Part of this album is very Brain Molko centric. Molko teams up with Francois Hardy in a techno version of "Requiem For Un Con." Placebo does "Melody Nelson" which was featured on their cover record a few years ago. Placebo spin off band, The Kills, does a pretty good rendition of "I Call It Art." They end up sounding like Blonde Redhead. There are other great moments by Michael Stipe, Marc Almond and Carla Bruni. Probably the best surprise and refreshing bit is "Just A Man With A Job" by The Rakes. This may help the English-speaking and American born world appreciate what genius Gainsbourg had.