Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited [Import]

Serge Gainsbourg | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 4, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: UNIVERSAL
• ASIN: B000EXDXSO
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,630 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Serge Gainsbourg's death, hip artists (mostly British) have covered a superb selection from his songbook. English speakers shouldn't fret: The songs have been translated/adapted from the French. But fans of the original versions won't be disappointed either: most of the tracks here are appropriately reverential, but they also put contemporary twists on songs that sometimes date back to the late 1950s and early 1960s. The CD opens and closes with very different covers of "Sorry Angel": Franz Ferdinand and Gainsbourg's muse, Jane Birkin, collaborate on the rocking "A Song for Sorry Angel," while Nathan Larsson and the Cardigans' Nina Persson's "Angel's Fall" is much moodier. Other highlights include Portishead's spooky "Requiem for Anna"; Marianne Faithfull's raspy interpretation of "Lola R. For Ever," backed by Sly & Robbie; Gonzales, Feist and Dani's quirkily funky "Boomerang 2005"; and the Rakes' taut "Just a Man with a Job." Gainsbourg was known for his unabashed taste for eroticism, and in that regard, the album’s most faithful tribute to his spirit is Cat Power and Karen Elson's whispery, Sapphic take on "I Love You (Me Either)." Monsieur Gainsbourg would have approved. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Product Description

International pressing. This album brings together artists from the international scene to interpret English adaptations of various songs by Serge Gainsbourg. Features 15 total tracks from the likes of Franz Ferdinand with Jane Birkin, Portishead, Cat Power and Karen Elson, Michael Stipe, Jarvis Cocker & Kid Loco, The Kills, Cat Power with Karen Elson, Tricky, Marc Almond with Trash Palace and more. Universal. 2006.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Astound!, May 21, 2006

By 

Elisavet Giannakoudaki (NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited (Audio CD)

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!!

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the BEST tribute albums...ever!, September 11, 2006

By 

G. Mitchell "greggmitch" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited (Audio CD)

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!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As Sexy As the Original Recordings, June 21, 2006

By 

Thomas D. Ryan "American Hit Network" (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited (Audio CD)

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