L' Enfant Assasin des Mouches

Jean-Claude Vannier

Product Details

• Vinyl (April 19, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 1972
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: B-Music
• ASIN: B00078GHVG
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #581,114 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Enfant la Mouche Les Allumettes (The Child the Fly and the Matches)

2. Enfant au Royaume des Mouches (The Child in the Fly Kingdom)

3. Danse des Mouches Noires Gardes du Roi (Dance of the Black Flies, ...)

4. Danse de l'Enfant et du Roi des Moushes (Dance of the Child and ...)

5. Roi des Mouches et la Confiture de Rouse (The King of the Flies ...)

6. Enfant Assassin des Mouches (The Child Fly-Killer)

7. Garde Volent au Secours du Roi (The Guards Fly to the King's Rescue)

8. Mort du Roi des Mouches (Death of the King of Flies)

9. Pattes de Mouches (Spidery Scrawl/Fly Legs)

10. Papier Tue-Enfant (The Paper Child-Killer)

11. Petite Agonie de l'Enfant Assassin (The Death Throes of the Child ...)

12. Je M'Appelle Geraldine [Mid-Tempo][*]

13. Je M'Appelle Geraldine [Up-Tempo][*]

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

2008 mini LP sleeve reissue of this album from Serge Gainsbourg's right-hand man Jean-Claude Vannier, originally released in 1972. Recorded during the same sessions as Gainsbourg's highly acclaimed masterpiece Melody Nelson it follows in a similar avant-garde rock-opera vein. L'Enfant Assasin Des Mouches (The Child Fly-Killer) is a supernatural tale written by Gainsbourg depicting the journey of the young child travelling through a nightmarish "Fly Kingdom". Vannier narrates the story with sparse music concrete sounds coupled with choirs, funky beats, cowbells, wah-wah guitars and ethnic strings. Comparisons could be made with some of Frank Zappa's Hot Rats material and Alain Goraguer's creepy Le Planet Sauvge. Warner. 2008. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For once, the hype was worth it., January 18, 2007

By	Mars Nova - See all my reviews

This review is from: L' Enfant Assasin des Mouches (Audio CD)

I'm trying to be a more educated and wary rare-groove connoisseur. I can recall being burned time and again by reissues that promise you Thomas's but can't even make toast when the smoke clears. So, even though I've come to trust Andy Votel's recommendations a lot more over the past year, I was a little uncertain when I looked over the albums he's putting his weight behind on the Finders Keepers label--namely, this one.

But, ya know something? This would have to rank as my first favorite discovery of 2007--the hype turned out to be worth it. "L' Enfant Assassin des Mouches" is just as twisted, graceful and psychedelic as the liner notes and tons of hipster critics say it is--it most definitely qualifies as the "psychedelic symphony" it claims to be on the cover.

If you need an idea of what to expect, loosen yourself up with some music in a similar vein--music like Aphrodite's Child's "666," the "Fantastic Planet" soundtrack and (of course) Serge's "Melody Nelson." If you can get down with those three albums, this one'll take you on yet another tour through those same trippy landscapes. Votel's picked another gem...check it out.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Difficult, May 15, 2006

By	Mr. Music "soma137" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: L' Enfant Assasin des Mouches (Audio CD)

Just a warning to listeners coming to this album because of Vannier's association with Gainsbourg (which is probably most people). The music on this doesn't resemble the music on Histoire de Melody Nelson in the slightest, save for some of the choral arrangements. There's none of the funky spaciousness that characterises Gainsbourg's classic album and it's also entirely instrumental which means that it comes off almost as some kind of film score.....from a very bizarre, avant-garde film.

What I'm trying to say is that this album is a pretty difficult listen and offers few rewards for the casual listener. Make sure you listen to some of it before you make the purchase.

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine Example of French Avant-Garde Music, October 28, 2009

By	Kurt Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: L' Enfant Assasin des Mouches (Audio CD)

Well, I am one of those who bought this CD years ago not because of Jean-Claude Vannier's connections to the better-known Serge Gainsbourg but because of a review I read in an English music magazine that lauded L'Enfant Assasin des Mouches as a fine example of French avant-garde music. And as it turns out, the article was quite right.
This is an album you have to be in the mood for but when your mood is right, the music will carry you away. It is useful to the listener to read the outline of the story of the child fly-killer contained in the accompanying booklet while listening to the album. That helps you to understand the progression of the music and its various discordant sounds. The album begins cacophonically and dissonance abounds as the child enters the fly kingdom. The dance of the child with the king of the flies is a whimsical number that segues into a middle-eastern mood. One of my favorite cuts is the title cut on which the percussion evokes the thrashing of the fly-king by the child. The next movement exudes a bit of mystery after which the fly-king's death is portrayed in elements of prog and psych rock. A stereotypical French musical motif then closes the story as the fly community takes its revenge on the child. Oddly enough, two of my favorite cuts are the bonus tracks which sound like they could have come from a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western and are in fact from a French film.
If you like an occasional musical journey into the bizarre, you are almost bound to like this excursion into the music of Jean-Claude Vannier. The CD comes with an attractive booklet containing the story outline, a Vannier career bio (in English), and pertinent album information. Check it out while it is yet available.