Serge Gainsbourg

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by audio, May 7, 2003.

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  1. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    This thread is devoted to discussion about Serge Gainsbourg, the man and his music. Let the games begin...........
     
  2. ChrisM

    ChrisM Reclusive Enabler

    Location:
    SW Ontario, Canada
    I have about two dozen CDs of Gainsbourg. For someone wanting to start out, I'd recommend the two Philips compilations "Couleur Cafe" and "Du Jazz dans le Ravin."

    Jane Birkin's interpretations of his works are also worth mentioning. Her studio recording "Versions Jane" has some really wonderful versions of his songs. Her mid-90s double live CD is also very nice. There's also a new live concert recording available on CD and DVD called "Arabesque" where she sings his songs with Arabic-style instrumentation. I have the DVD (available from amazon.ca). Quite lovely.

    Sylvie Simmons' book "A Fistful of Gitanes" is a good place to find out about Gainsbourg. I also have Alan Clayson's less impressive tome as well as the definitive volume by Gilles Verlant (unfortunately not available in an English translation as of yet).

    You might also still be able to purchase a back issue of the Frensh record collector magazine Jukebox which was devoted to Gainsbourg. It came out about 3 or 4 years ago.

    Cheers,
    Chris

    Gainsbourg Forever!:thumbsup:
     
  3. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    Re: Re: Serge Gainsbourg


    I think starting out with either of the two titles you are recommending would be an unfair representation of Gainsbourg's work. His jazz and mambo material is more of a novelty and chronicle of his early days before he had fully realized his persona. This is like recommending "Pastmasters Vol. 1" for someone who wanted to start out listening to the Beatles. Most of Gainsbourg's material is significantly more tripped out than the stuff he did in the late '50s, not that I'm not a fan of his early albums. I would suggest the compilatioin "Comic Strip" as being a better starting point. What do you think? But then again, my all time FAVORITE Gainsbourg albums are the brilliant and stunning "Historie De Melody Nelson" and the stellar and magnificent "L' Homme a Tete De Chou".
     
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  4. ChrisM

    ChrisM Reclusive Enabler

    Location:
    SW Ontario, Canada
    Re: Re: Re: Serge Gainsbourg

    Hmmm... Gotta disagree with the "unfair" comment about my recommendation of his early material. It is VERY cool stuff. I've turned a lot of people on to his material by starting with those two CDs. Also definitely "music for loudspeakers" as a friend of mine would say.

    Travelling on in time, "Historie De Melody Nelson" would be a peak for that particular period in time. I also like the live album with the reggae band. Quite honestly, there's not a lot of his work that I didn't like... for example, the disco period. :rolleyes:

    I also have 3 videotapes of the Gainsbourg series that was issued in France. The last one has the infamous incident with Whitney Houston on that chat show. Priceless!!! :laugh: Mojo had a review of this documentary which is now on DVD in Europe.

    Cheers,
    Chris
     
  5. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    Re: Re: Re: Re: Serge Gainsbourg

    It IS very cool stuff. I didn't mean to imply that it was not. I just don't think it represents the majority of Serge Gainsbourg's body of work very well.

    Woah! The last tape has the Whitney Houston incident on it???!!! That's awesome! I need that tape!! I used to have the first two but I loaned them to a friend and his house caught fire.
     
  6. ChrisM

    ChrisM Reclusive Enabler

    Location:
    SW Ontario, Canada
    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Serge Gainsbourg

    Yep... it's on there in all its glory! :D Hilarious! The host of the programme is trying to be soooooo diplomatic by mistranslating Gainsbourg's comments to Houston. Unfortunately for the host, Gainsbourg knew just enough English to translate for himself.... "I said I want to $#*& her!" Her reaction (on live TV!!!) is priceless.

    There's also another clip of him on TV looking his usual unshaven wreck. The host brings out Jane Birkin to lather him up and give him a shave!

    Gotta love it!

    Cheers,
    Chris
     
  7. whitenoise

    whitenoise New Member

    Location:
    Sarasota, Florida
    Re: Re: Re: Serge Gainsbourg

    I knew nothing of Serge Gainsbourg before I bought Comic Strip on a whim several years ago. I'd first heard one of the songs as a cover version on Emperor Norton's "French Pop" CD (a very nice collection of modern covers of 60's French Pop).

    So the material on Comic Strip is brilliant. My question, though, is where does one go from there? The other Phillips collections? What's really good Gainsbourg (aside from those you mention, which I'll look up)?
     
  8. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    Re: Re: Re: Re: Serge Gainsbourg


    "Historie De Melody Nelson"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
  9. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    Re: Re: Re: Re: Serge Gainsbourg

    Chris, where does one find these tapes? I checked ebay. No luck. I MUST HAVE TAPE 3!!! HELP!!!!!!
     
  10. Paul K

    Paul K Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Get all of the sixties stuff as well as the seventies albums - even "Rock Around The Bunker" has great merit (controversy aside).

    Melody Nelson of course and well, keep going. Universal put 'em all out domestically in Canada for the Quebec market a two years ago. Mostly everything he did in his name is out there.

    Don't forget - he wrote for France Gall, Brigitte Bardot, and to a smaller extent - wrote a coupla killers for Francoise Hardy. (another one to get as much as you can on!!!)
     
  11. SVL

    SVL Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kiev, Ukraine
    La Chant, Confidentiel , L'Etonnant and No. 4 are the Gainsbourg records of choice for me. Totally cool albums, and he actually had a voice back then.

    Can't seem to really get into his later stuff, either rock or disco. Maybe 'cause I can't understand French... whatever;)
     
  12. ChrisM

    ChrisM Reclusive Enabler

    Location:
    SW Ontario, Canada
    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Serge Gainsbourg

    I bought my tapes from a guy in the US a number of years ago. He may have gotten copies from France and had them digitally transfered to NTSC format. I don't believe that they were ever availble in North America. I think that I connected with him on a Usenet Newsgroup at the time (or maybe an ad in Discoveries mag). Can't recall. Sorry...

    Keep an eye out on eBay. It may show up there. Pretty sure that I have seen the tapes show up there in the past. I think the new DVD version is region coded for Europe. :(

    Cheers,
    Chris
     
  13. SVL

    SVL Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kiev, Ukraine
    French Amazon has plenty of Gainsbourg DVDs; it is true they are coded for Region 2, but one can always be creative;)
     
  14. lschwart

    lschwart Senior Member

    Location:
    Richmond, VA
    I love those Phillips compilations, and I've got a few others. Wonderful stuff.

    Also very interesting and musically compelling is the compliation of Gainsbourg covers that John Zorn put together for his "Great Jewish Music" series on Tzadik. The series itself, which has volumes on Burt Bacharach and Marc Bolan is fascinating. A pretty loose--and somewhat tongue-in-cheek--definition of "Jewish Music," but it has yeilded some compelling, thoughtful, and heart-felt performances from an interesting cast of downtown players. Worth a listen.

    L.
     
  15. A&B Sound has listings for 49 Serge Gainsbourg titles including:

    Comic Stip
    Confidentiel (remastered)
    Couleur Cafe
    Birkin-Gainsbourg
    Bonie And Clyde
    Historie De Melody Nelson
    L'Homme a Tete De Chou
    Etonnant Serge Gainsbourg
    Marilou Reggae
    I Love Electronica: Remixes
    Initials B.B
    Initials S.G.
    Jane & Serge (remastered)
    No. 4 (remastered)
    Rock Around The Bunker (remastered)

    No listing for Arabesque or La Chant although there is a disc called Du Chant A La Une.

    I'm actually of fan of Jane Birkin & Serge's daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg. :love:
    She was great in the movie La Petite Voleuse (The Little Thief) 1989, from the François Truffaut story. Hope it makes it to DVD some day.

    I never figured out that duet she recorded with her father in the mid 1980s "Lemon Incest" when she was about 12 years old. I think the song was spoofing "Je t'aime", but still a bit weird for me.
     

    Attached Files:

  16. SVL

    SVL Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kiev, Ukraine
    Du Chant a la une it is. I said my French was no good;).

    The remasters sound excellent, BTW.

    Amazon.fr used to have many Gainsbourg remasters for around 8-9 Euros each.
     
  17. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    Another great pair of Serge Gainsbourg cover albums are the two Mick Harvey(Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) lps. All of the lyrics are translated to English as well.
     
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  18. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana

    She was 13. Basically the idea behind it was shock value and a pun on the words "Lemon Zest". One of the lyrics in the song is something like "....the love we will NEVER make", so there's not really any creepy ideas going on in the tune, I'm pretty sure. It is a love song from Serge to his daughter, but it has nothing to do with suggesting or wanting to have sex with her.
     
  19. tim_neely

    tim_neely Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Central VA
    I'd bet most Americans have never heard of Serge Gainsbourg. I doubt I ever would have except for his glorious single with Jane Birkin, "Je T'aime .. Moi Non Plus," which somehow ended up released in the USA on the Fontana label in late 1969, after it had been banned by one label in England only to be immediately picked up by another as it raced to #1 on the British singles charts.

    "Je T'aime ... Moi Non Plus" makes "Love to Love You Baby" sound as cold and clinical as "I Want Your Sex." Can't understand a word of it, except that I know "Je t'aime" means "I love you," but anyone can understand the heavy breathing.... :laugh:

    Fontana even released an LP in the States with the hit single on it, in glorious stereo (if memory serves; I think the 45 was mono).
     
  20. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana


    "Je T'aime, je t'aime.....moi non plus" means "I love you, I love you...me neither". Then the lyrics say something like "I come and go between your kidneys".
     
  21. sydriver

    sydriver New Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    Got Melody Nelson yesterday and have been playing it non stop. Serge tore off the top of my head. Amazing stuff. But I can't find any more! Even absound has no in stock cds for him!
     
  22. SVL

    SVL Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kiev, Ukraine
    I have seen a good selection here.

    Not cheap ($15.50-19.00), and it is not clear if Gainsbourg items are in stock or need to be special-ordered.
     
  23. patricku

    patricku New Member

    Location:
    Germany
    Do you know actually what he wrote to F. Gall ? Do you know the story behind the song ?
     
  24. patricku

    patricku New Member

    Location:
    Germany
    Re: Re: Re: Re: Serge Gainsbourg

    Have you hear the " Sea Change " version ( Beck )...
     
  25. patricku

    patricku New Member

    Location:
    Germany
    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Serge Gainsbourg

    Later on, he send her some flowers.....
     
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