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This is such wonderful music all of the tributes are spot on. Check it out. I just received this today and actually got the double LP instead of the cd. Always nice to hear other people do their own version of something so beautiful. If you like gainsbourg you will appreciate this. When typing in the upc code it comes up as a cd but is actually the double lp. Anyway enough of that.
I feel lucky today. And totally worth quite a bit more than the seven bucks I spent. 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.
The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde - James Iha 16. I Call It Art - The Kills 14. As shown by this compilation disc of English-language updated covers (drawn mostly from the late 1950s and early 1960s), Gainsbourg's music is difficult to categorize. Usually erotic, it is a progressive fusion of jazz, ballads, mambo, lounge, reggae, pop (in all varieties), disco, calypso, Africana, bossa nova, and rock and roll.
The Ballad Of Melody Nelson - Placebo 12. Since it was released in 2005, this tribute CD has been on regular rotation on my iPod. Angel's Fall - Nathan Larson G. A Song For Sorry Angel (Sorry Angel) - Franz Ferdinand & Jane Birkin 2. Requiem For A Jerk - Faultline, Brian Molko & Francoise Hardy 6. Au Revour Emmanuelle - Tricky 8.
The complete album setlist includes:1. Serge Gainsbourg (1928-1991) was a controversial, brilliant, and eccentric French poet, singer-songwriter, actor and director. Boy Toy - Mar Almond & Trash Palace11. For Ever - Marianne Faithful & Sly & Robbie 9. Lola R. L'Hotel - Michael Stipe 7. Those Little Things - Carla Burni 15. Merritt
"He was our Baudelaire, our Apollinaire. I Love You (Me Either) - Cat Power & Karen Elson 3. Just A Man With A Job - The Rakes 13. He elevated the song to the level of art," French President François Mitterrand said of Gainsbourg. Boomerang 2005 - Gonzales, Feist & Dani10. Requiem For Anna - Portishead 5. Gainsbourg's former wife, Jane Birkin, lends her vocals to the first track, and Franz Ferdinand, Cat Power, Portishead, Michael Stipe, Marianne Faithful, and Carla Burni add their talents. I Just Came To Tell You That I'm Going - Jarvis Cocker & Kid Loco 4.
Everything becomes magnified: the song, the artist, monsieur Gainsbourg lui-meme. Also check out the Gainsbourg installment of the Tzadik series 'Great Jewish Music' (1997). What a treat to have yet another set of Gainsbourg material translated and performed by le potage du jour. Wow - c'est si bon. You will enjoy both tributes if you're familiar enough with the originals. Gainsbourg still challenges and transforms anyone who touches his work, as he did with his audience. You've never heard Cat Power, Michael Stipe and Marianne Faithfull like this.
Mick Harvey did a few cover albums in English of the Gainsbourg work. For some reason Portishead and Tricky are on here. Beck has always been a big fan. One of the early highlights is "I Just Came To Tell You That I'm Going" by Jarvis Cocker & Kid Loco. I have been looking forward to this one.
Probably the best surprise and refreshing bit is "Just A Man With A Job" by The Rakes. There are other great moments by Michael Stipe, Marc Almond and Carla Bruni. Jarvis Cocker has become sort of the English version of Gainsbourg. Placebo spin off band, The Kills, does a pretty good rendition of "I Call It Art." They end up sounding like Blonde Redhead. The first song is a coupling of Franz Ferdinand and Jane Birkin, doing "A Song for Sorry Angel." It's a pretty rocking cut. 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. So it's no wonder that this album hasn't come out sooner. Part of this album is very Brain Molko centric.
Serge Gainsbourg is someone who was ignored by America when he was alive, but he has been revived, mostly by British bands. They are never good at cover songs. This may help the English-speaking and American born world appreciate what genius Gainsbourg had. There has been a group of new French singers who have reminded us of his legacy. 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.
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