Hmm

1967. The Summer of Love. Sgt. Pepper's and Satanic Majesties, San Francisco, flowers in your hair…and the dear old Shadows, still besuited and a-twanging, a-grooving, and a-moving, and so firmly locked in a bygone age that even grandma thought they were a little square…

La légende raconte que Serge Gainsbourg s'est décidé à écrire après avoir vu Boris Vian sur scène. Tant mieux. La chanson française a rarement connu un auteur/compositeur/interprète aussi atypique et talentueux que l'homme à la tête de chou. Il sera l'artiste de sa génération le plus demandé par ses confrères : Les frères Jacques, Hugues Aufray (qui chantent dès 1960 "Le Poinçonneur des Lilas"), et surtout ses consoeurs : Juliette Gréco (créatrice de "La Javanaise"), Petula Clark, France Gall, Brigitte Bardot, Vanessa Paradis… Que de chemin parcouru entre le titre qui le révéla au grand public en 1959 : "Le Poinçonneur des Lilas" et son dernier album conceptuel You're Under Arrest de 1987 ! Entre Gainsbourg et Gainsbarre ! Ce live, enregistré à l'automne 1985 au Casino de Paris…

Serge Gainsbourg recorded his first album in 1958. But it was at the end of the 1960s that his short affair with Brigitte Bardot changed his jazzy style towards this suggestive music with sumptuous arrangements. He then met Jane Birkin with whom he recorded the 1969 duet "Je t'aime … Moi Non Plus", a song with scorching lyrics punctuated by gasps and explicit moans. Although it was banned in many countries, this song reached the top of the charts all over Europe. In 1971, he released The Story of Melody Nelson, a cycle of dark songs that mark his growing detachment from modern culture. Drugs, disease, suicide and misanthropy become recurring themes in his work.

Serge Gainsbourg - L'Essentiel Des Albums Studio 1958-1987 (2011) {Mercury 277 162-7 - 14 Albums On 12 CDs}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 2.40 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 958 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 176 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1958-87, 2011 Mercury / Universal Music France | 277 162-7
Pop / International / Chanson / French Pop / French Rock / Western European Traditions / Cabaret

Being familiar with some of his work (basically the hit songs) I had no idea of the legacy this brilliant man has left behind. To my complete surprise this (ridiculously low priced) box set opened a new musical world before my ears and from the very first listening I have felt madly and hopelessly in love with Serge Gainsbourg's music. The quality of these recordings is matched by the quality of sound. The remastering is top notch and superior to most digital transfers heard today. I only wish this incredible set had been released on vinyl as well.