Following on the enormous success of Tzadik's Burt Bacharach collection, this second installment of Tzadik's Great Jewish Music series focuses on the songs of French composer Serge Gainsbourg. A superstar since the 1950's in his native France, Gainsbourg is barely known here in the United States - a condition this special tribute to his genius hopes in some way to remedy. In addition to Tzadik regulars, Tzadik is proud to be able to include tracks by Cibo Matto, Elysian Fields, Kramer, Franz Treichler (of the Young Gods), Blonde Redhead and many, many others. 21 tracks by 21 artists - over 74 minutes of music, all on one dynamic disc. This is an unusual project that you will play again and again, discovering new delights with each listen.
This mammoth five-disc set is a wide-ranging overview of Serge Gainsbourg's career as a songwriter, composer, and arranger. It also showcases his ability to make actual singers out of actresses and models – there are a few duets here with Brigitte Bardot, and others. Those who are encountering Gainsbourg for the first time will no doubt be intimidated by this set, it is a lovely package that moves basically in chronological order; but the three-disc De Gainsbourg à Gainsbarre set is more focused and a lot more affordable.
You're Under Arrest, Gainsbourg's final album, was another collaboration with American Billy Rush in New Jersey.
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.
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…