Three Imaginary Girls - Serge Gainsbourg

Histoire de Melody Nelson

Andrew Boe — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:57:56 +0000

9.5

http://www.amazon.com/Histoire-Melody-Nelson-Serge-Gainsbourg/dp/B001Q8FRMQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1242507321&sr=8-1

gainsbourg_histoire_cover.jpg

Gainsbourg has gone on to achieve cult status in Europe, but has remained under the radar in the United States. I can't figure out why. This album is truly stellar. It seems if his lyrics were sung in English that this would have been rather popular in the US. The music recalls Can, Pink Floyd, the Bad Seeds and Sonic Youth. Yes, this is quite an impressive range.

The first track, "Melody," is seven and a half minutes of some of the grooviest bass playing that I have ever heard. On top of this, there are jazzy drums and garage guitar playing that gel together extremely well. Gainsbourg's vocals are spoken over the funky musical accompaniment with an enviable smoothness where one can practically smell the brandy on his breath.

From this point on, the brief twenty-eight minute album winds through some incredible songs that often include orchestral arrangements. The heavy inclusion of strings often taints albums or songs by other artists, but on this record it sounds completely natural. "Valse de Melody" is an example of schmaltz that still feels absolutely right in this context. There are also tracks here that feature no strings at all and that is partly why the orchestra works on this album.

"L'Hotel Particulier" combines the funkiness of the performing band and the lavishness of the string arrangement with impressive ease. Once again, the production of the bass guitar here is amazing. Hypnotically, it leads the other instruments while Gainsbourg plainly delivers his lines just as confidently as Leonard Cohen ever has. The disc's finale is "Cargo Culte," another standout featuring incendiary wandering bass lines, grimy guitars and a hauntingly cinematic backing chorus. The crescendo near the end of the song is something out of this world.

In the press release from Light in the Attic Records, there is a line stating that this is “an essential album for the discerning music lover.” I don’t think that I could have summed it up any better. Histoire de Melody Nelson is a true masterpiece. The album is absolutely stunning and the recording sounds incredible. How the fuck did this one ever slip through the cracks?

Seattle's exceptionally cool Light in the Attic Records has wisely released another long lost classic. This time, it is one by the relatively unknown French icon, Serge Gainsbourg. The album, Histoire de Melody Nelson, was originally released in 1971. The reissue CD (which is also available on LP) has been lovingly remastered and comes with a tome of a booklet that includes generous footnotes, historical information and lyrics in both French and English. Gainsbourg has gone on to achieve cult status in Europe, but has remained under the radar in the United States. I can't figure out why. This album is truly stellar. It seems if his lyrics were sung in English that this would have been rather popular in the US. The music recalls Can, Pink Floyd, the Bad Seeds and Sonic Youth. Yes, this is quite an impressive range.

Hear Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson tonight at, uhh, Gainsbourg

ChrisB — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:32:33 +0000

It would make sense that the stylish new bar in Greenwood that had taken Gainsbourg's name would host a listening party for his famous album, Histoire de Melody Nelson, the night before (and it starts tonight at 9pm).

Light in the Attic re-issues 1971's Histoire De Melody Nelson

imaginary victoria — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:33:12 +0000

With its far-reaching inspiration touching everything from the quintessential rap of De La Soul and The Beatnuts to like-minded and eclectic singer-songwriter Beck, Nelson continues to entrance.

KEXP DJ / Seattle Weekly Rocket Queen to open bar, Gainsbourg

Imaginary Shrie — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:21:57 +0000

Gainsbourgh will be opening the first week of November with beer and wine, with cocktails to be added later. Levin has been quoted several times as of late in regards to her Serge Gainsbourg obsession. I just hope to see a little Jane Birkin action in there as well.

"Bonnie and Clyde" by Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot

imaginary ash — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:54:57 +0000

Maybe it's just that I'm a sucker for anything sung in French, but this has to be in my top ten songs of all time. "Bonnie and Clyde," a duet between dirty old Frenchman Serge Gainsbourg and the lovely Brigitte Bardot, tells the adventurous tale of famed outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, and it does so entirely en Francais. Now, I took French in high school but I can't begin to understand the song word for word; what's fun for me is the little bits that I do understand, like:

Alors, voila Clyde a une petite amie
Elle est belle et son prenom ses Bonnie

Ok, it may be the most basic French, but I know what he just said! It's little snippets like this that I can sing along to that make me go gaga for this song. But it's also the way it sounds — the pulsing rhythm, the strange vocal cackling at the end of each measure, the low, sultry voices of the singers romanticizing the story of the outlaws... It all folds up nicely into a track that I could listen to over and over.

I first heard Serge Gainsbourg when I was about 13. An older friend who'd done a semester abroad in France let me borrow a Gainsbourg CD and it was like nothing I'd heard before. I recall it was some compilation of his work, featuring songs sung in both French and English (he recorded in both languages) and including several reggae-influenced tracks. I listened to it on repeat for months, and I never gave it back.

Some of you may recognize "Bonnie and Clyde" from Luna's cover of it, off Penthouse. Dean Wareham & co. did a fine job with the song; their version doesn't stray much from the original, so if you're down with Luna, find yourself the Gainsbourg/Bardot original, or simply watch below.

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Alors, voila, Clyde a une petite amie!