Serge Gainsbourg was something of an institution in France and has recently been the subject of a film biopic. He was certainly a larger-than-life character, an artist (singer but also painter,poet,actor) and celebrity who was always in the spotlight. Scandal has constantly followed him, be it Bridgitte Bardot's orgasmic moans in "Je t'aime...Moi non plus" or the desecrating of the French national anthem in "Aux armes etcetera". Not to mention dueting with his 12-year old daughter in a song about incest ("Lemon incest"). Although sexually suggestive, the latter is thankfully only a pun, ingenious wordplay being apparently one of Gainsbourg's strong points. Kudos for enraging everyone from Catholics to Algerian war veteran paratroopers but his scandal-inducing antics leave me cold. "Je t'aime"s aural porn is just plain bad taste and "Aux armes" mediocre pseudo-reggae. His puns are lost on me, since I rarely pay attention to his lyrics and my French is not that good anyway. As for his personal life and constant presence in the media, egomaniac celebrities bore me to death. I do, however, love his ballad "Bonnie and Clyde" and like a couple more songs, so I thought I'd pick up a compilation of his hits. So,let's forget about the rest and just focus on the music: Is it any good? Well, the first thing you notice is the schizophrenic diversity of the music. Granted, the time period covered (1960-1984) has seen a lot of musical changes but it seems sometimes as if the music is thrown together as an afterthought. The opening track is an 8-minute disco/new wave atrocity. It's followed by some competent reggae that nevertheless screams "middle-aged white male", which is not really how I like it. Call me prejudiced if you must, I think reggae should be made under the influence of ganja rather than Gitanes cigarettes. "Marilou Reggae" is the best of that bunch. "La Javanaise" is an excellent ballad, combining exotica and French chanson. "Vieux Canaille" is jazzy and slyly refrences New Orleans standard "You Rascal You". "Ballad de Melody Nelson" is the centerpiece of his supposed masterwork of the same name (one of a handful of French records frequently included in All-time-best lists). It is indeed a magnificent sample of orchestral pop, forever copied by the likes of Divine Comedy. Similarly, "Je t'aime..." isn't half bad if you just keep the orchestral part and lose the ridiculous moans. "Bonnie and Clyde" is like a Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra duet, only better and sung in French. Lastly "Rock Around the Bunker" is a simple rock'n'roll song with added Nazi imagery, which would be a mortal sin if it wasn't written by a Jew who has lived through the Holocaust. Well, that's Serge Gainsbourg for you. He may have written half a dozen good-to-great songs, but he still bugs me for getting away with impersonating a genius when he was only mildly talented as a singer. And, incidentally, why are all notorious French playboys so ugly? Is there something seriously wrong with French chicks?
***** for Bonnie & Clyde
**** for Marilou Reggae, Javanaise, Ballade De Melody Nelson
*** for Aux Armes Et Cetera, Je T'aime Moi Non Plus, Vielle Canaille, Lemon Incest, Je Suis Venu Te Dire, Chanson De Prevert, Rock Around The Bunker
** for Love On The Beat, Brigade Des Stups, L'eau A La Bouche, Ecce Homo, Ballade De Johnny-Jane
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