Serge Gainsbourg Albums (20)
'1963 Theatre des Capucines'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 11
Label Philips
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What The Critics Say
The late Serge Gainsbourg made a name for himself fairly early in his recording career with his combination of French cabaret music, bordello jazz, and drunken musique exotica. His second effort features Gainsbourg with a cigarette, appropriately seated at a worn desk littered with roses, a long-nosed 38 caliber placed squarely in front of him, and a quizzical, daring look on his puss that seems to say, "Can't figure it out? Of course!" Gainsbourg actually attempted singing in the early days, before his voice began to go and all he could do was whisper or rant his crazy poetry. Here he fronts the Alain Goraguer Orchestra on eight selections that are as typical of his oeuvre as Love on the Beat was nearly 30 years later. His topics are the seduction site of the jukebox on "Le Claquer de Doights" and a theme based on d'Alfred de Musset's "Night Doctor." There are also a couple of Latin-styled numbers in "Mambo Miam Miam" and "Indifferente," with a serious Stan Getz-aped sax solo in the middle eight (not to mention a crazy TV western theme as a cabaret song in "Jeunes Femmes et Vieux Messieurs"). This is truly the beginning of Gainsbourg's hepcat legend, and musically, for all the kitsch and gimmick, it comes across as totally sincere in its campy chariot. This is why we dig French pop, and this is why Gainsbourg holds sway with everyone from Nick Cave to Angie Stone. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'L' Etonnant Serge Gainsbourg'
Release Date 5/8/2001
Tracks 10
Label Polygram International
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What The Critics Say
As early as 1961, Serge Gainsbourg was one of the most extraordinary artists of the French pop scene, and during the first part of the '60s the crooner produced a series of outrageously brilliant albums with producer/arranger Alain Goraguer. One of his most intoxicating amalgams of jazz and pop styles, L'Etonnant Serge Gainsbourg comes highly recommended to fans of '60s French pop. An utterly essential early document of Serge Gainsbourg while he was still a mildly respectable man -- but that's not say there aren't hints of his notorious decadence in this early work. ~ Skip Jansen, All Music Guide
'You're Under Arrest'
Release Date 2/27/2001
Tracks 10
Label Polygram
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What The Critics Say
You're Under Arrest, Gainsbourg's final album, was another collaboration with American Billy Rush in New Jersey. It's difficult to say what Rush was going for here with Gainsbourg. There's the feeling that Rush was taken with both Nile Rodgers' Chic and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five (especially with the "hugh, hugh, hugh" in the refrains). These are overly slick funk tunes that border on both new wave and rap, and seem to leave the subtle ironies of Gainsbourg's demented lyrics behind -- which is too bad because this record is a step up lyrically from Love on the Beat. There are a few places where Gainsbourg's particular brand of nocturnal street urchin genius shines through: "Five Easy Pieces," with its wordplay and its gorgeous tenor solo by Stan Harrison, is one. The groove is laid-back, easy, and airy, with Gainsbourg reciting his poetry way up in front of the too-big backing chorus. Also, in Gainsbourg's world, his jazzy Caribbean-kissed version of the infamous "Gloomy Sunday" is a lounge-y love song instead of the infamous ballad that was credited with suicides in the 1950s. Finally, the shifty disco of "Mon Legionnaire" should be a schlock-fest, but it's not. It's easy groove and -- uncharacteristically -- subtle synth programs work well with Gainsbourg's gravelly delivery. Again, this is a record of solid material that misses (if only just) because of Billy Rush's heavy hand. No matter though, because the Gainsbourg faithful will have to have it anyway. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Comic Strip compilation may be an ideal overview to Gainsbourg's pop oeuvre, but for those sick puppies interested in exploring his entire catalog, this collaboration with then-lover Brigitte Bardot is a good place to start. Many of his most infamous songs ("Bonnie and Clyde," "Comic Strip,") are here, and the lesser-known numbers achieve the same giddy decadence. Yes, the subject matter is transgressive, the performances often silly, but long after the initial shock wears off, Gainsbourg's work continues to surprise and delight. The sensuous melodies and sumptuous arrangements aspire to the visual; they are little technocolor movies in sound. Moreover, Gainsbourg was perhaps the only songwriter of an earlier tradition to wholeheartedly embrace the wild and adventurous spirit of '60s rock. Strains of the Who's garage/show tune fusion is discernible in "Bloody Jack." "Marilu" makes obvious reference to the Beach Boys' white-bread doo wop. Initials B.B. continues to sound as stylish and mod as it must have the day it was released. At 31 minutes, it is sure to leave both hedonists and former teenyboppers wanting more. ~ Daniel Browne, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
1984's Love on the Beat will forever be one of Serge Gainsbourg's most memorable recordings, but not for its musical quality. First and foremost it is the album that gave us the notorious, now infamous, single "Lemon Incest," with its equally scandalous video featuring Gainsbourg on a bed with his scantily clad 12-year-old daughter Charlotte performing the song. It is also the only American recording made by Gainsbourg, recorded in New Jersey with Billy Rush and synth king Larry Fast providing most of the synth programming. Finally, it is notorious for its feminine screaming on the title track, adding a double entendre to the word "beat" in the title. Yes, she's screaming as if she's being beaten within an inch of her life and loving it. Sigh. Such is Gainsbourg. Musically, the aforementioned tunes -- the first of which is set to Chopin's Etude No. 3 -- are nothing special, and the rest are nowhere near as compelling as his best material. This is New York slick new wave production with Gainsbourg doing his best to be lecherous. Phase shifters and sustain boxes, tightly compressed sound and Gainsbourg's lewd poetry intoned over the artificially beat heavy mix. But this doesn't make it a bad record; just not one of Gainsbourg's better ones. If the production would have been toned down a notch, and the canned funk scaled back a bit, this album might have been a remarkable one. It feels as if Billy Rush and Larry Fast created this sound world for Gainsbourg based on what they though he should sound like if he were recording in America in the mid-'80s, not what he did sound like as himself. It's a fun record in a messed up, cocaine-drenched, post-disco kinda way. And "Lemon Incest"? it's one of a kind; a shiny, synth-heavy kitschy rhythm track layered with keyboards and Charlotte's cracking whisper attempting the same passion her mother, Jane Birkin generated with Gainsbourg on "Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus," and it comes off as sick, cheap, and somehow strangely compelling. If you add Gainsbourg appearing on the cover in drag, you've come up with perhaps his strangest record -- and that's saying something. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus'
Release Date 6/30/1998
Tracks 10
Label Polygram France
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