Search - Mick Harvey :: Intoxicated Man

Harvey is a great interpreter

Yosuke Kitazawa | Berkeley, CA USA | 02/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The greatness of Gainsbourg's songs are undeniable, and for those of us who don't understand French, this is a great way to discover how great a lyricist he was as well. Although some of the songs may sound off-putting at first to hear it in English, after a while you begin to appreciate Harvey's great care in translating the words; songs like Chatterton (every line followed with "suicide") and Harley Davidson ("I don't care if I die, on my Harley Davidson) take on a whole different meaning with the understanding of the words. Harvey's arrangements do great justice to the songs, sometimes faithfully recreating the original arrangements, and in some cases transforming the song. This is definitly recommended for fans of Gainsbourg, and for anyone who has an interest in Gainsbourg, this is a great introduction, along with Gainsbourg's own Comic Strip compilation. 69 Erotic Year still sounds a little off-putting when sung in English though."

For one cannot live on Nick alone...

Yosuke Kitazawa | 05/15/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mick Harvey (sometime Bad Seed, occasional Criminal with a City Solution, former Birthday Partier) has translated about 16 Serge Gainsbourg songs from French and done the near impossible: he has perhaps improved upon the originals, and found the ideal avenue for Anita Lane's voice. The duets of Anita and Mick on this album are perfection. The lyrics--which, personally, I couldn't have figured out in French, are witty, the music is ideal for fast-walking or long-driving (though "Jazz in the Ravine" is bound to make you stop and think..."in the morning, they'll use a spoon, to scoop up our remains..." is not to be ignored.) Do some side-by-side comparisons to the originals--and you'll find you love both versions!"

Simply wonderful

Jonathan Levitt | Somerville, Ma United States | 04/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this cd has been on my favorites list since 2000, mick is a true artist, the lyrics which i bet were hard to translate keeping the same timing as the french, are very intriguing. It's like i can finally what serge was singing about. Super cool. I think you should also check out Crime and the City Solutions album "Paradise Discotheque" That is also amazing."