Delicious
Franz | Athens, GA | 01/30/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"What a treat to have yet another set of Gainsbourg material translated and performed by le potage du jour. Gainsbourg still challenges and transforms anyone who touches his work, as he did with his audience. You've never heard Cat Power, Michael Stipe and Marianne Faithfull like this. Everything becomes magnified: the song, the artist, monsieur Gainsbourg lui-meme. Wow - c'est si bon.. Also check out the Gainsbourg installment of the Tzadik series 'Great Jewish Music' (1997). You will enjoy both tributes if you're familiar enough with the originals."
The Genius of Serge Gainsbourg revisited.
G. Merritt | Boulder, CO | 01/28/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Since it was released in 2005, this tribute CD has been on regular rotation on my iPod. Serge Gainsbourg (1928-1991) was a controversial, brilliant, and eccentric French poet, singer-songwriter, actor and director. "He was our Baudelaire, our Apollinaire . . . He elevated the song to the level of art," French President François Mitterrand said of Gainsbourg. As shown by this compilation disc of English-language updated covers (drawn mostly from the late 1950s and early 1960s), Gainsbourg's music is difficult to categorize. Usually erotic, it is a progressive fusion of jazz, ballads, mambo, lounge, reggae, pop (in all varieties), disco, calypso, Africana, bossa nova, and rock and roll. Gainsbourg's former wife, Jane Birkin, lends her vocals to the first track, and Franz Ferdinand, Cat Power, Portishead, Michael Stipe, Marianne Faithful, and Carla Burni add their talents. The complete album setlist includes:
1. A Song For Sorry Angel (Sorry Angel) - Franz Ferdinand & Jane Birkin
2. I Love You (Me Either) - Cat Power & Karen Elson
3. I Just Came To Tell You That I'm Going - Jarvis Cocker & Kid Loco
4. Requiem For Anna - Portishead
5. Requiem For A Jerk - Faultline, Brian Molko & Francoise Hardy
6. L'Hotel - Michael Stipe
7. Au Revour Emmanuelle - Tricky
8. Lola R. For Ever - Marianne Faithful & Sly & Robbie
9. Boomerang 2005 - Gonzales, Feist & Dani
10. Boy Toy - Mar Almond & Trash Palace
11. The Ballad Of Melody Nelson - Placebo
12. Just A Man With A Job - The Rakes
13. I Call It Art - The Kills
14. Those Little Things - Carla Burni
15. The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde - James Iha
16. Angel's Fall - Nathan Larson
G. Merritt
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