Gainsbourg Melody Nelson Rarities
Histoire de Melody Nelson was released in 1971. This concept album, produced and arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier, tells the story of a Lolita-esque affair, with Gainsbourg as the narrator. This concept album, produced and arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier, tells the story of a Lolita-esque affair, with Gainsbourg as the narrator. The songs on Histoire de Melody Nelson were covered and sampled by various artists of different genres. British rock band Placebo recorded a cover version of 'The Ballad of Melody Nelson', which was released on a compilation of cover versions with their Sleeping with Ghosts album. Gainsbourg Melody Nelson Rarities. 4/4/2018 0 Comments Histoire de Melody Nelson, an Album by Serge Gainsbourg. Released March 24, 1971 on (catalog no. 6397 020; Vinyl LP). Genres: French Pop, Art Pop. Rated #20 in the.
| Histoire de Hélène | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 24 March 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 21 April 1970 – 4 February 1971 | |||
| Studio | Studio Marble Arch, London, England; Studio des Dames, Paris, France | |||
| Genre |
| |||
| Length | 27:57 | |||
| Label | Philips | |||
| Producer | Jean-Claude Desmarty | |||
| Serge Gainsbourg chronology | ||||
| ||||
Histoire de Melody Nelson is a 1971 concept album by French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. Produced by Jean-Claude Desmarty, the album was released on March 24, 1971 through Philips Records. The Lolita-esque pseudo-autobiographical plot of the album involves the middle-aged Gainsbourg unintentionally colliding his Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost into teenage girl Melody Nelson's bicycle, and the subsequent seduction and romance that ensues. Histoire de Melody Nelson is considered by many critics and fans to be Gainsbourg's most influential and accomplished work, as well as one of the greatest French-language albums in popular music.[3]
- 3Critical reception
- 4Legacy
Concept[edit]
At just under twenty-eight minutes, the short running time and the stylistic consistency and similarity throughout the album give it qualities more in line with an EP or an extended musical piece with a number of movements. Histoire de Melody Nelson‘s mix of freewheeling guitar, funk style bass guitar, near spoken word vocal delivery, and lush, deep orchestratedstring and choral arrangements by Jean-Claude Vannier[4] who composed almost the entire music in collaboration with Gainsbourg for the album, have proven to be highly influential amongst later francophone and anglophone musical performers.
Release[edit]
After the release of the album, a music video was made for each song and released all together as 'Melody', a short musical.
On October 18, 2011 Mercury Records through Universal Music released the album with a second CD containing alternate takes of all seven tracks as well as instrumental and vocal versions of the excised track 'Melody Lit Babar.' A limited edition was also released that included a DVD which featured the original album remixed in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and a forty-minute documentary on the making of the album which includes interviews with Jane Birkin, Jean-Claude Vannier, and others. This release also includes a full-color booklet of liner notes in both French and English.
Critical reception[edit]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 96/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [6] |
| The A.V. Club | A[7] |
| Pitchfork | 10/10[1] |
| PopMatters | 10/10[8] |
Upon its release in 1971, Histoire de Melody Nelson received critical acclaim and praise. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 96, which indicates 'universal acclaim', based on 9 reviews.[5] Jason Ankeny of AllMusic described the album as 'arguably his [Gainsbourg's] most coherent and perfectly realized studio album' and stated: 'It's by turns fascinating and repellent, hilarious and grim, but never dull -- which, in Gainsbourg's world, would be the ultimate (and quite possibly the only) sin.'[6] Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club wrote: 'It’s a true album—its tale of innocence lost and unearned last chances wouldn’t work as well in any other medium.'[7] Tom Ewing of Pitchfork stated: 'The bookend tracks of Melody Nelson are a trip through far more hostile territories, the black spaces of a man's interior.' He also praised the 'originality' of the record, describing its sound as similar to 'nothing else in rock.'[1] D.M. Edwards of PopMatters commented: 'This is genre-defying music, but anyone with an interest in hearing a blueprint for trip hop or a master class in the depiction of desire in pop music, should be sure to listen to this mysterious, timeless, contradictory album.'[8]
Accolades[edit]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchfork[9] | US | Top 100 Albums of the 1970s | 2004 | 21 |
| Rolling Stone France[3] | France | The 100 Greatest French Rock Albums | 2010 | 4 |
Legacy[edit]
Histoire de Melody Nelson is regarded by many critics and fans to be Gainsbourg's magnum opus and his most influential release. While it became a pivotal album of the 1970s and was instrumental in the development of French rock music and trip hop genre, it has also influenced many musical artists outside France, including Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, Beck, Tricky, Broadcast, Barry Adamson of Magazine, David Holmes, Cibo Matto, Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy, Stereolab, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Portishead, The Last Shadow Puppets and Arctic Monkeys.[7][1][10][11] Portishead based its musical style on the album's mixture of orchestrations with dusty drums, while Beck utilized the album's main theme heavily on his song 'Paper Tiger', on his 2002 album, Sea Change.[11] French electronic music act Air was also influenced by the album.[1][11][12]Faith No More and Mr. Bungle vocalist Mike Patton also expressed his appreciation for the album and Gainsbourg's music, stating that 'he was immediately awe-struck by the elegance, variety and detail of Serge's 'pop' forms'. 'It made me think that I had a lot to learn'.[11]
The songs on Histoire de Melody Nelson were covered and sampled by various artists of different genres. British rock band Placebo recorded a cover version of 'The Ballad of Melody Nelson', which was released on a compilation of cover versions with their Sleeping with Ghosts album.[13] Portishead also covered the song in French, collaborating with Jane Birkin.[14]Mick Harvey of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds also released a total of four Gainsbourg tribute albums, two in the 1990s, Intoxicated Man (1995) and Pink Elephants (1997), and two more nearly 20 years later, Delirium Tremens (2016) and Intoxicated Women (2017). He also joined the stage with frequent collaborator PJ Harvey in 1996 for performances of two Gainsbourg songs, Bonnie and Clyde and Harley Davidson[15]. Michael Stipe covered 'L'hôtel particulier' under the name 'L'Hotel' on a 2006 Gainsbourg tribute album Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited.[16]Hip hop act De La Soul sampled 'Ah! Melody' on their song, 'Held Down' from AOI: Bionix (2001); and Portishead's remix of Massive Attack's 1995 song 'Karmacoma' sampled the bassline of 'Melody'.[10]Mirwais, a French producer who is known for his work for Madonna, sampled 'Cargo Culte' on his album Production (2000).[12]David Holmes used a sample of 'Melody' on his track 'Don't Die Just Yet', from his 1997 album Let's Get Killed (1997).[10] Brazilian musician Rogério Skylab covered 'Ah! Melody' for his 2009 album Skygirls.
The album was also referenced in non-musical fields. 'Melody' is the default author name and 'Nelson' is the default password in Six Apart's Movable Typeweblog software, which had the working title of 'Serge', after Gainsbourg. An open sourcefork of Movable Type carries the character's first name.[17]
Tributes[edit]
Jean-Claude Vannier performed the album live at London's Barbican on October 21, 2006 with guest vocalists Jarvis Cocker, Badly Drawn Boy, Brigitte Fontaine, The Bad Seeds’ Mick Harvey and the lead singer from Super Furry Animals, Gruff Rhys. Vannier performed the album in its entirety alongside his own solo album L'Enfant assassin des mouches. Publicity for the Barbican concert revealed that the musicians used for the album were Dougie Wright, Big Jim Sullivan, Herbie Flowers and Vic Flick who all joined Vannier for the concert. The BBC Concert Orchestra, the Crouch End Festival Chorus and a children’s string quintet were also part of the show.
On 22 and 23 October 2008, Jean-Claude Vannier performed the album live at the Cité de la Musique with guest vocalists Mathieu Amalric, Brigitte Fontaine, Brian Molko, Martina Topley-Bird, Daniel Darc, Clotilde Hesme, and Seaming To. Also performing were Herbie Flowers (bass), Claude Engel (guitar) and Pierre-Alain Dahan (drums).[18] Vannier also performed his album L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches. The Lamoureux Orchestra, the Yound Choir of Paris and a children's string quintet were also part of the show.
On 28 August 2011, Vannier participated in A Tribute to Serge Gainsbourg at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California. The artists that performed Gainsbourg's songs that evening included Beck, Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl, Mike Patton, Zola Jesus, Victoria Legrand (singer of indie band Beach House), Ed Droste (singer of indie band Grizzly Bear) and Serge's son Lulu Gainsbourg. The second half of the evening included a performance of the album with Vannier conducting. Each of the album's songs were performed by different combinations of the evening's artists, backed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Cal State Fullerton chorale. American actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt also participated in the album's performance.
Track listing[edit]
All tracks written by Serge Gainsbourg, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | 'Melody' | 7:32 |
| 2. | 'Ballade de Melody Nelson' (Serge Gainsbourg, Jean-Claude Vannier) | 2:00 |
| 3. | 'Valse de Melody' | 1:31 |
| 4. | 'Ah ! Melody' (Serge Gainsbourg, Jean-Claude Vannier) | 1:47 |
| 5. | 'L'hôtel particulier' | 4:05 |
| 6. | 'En Melody' (Serge Gainsbourg, Jean-Claude Vannier) | 3:25 |
| 7. | 'Cargo culte' | 7:37 |
Personnel[edit]
Album personnel:[19][20]
- Serge Gainsbourg – vocals, piano, guitar
- Alan Parker – guitar
- Big Jim Sullivan – rhythm guitar
- Dave Richmond – bass guitar
- Roger Coulam – keyboards
- Jean-Claude Vannier – arrangement, orchestra direction
- Jane Birkin – vocals
- Dougie Wright – drums
- Jean-Luc Ponty – electric violin (on 'En Melody')
- Jean-Claude Charvier – recording
- Jean-Claude Desmarty – production
Charts[edit]
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French Albums (SNEP)[21] | 56 |
References[edit]
- ^ abcdeEwing, Tom (29 March 2009). 'Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson'. Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ^Hultkrans, Andrew (May 2009). 'Reissues'. Spin (Vol. 25, No. 5). Retrieved 20 March 2017.
- ^ abMagazine Rolling Stone, n°18 of February 2010, ISSN1764-1071
- ^[1]Archived February 5, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ab'Histoire de Melody Nelson - Serge Gainsbourg'. Metacritic. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ^ abAnkeny, Jason. 'Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson'. AllMusic. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ^ abcPhipps, Keith (31 March 2009). 'Serge Gainsbourg: Histoire De Melody Nelson'. The A.V. Club. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ^ abEdwards, D.M. (14 May 2009). 'Serge Gainsbourg: Histoire De Melody Nelson'. PopMatters. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ^Linhardt, Alex (23 June 2004). 'Top 100 Albums of the 1970s'. Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ^ abc'Serge the sampled'. The Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^ abcdBeta, Andy (26 August 2011). 'It took only 40 years to catch on'. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^ abSimmons, Sylvie (2009). Serge Gainsbourg: A Fistful of Gitanes. Da Capo Press. pp. 63–67. ISBN0786747145.
- ^'Placebo - The Ballad of Melody Nelson'. Allmusic. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^'Portishead - Ballade De Melody Nelson (feat. Jane Birkin)'. NME. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^Blandford, James R. (2004). PJ Harvey: Siren Rising. London, UK: Omnibus. ISBN978-0-85712-110-3.
- ^'Serge Gainsbourg tribute album w/ Portishead, Feist, Michael Stipe, Jarvis Cocker, Cat Power, Franz Ferdinand, Tricky'. BrooklynVegan. 17 February 2006. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^Trott, Benjamin (2009-06-23). 'Meet Melody'. MovableType.org. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^'Melody Nelson live in Paris (2008)'. YouTube. 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
- ^A. Votel/J. Szpirglas, Histoire de Melody Nelson, Edition du 40ème anniversaire
- ^Histoire De Melody Nelson, Serge Gainsbourg, Allmusic.com
- ^'Lescharts.com – Serge Gainsbourg – Histoire de Melody Nelson'. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
External links[edit]
- Histoire de Melody Nelson at Discogs (list of releases)
- Histoire de Melody Nelson at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- Melody on IMDb
| Full NameLucien Ginsburg NameSerge Gainsbourg Years active1957–1991 | Cause of deathHeart attack RoleSinger | |
| Born2 April 1928 (1928-04-02) Paris, France OccupationSingersongwriterpianistpoetpainterscreenwriterwriteractordirector Partner(s)Brigitte Bardot (1967)Jane Birkin (1968-1980)Caroline Paulus (1980-1991) Parent(s)Joseph GinsburgOlga Ginsburg DiedMarch 2, 1991, Paris, France ChildrenCharlotte Gainsbourg, Lucien Gainsbourg, Paul Gainsbourg, Natacha Gainsbourg SpouseCaroline Paulus (m. 1981–1991), Francoise Pancrazzi (m. 1964–1966), Elisabeth Levitsky (m. 1951–1957) AlbumsJane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg, Histoire de Melody Nelson, Aux armes et caetera, Gainsbourg Live, L'Homme a tete de chou | ||
Other namesJulien GrixGainsbarre | ||
Serge Gainsbourg (born Lucien Ginsburg; [sɛʁʒ ɡɛ̃sbuʁ]; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer, songwriter, pianist, film composer, poet, painter, screenwriter, writer, actor, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French popular music, he was renowned for his often provocative and scandalous releases, as well as his diverse artistic output, which embodied genres ranging from jazz, mambo, world, chanson, pop and yé-yé, to rock and roll, progressive rock, reggae, electronic, disco, new wave, and funk. Gainsbourg's varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize although his legacy has been firmly established and he is often regarded as one of the world's most influential popular musicians.
Contents
His lyrical work incorporated a vast amount of clever word play to hoodwink the listener, often for humorous, provocative, satirical or subversive reasons. Common types of word play in his songs include mondegreen, onomatopoeia, rhyme, spoonerism, dysphemism, paraprosdokian and pun. Through the course of his career, Gainsbourg wrote over 550 songs, which have been covered more than a thousand times by a wide range of artists. Since his death, Gainsbourg's music has reached legendary stature in France. He has also gained a cult following in the English-speaking world, with numerous artists influenced by his arrangements.
Jane birkin et serge gainsbourg je t aime moi non plus
Biography
Born in Paris, France, Gainsbourg was the son of Jewish Ukrainian migrants, Joseph Ginsburg (28 December 1898, in Kharkov, now Ukraine then Russian Empire – 22 April 1971) and Olga (née Bessman; 1894 – 16 March 1985), who fled to Paris after the 1917 Russian Revolution. Joseph Ginsburg was a classically trained musician whose profession was playing the piano in cabarets and casinos; he taught his children - Gainsbourg and his twin sister Liliane - to play the piano.
Gainsbourg's childhood was profoundly affected by the occupation of France by Germany in World War II. The identifying yellow star Jews were required to wear haunted Gainsbourg, something he in later years was able to transmute into creative inspiration. During the occupation, the Jewish Ginsburg family was able to make their way from Paris to Limoges, traveling under false papers. Limoges was in the Zone libre under the administration of the collaborationist Vichy government and still a perilous refuge for Jews. After the war, Gainsbourg obtained work teaching music and drawing in a school outside of Paris, in Mesnil-Le-Roi. The school was set up under the auspices of local rabbis, for the orphaned children of murdered deportees. Here Gainsbourg heard the accounts of Nazi persecution and genocide, stories that resonated for Gainsbourg far into the future. Before he was 30 years old, Gainsbourg was a disillusioned painter but earned his living as a piano player in bars.
Gainsbourg changed his first name to Serge, feeling that this was representative of his Russian background and because, as Jane Birkin relates: 'Lucien reminded him of a hairdresser's assistant.' He chose Gainsbourg as his last name, in homage to the English painter Thomas Gainsborough, whom he admired.
He married Elisabeth 'Lize' Levitsky on 3 November 1951 and divorced in 1957. He married a second time on 7 January 1964, to Françoise-Antoinette 'Béatrice' Pancrazzi (b. 28 July 1931), with whom he had two children: a daughter named Natacha (b. 8 August 1964) and a son, Paul (born in spring 1968). He divorced Béatrice in February 1966.
In late 1967 he had a short but ardent love affair with Brigitte Bardot, to whom he dedicated the song and album Initials BB.
In mid-1968 Gainsbourg fell in love with the younger English singer and actress Jane Birkin, whom he met during the shooting of the film Slogan. Their relationship lasted over a decade. In 1971 they had a daughter, the actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg. Although many sources state that they were married, according to their daughter Charlotte this was not the case. Birkin left Gainsbourg in 1980.
Rarities Nyc
Birkin remembers the beginning of her affair with Gainsbourg: he first took her to a nightclub, then to a transvestite club and afterwards to the Hilton hotel where he passed out in a drunken stupor. Birkin left Gainsbourg when pregnant with her third daughter Lou by the film director Jacques Doillon.
His last partner was Bambou (Caroline Paulus, grandniece of German field marshal Friedrich Paulus of Stalingrad fame). In 1986, they had a son, Lucien (known as Lulu).
In 2010, Lise Lévitzky published a book called 'Lise et Lulu' which raises the possibility of Gainsbourg being bisexual.
Early work
His early songs were influenced by Boris Vian and were largely in the vein of old-fashioned chanson.
Around 1957 he backed the Parisian 'Cabaret Milord l'Arsouille' star, singer Michèle Arnaud.
She discovered a shy songwriter, who considered his compositions too modern and provocative for mainstream chanson. Arnaud offered to sing and even record such songs, and propelled his early career.
Later Gainsbourg began to move beyond this and experiment with a succession of musical styles: modern jazz early on, yé-yé and brit-pop in the 1960s, funk, rock and reggae in the 1970s and electronica in the 1980s.
Many of his songs contained themes with a bizarre, morbid or sexual twist in them. An early success, 'Le Poinçonneur des Lilas', describes the day in the life of a Paris Métro ticket man, whose job is to stamp holes in passengers' tickets. Gainsbourg describes this chore as so monotonous, that the man eventually thinks of putting a hole into his own head and being buried in another.
By the time the yéyés arrived in France, Gainsbourg was 32 years old and was not feeling very comfortable: he spent much time with Jacques Brel or Juliette Greco but the public and critics rejected him, mocking his prominent ears and nose. During this period, Gainsbourg began working with Greco, a collaboration that lasted throughout the 'Left Bank' period culminating in the song La Javanaise in the fall of 1962.
He performed a few duets in 1964 with the artist Philippe Clay, with whom he shared some resemblance. Around this time, Gainsbourg met Elek Bacsik and Michel Gaudry and asked them to make a record with him. This would become Confidentiel, which exuded a modern jazz aesthetic that pleased Gainsbourg, despite knowing that such a sound would not allow him access to success. The album sold only 1,500 copies. The decision was taken right upon leaving the studio: 'I'll get into hack work and buy myself a Rolls'. Still, his next album, Gainsbourg Percussions, inspired by the rhythms and melodies of Miriam Makeba and Babatunde Olatunji, was a world away from the yéyé wave, on the scene which was to become a key to the Gainsbourg fortune.
More success began to arrive when, in 1965, his song Poupée de cire, poupée de son was the Luxembourg entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. Performed by French teen and charming singer France Gall, it won first prize. The song was recorded in English as 'A Lonely Singing Doll' by British teen idol Twinkle.
His next song for Gall, Les Sucettes (Lollipops), caused a scandal in France: Gainsbourg had written the song with double-meanings and strong sexual innuendo of which the singer was apparently unaware when she recorded it. Whereas Gall thought that the song was about a girl enjoying lollipops, it was actually about oral sex. The controversy arising from the song, although a big hit for Gall, threw her career off-track in France for several years.
Gainsbourg arranged other Gall songs and LPs that were characteristic of the late 1960s psychedelic styles, among them Gall's 1968 album. Another one of Serge's songs Boum Bada Boum, was entered by Monaco in the 1967 contest, sung by Minouche Barelli; it came fifth. He also wrote hit songs for other artists, such as Comment Te Dire Adieu for Françoise Hardy, Anna Karina (Sous le soleil exactement, Ne dis rien) and his lifelong friend and muse-égérie, Michèle Arnaud (Les Papillons Noirs).
In 1967 Serge Gainsbourg appeared as a dancer along with Jean Yanne and Sacha Distel in the Sacha Show with Marie Laforet singing 'Ivan, Boris & Moi'.
His relationship with Brigitte Bardot led to a series of prominent pop duets, such as Ford Mustang and Bonnie and Clyde.
In 1969, he released Je t'aime.. moi non plus, which featured explicit lyrics and simulated sounds of female orgasm. The song appeared that year on an LP, Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg. Originally recorded with Brigitte Bardot, it was released with his future girlfriend Birkin when Bardot backed out. While Gainsbourg declared it the 'ultimate love song', it was considered too 'hot'; the song was censored or banned from public broadcast in numerous countries and in France even the toned-down version was suppressed. The Vatican made a public statement citing the song as offensive. Year 11 economics tim riley pdf file online. Despite (or perhaps because of) the controversy, it sold well and charted within the top ten in many European countries.
The 1970s
Histoire de Melody Nelson was released in 1971. This concept album, produced and arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier, tells the story of a Lolita-esque affair, with Gainsbourg as the narrator. It features prominent string arrangements and even a massed choir at its tragic climax. The album has proven influential with artists such as Air, David Holmes, Jarvis Cocker, Beck and Dan the Automator.
In 1975, he released the album Rock Around the Bunker, an album written entirely on the subject of National Socialism. Gainsbourg used black comedy, as he and his family had suffered during World War II, being forced to wear the yellow star as the mark of a Jew. Rock Around the Bunker belonged to the mid-1970s 'retro' trend.
The next year saw the release of another major work, L'Homme à tête de chou (Cabbage-Head Man), featuring the new character Marilou and sumptuous orchestral themes. Cabbage-Head Man is one of his nicknames, as it refers to his ears. Musically, L'homme à tête de chou turned out to be Gainsbourg's last LP in the English rock style he had favoured since the late 1960s. He would go on to produce two reggae albums recorded in Jamaica (1979 and 1981) and two electronic funk albums recorded in New York (1984 and 1987).
In Jamaica in 1979, he recorded 'Aux Armes et cætera', a reggae version of the French national anthem 'La Marseillaise', with Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar and Rita Marley. Following harsh and anti-semitic criticism in right-wing newspaper Le Figaro by Charles de Gaulle biographer Michel Droit, his song earned him death threats from right-wing veteran soldiers of the Algerian War of Independence, who were opposed to their national anthem being arranged in reggae style. In 1979, a show had to be cancelled, because an angry mob of French Army parachutists came to demonstrate in the audience. Alone onstage, Gainsbourg raised his fist and answered 'The true meaning of our national anthem is revolutionary' and sang it with the audience. The soldiers joined them, a scene enjoyed by millions as French TV news broadcast it, creating more publicity. Shortly afterward, Gainsbourg bought the original manuscript of 'La Marseillaise'. He replied to his critics that his version was closer to the original as the manuscript shows the words 'Aux armes et cætera..' for the chorus. This album, described by legendary drummer Sly Dunbar as 'Perhaps the best record he ever played on' was his biggest commercial success, including major hits Lola Rastaquouère, Aux Armes Et Cætera and a French version of Sam Theard's jazz classic You Rascal You entitled Vieille Canaille. Rita Marley and the I-Three would record another controversial reggae album with him in 1981, Mauvaises nouvelles des étoiles. Bob Marley was furious, when he discovered that Gainsbourg made his wife Rita sing erotic lyrics. Posthumous new mixes, including dub versions by Soljie Hamilton and versions of both albums by Jamaican artists were released as double 'Dub Style' albums in 2003, to critical praise in France as well as abroad and to international commercial success. Although belatedly, Aux Armes Et Cætera – Dub Style and Mauvaises Nouvelles Des Étoiles – Dub Style further posthumously established Gainsbourg as an influential icon in European pop music.
Final years
In 1982, Gainsbourg wrote an album for French rocker Alain Bashung, Play blessures. The album, although now considered a masterpiece by French critics, was a commercial failure.
After a turbulent 13-year relationship, Jane Birkin left Gainsbourg. In the 1980s, near the end of his life, Gainsbourg became a regular figure on French TV. His appearances seemed devoted to his controversial sense of humour and provocation. In March 1984, he burned three-quarters of a 500 French franc bill on television to protest against taxes raising up to 75% of income.
He would show up drunk and unshaven on stage: in April 1986, on Michel Drucker's live Saturday evening television show Champs-Élysées, with the American singer Whitney Houston, he objected to Drucker's translating his comments to Whitney Houston and in English stated: 'I said, I want to fuck her' - Drucker insisted this meant 'He says you are great..' The same year, in another talk show interview, he appeared alongside Catherine Ringer, a well known singer who had appeared in pornographic films. Gainsbourg spat out at her, 'You're nothing but a filthy whore, a filthy, fucking whore'.
His songs became increasingly eccentric during this period, ranging from the anti-drug Aux Enfants de la Chance, to the highly controversial duet with his daughter Charlotte named Lemon Incest. This translates as 'Inceste de citron', a wordplay on 'un zeste de citron' (a lemon zest). The title demonstrates Gainsbourg's love for puns – another example of which is Beau oui comme Bowie, a song he gave to Isabelle Adjani.
By December 1988, while a judge at a film festival in Val d'Isère, he was extremely intoxicated at a local theatre where he was to do a presentation. While on stage he began to tell an obscene story about Brigitte Bardot and a champagne bottle, only to stagger offstage and collapse in a nearby seat. Subsequent years saw his health deteriorate. He had to undergo liver surgery but denied any connection to cancer or cirrhosis. His appearances and releases became sparser as he had to rest and recover in Vezelay. During these final years, he released Love on the Beat, a controversial electronic album with mostly sexual themes in the lyrics and his last studio album, You're Under Arrest, presented more synth-driven songs.
Film work
Gainsbourg appeared in nearly 50 film and television roles. In 1960, he co-starred with Rhonda Fleming in the Italian film La rivolta degli schiavi (The Revolt of the Slaves) as Corvino, the Roman Emperor Massimiano's evil henchman. In 1968 he wrote music for and appeared as himself in Le Pacha directed by Georges Lautner. In 1969, he appeared in William Klein's pop art satire Mr. Freedom, and in the same year he starred with Jane Birkin in The Pleasure Pit. They acted together again in Cannabis the following year, and again in Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye in 1973, and he also made a brief appearance with Birkin in Herbert Vesely's 1980 film, Egon Schiele – Exzess und Bestrafung. He co-starred alongside Birkin in the French film Slogan for which he wrote the title song 'La Chanson de Slogan'. Also with Birkin, he acted in the French-Yugoslav film Devetnaest djevojaka i jedan mornar (19 girls and one sailor) where he played a role of a partisan.
Gainsbourg directed five movies: Je t'aime moi non plus, Le Physique et le Figuré, Équateur, Charlotte for Ever, and Stan the Flasher.
Throughout his career, Gainsbourg wrote the soundtracks for nearly 60 films and television programs. In 1996, he received a posthumous César Award for Best Music Written for a Film for Élisa, along with Zbigniew Preisner and Michel Colombier.
Writing
Gainsbourg wrote a novel entitled Evguénie Sokolov.
Death and legacy
Gainsbourg died on 2 March 1991 of a heart attack, a month shy of his 63rd birthday. He was buried in the Jewish section of the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris. French President François Mitterrand said of him, 'He was our Baudelaire, our Apollinaire.. He elevated the song to the level of art.'
Since his death, Gainsbourg's music has reached legendary stature in France. He has also gained a following in the English-speaking world, with numerous artists influenced by his arrangements. One of the most frequent interpreters of Gainsbourg's songs was British singer Petula Clark whose success in France was propelled by her recordings of his tunes. In 2003, she wrote and recorded La Chanson de Gainsbourg as a tribute to the composer of some of her biggest hits. The majority of Gainsbourg's lyrics are collected in the volume Dernières nouvelles des étoiles.
The Parisian house that Gainsbourg lived in from 1969 until 1991, at 5 bis Rue de Verneuil, remains a celebrated shrine, with his ashtrays and collections of various items, such as police badges and bullets, intact. The outside of the house is covered in graffiti dedicated to Gainsbourg as well as with photographs of significant figures in his life including Bardot and Birkin.
Film biopic
Comics artist Joann Sfar wrote and directed a feature film titled Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque), which was released in France in 2010. Gainsbourg is portrayed by Eric Elmosnino and Kacey Mottet Klein. The film won three César Awards, including Best Actor for Elmosnino, and nominated for an additional eight.
Exhibitions
In 2008, Paris' Cité de la Musique held the Gainsbourg 2008 exhibition, curated by sound artist Frédéric Sanchez.
Live albums
Selected film scores
Singles
Editions
Je Suis Venu Te Dire Que Je M'en Vais, 1973-1975; Vol. 7 – L'Homme à Tête de Chou, 1975-1981; Vol. 8 – Aux Armes et Cætera, 1979-1981; and Vol. 9 – Anna, 1967–1980. A two-CD highlights collection, also called De Gainsbourg à Gainsbarre, was culled from this edition in 1990. The box was reissued in 1994 with two more discs containing the later albums Love on the Beat (1984) and You're Under Arrest (1987).