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THE REVIEW
In 1996, Mercury released three collections of Gainsbourg's songs from the '60s. All three are, in my opinion, extremely well crafted for their song selection. If you want to be picky, masterpieces like "La chanson de Prévert" and "Le poinçonneur des lilas" are missing; however, Gainsbourg is an artist who wrote a vast number of songs of high quality, and you cannot easily summarize him in all his facets.
This one, "Couleur café", examines the more Latin-percussive aspect of his exuberant production. In particular, it almost contains the entirety of the album "Gainsbourg percussions", probably one of the best of his early period and not easily found outside France. A mix of cha-cha and mambo and lyrics of extraordinary quality.
A somewhat inappropriate comparison comes to mind with Vinicio Capossela; however, if you like his mournful tunes, rebetiko, mambos, and cha-cha, I think you have the right taste to enjoy this collection.
Rhythms and words literally dance together, with associations, rhymes, and upbeat tempos. Take for example these (I apologize to purists and chauvinistic French people for not including accents as I'm too lazy):
"Je t'aime ma belle Aphrodite,from "L'anthracite". The inherently amorphous mineral becomes a canvas of verbal improvisation, recurring about ten times in the song with different meanings.
A l'ame noir antharacite,
Mais plus t'aime t'aimerai,
Plus me mine minerai"
In "Ces petits riens":
"Mieux vaut pleurer de rienA monument to the phonetic capabilities of the French language; in Italian, nothing similar could be conceived.
Que de rire de tout
Pleurer pour un rien
c'est deja beaucoup
mais vous n'avez rien
dans le coeur et j'avoue
je vous envie
je vous en veux beaucoup".
Or take "Tatouè Jeremie", the story of a poor fellow who tattoos his beloved's name on his arm and heart (and even lower, where the sun doesn't shine) and finds himself with a heavy reminder after love ends.
But even if you don't care about the lyrics, in reality, the music alone suffices. There are even a couple of instrumental tracks made for movie soundtracks.
Erotic, ironic, cynical, desperate, a carefree quest for the absolute like the smoke of a cigarette rising to the sky.
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Summary by Bot
Couleur Café is a well-crafted collection highlighting Serge Gainsbourg's Latin-percussive side, featuring cha-cha and mambo beats. It includes much of the rare Gainsbourg percussions album with exceptional lyrics and playful word associations. This compilation showcases his poetic mastery in French, blending music and language stylishly. Even without focusing on lyrics, the music alone captivates.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
