Serge Gainsbourg
Du Jazz Dans Le Ravin

THE REVIEW

Gainsbarre! The man who, despite being a Neanderthal, as the press of the time delicately put it, joyfully and gleefully romanced Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin; well, this man has my approval and my eternal and emotionally involved respect. Do you recall Jane Birkin in the early '70s? No? Well, go find some site that depicts her: perdition made woman, sex between her beautiful carnivorous lips that could kill.

This album, a reissue of old hits by Philips, collects undisputed masterpieces of the French maudit song like: "Du Jazz Dans Le Ravin", "Intoxicated Man", "Black Trombone", "Requiem Pour Un Twister": all pieces echoing the anarchic lesson of Boris Vian and the decadent poets... projected into the future, in fact, there's no French author more influential on the soundscapes of subsequent years than good old Gainsbarre! Listen to this collection, not too polished I must say, by those bastards at Philips/Mercury to grasp the seminal genius that will so much influence French artists of our times: Air, Benjamin Biolay, Yann Tiersen, Miossec, etc...

This was a man in love with "Lolitas," perpetually infatuated with young women, legs stretched by heels, large eyes, and wonderful Nabokovian nymphs to slip into a dance record. Yes, because Gainsbarre experimented with all genres with the freedom of a true son of Troy: jazz, bossa nova, Afro music, '80s dance, reggae; always giving a deep sense of fun/detachment and likewise an intellectual exploration of themes and lyrics.
Gainsbarre, and this was his glorious nickname, was a great provocateur: memorable "Je T'aime Moi Non Plus" which caused a scandal in our country as a stepchild of the C.E.I., and could not be heard until years later: simply ridiculous and sub-human.

Listen to him if you love "cross-cutting" songwriters, capable of managing the colors of an immense palette, children of a derisive and crazy genius, able to move or outrage depending on the author's mood. Highly recommended, "minus habens" need not apply.