And another thing! I'll have you know Serge Gainsbourg is not my favourite French artist. He's one of my favourite songwriters period.I love every phase of his work. From the late 50s jazz (eg Le Poinçonneur des Lilas), through the Afro-Latin mambo style period (eg Couleur Cafe, Pauvre Lola), and into his classic 60s pop (Les Sucettes), tongue-in-cheek erotica ( is there a better bassline in all history than 69 Annee Erotique?) and hey, even his weirder themed efforts like L'homme à tête de chou and Histoire de Melody Nelson.
Ok, so Im not quite so enamoured of his 80s reggae and disco work - but cut the guy some slack, he was getting on.
I must confess I have never heard Rock around the Bunker - his album about WW2 and Nazi themes; reputedly in the usual form of a clever, lascivious pisstake (1975). But I really have to. In case that sounds tasteless, well ... firstly: welcome to Serge Gainsbourg. But second, Gainsbourg was Jewish, born in 1928, and wore the yellow star in occupied France, and spent some of the war years in hiding from the Nazis and Vichy regime. If that helps you get your head around it.
If you need a Serge start-up kit, I would avoid the trans-period "best of" collections. He's too diverse for that to work. Rather, I'd go for one of Du Jazz dans La Ravine, Couleur Cafe, or Comic Strip - which individually capture his three best periods.
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Sorry, don't see the attraction. The French are to pop-music what the Germans are to sitcoms.
The best thing Serge produced was Charlotte, who thankfully took after her mother.
Well Fy, I love Serge and a lot of French 60s pop - though it must be said that Ms LE would quite agree with you.
Big fan of Charlotte too - though she's beautiful *despite* looking as much like Dad as Mum.
I would merely add that some serious musoheads like Beck and Mick Harvey openly regard Serge as a compositional genius - and I quite agree with them. His lyrics are great too, once you jump the lingo barrier.
Loving you I see
I'll go astray
and sow poppy seeds
on the runways of escape
from our non-affair. (L'Anamour)
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