Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited - Various (Barclay, 2006)

I heard this brand new compilation of reinterpretations/covers of some of Serge G's well known and not so well known tunes for the first time today. As with any of these tribute affairs, the results are patchy at times, but several of the worshipers here do rise to the occasion with very tasteful takes on the great man's melodies.

Among the better tunes are Michael Stipe (!) performing "L'Hotel" with some great sparse instrumentation and an understated vocal delivery, Portishead with a menacing guitar and a solid beat on "Requiem for Anna", Cat Power and Karen Elson giving "J'Tieme" a breathy workout. Marianne Faithful almost steals the show backed by Sly and Robbie on her version of one of Gainsbourg's JA sojourns "Lola R. For Ever", and finally, Gonzales, Feist and Dani give a fresh feel to "Boomerang 2005".

Others on the compilation include Franz Ferdinand & Jane Birkin, Jarvis Cocker & Kid Loco, Faultine, Brian Molko & Françoise Hardy, Tricky, Marc Almond,Placebo, The Rakes, The Kills and Carla Bruni. Unfortunately, several of these tracks lack something in the translation, but overall it's worth a look in, if only for the tracks I mentioned above, which are pretty damn good. Another bonus is hearing Serge's lyrics deleivered in their english translation, which serves to highlight his witty way with words - saucy!


PLUS...Just saw this review on a French site, looks great...Gainsbourg in concert, reggae-style
Re-release of the album Live au Palace 1979