Serge Gainsbourg

Histoire De Melody Nelson

BY David DacksPublished Mar 24, 2009

This influential recording is finally domestically available nearly 40 years after it first appeared in France. Kicking off Finders Keepers' first partnership with Light In The Attic, Histoire De Melody Nelson is a good fit for both labels. Finders Keepers specializes in archival, beat-driven pop from around the world, while LITA has released many a singer-songwriter propelled by funky undercurrents. This career highlight from the dirty old man of French pop remains iconic. The story behind this 28-minute song cycle is typically sleazy: Gainsbourg is tooling around in his Rolls and nearly runs over a 13-year-old girl on her bicycle. Mere minutes later, sounds of a breathy tickle fight fill the stereo spectrum. The gravitas to this story is the killer rhythm section - session musicians all - but creating a moody funk atmosphere with spiky guitars. Jean Claude Vannier's orchestrations are a key element; his huge choirs and churning strings are used judiciously. Gainsbourg's proto-rap vocals have perfect timing and inflection, riveting the listener like Leonard Cohen, but with far greater rhythmic flair. This record still sounds as fresh as the day it was made.
(Light In The Attic)

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