Welcome to the ramblings of a man who really should have grown out of listening to "that sort of music" a long, long time ago...A place to share thoughts and photographs on music and related paraphernalia.
Showing posts with label Serge Gainsbourg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Serge Gainsbourg. Show all posts
Steve from Retro Man Blog and Rock Photographer Paul Slattery present a bumper episode packed full of our pick of the best in classic and contemporary Garage Rock, Psych, Punk, Mod, Power Pop, Soul and more! From classics, overlooked oldies and hidden gems to brand new releases, exclusives and unsigned acts. In Episode 17: "The 12 Bar Blues" we have an exclusive unreleased new track from The Fallen Leaves and new releases from The Medway's legendary Garage Rock icons Billy Childish & CTMF and Graham Day & The Forefathers. New Punk sounds from Buzzcocks, The Pukes and a live classic from The Outcasts. If you like your Mod and Psych then you will love The Most, Speakeasy and The Mynd Set. Some French Pop from Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot and some modern day Yé-yé from Les Kitschenette's. There's the new single from of Arrowe Hill, some stompin' Soul from Willie Kendrick and Dana Gillespie and 60's nuggets from The Vagrants and The Hardtimes. If that's not enough there's Sunset Drive and The Sound and a tribute to Ian McLagan with a truly classic Small Faces number. Plus the usual waffle, rambling, news and reviews including a special piece on the sad demise of The 12 Bar Club and the scandalous re-development of Denmark Street. The episode is now available to download for free from the Retrosonic Soundcloud site or you can now subscribe for free at the iTunes Store. Please click the highlighted band names in the track-listing below to take you to each featured band's web-site or Facebook page to check out more info and news on upcoming gigs and releases. Enjoy!
Jane Birkin at the Barbican - Photo by Steve Worrall
There were, let’s face it, many ladies in Serge Gainsbourg’s life, both professional and personal, but surely there were none more important than his most enduring muse, Jane Birkin. The couple originally met in 1968 on a film set, when following her appearances in Swinging Sixties movies such as “Blow Up” and “Wonder Wall”, she won the part to play opposite Gainsbourg in “Slogan”. She was just twenty years old and getting over her split from movie composer John Barry. Serge was heartbroken after the end of his relationship with Brigitte Bardot, but from the aftermath of this affair came the song "Je T'Aime…Moi Non Plus", which Bardot refused to have released. Serge thought that Jane Birkin would be perfect to supply the breathlessly erotic vocals on the recording, which was destined to become a classic, and from then on the rest is history as they say. Although Birkin and Gainsbourg never married, and their relationship lasted less than fifteen years, it seems to most of us as though they were always together and tonight here at a packed out at the Barbican Centre, she paid him a remarkably emotional, uplifting and truly entertaining tribute.
Jane Birkin at the Barbican - Photo by Steve Worall
This show was the only U.K. date on the tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of the highly ambitious and original “Arabesque” album. It was recorded live and released simultaneously with a DVD of the performance, “Arabesque” saw Jane Birkin paying tribute to the songs of Serge Gainsbourg in a pretty unique way. Totally avoiding the route of playing cover versions straight or with modern pop or rock arrangements, Birkin got together with the hugely talented Algerian violinist and arranger Djamel Benyelles to reinterpret some of Serge’s songs in an exotic North African Maghreb style. Jane had already revisited and re-worked a collection of Gainsbourg’s songs on her 1996 covers album “Versions Jane”, some of which make their way into the “Arabesque” set. But this is a totally different matter all together and at first, what seemed to me like a rather strange concept, actually works far better than I could have imagined.
Jane Birkin at the Barbican - Photo by Steve Worrall
Anyway, Gainsbourg had always swooped between various genres and World music styles – from the Mambo and Latin rhythms of “Couleur Café” to authentic Reggae on his excellent “Aux Armes etc.” album, which featured Sly & Robbie and Rita Marley. Tonight, Djamel and his excellent band “Djam & Fam”, comprising Fred Maggi on piano and keyboards, Azziz Boularoug on percussion, Zakaria Masrour on lute and Mohammed Zerouki on some excellent vocals, all providing a bewitching and stunning musically exotic backdrop for Birkin’s light vocals to float over.
Jane Birkin at the Barbican - Photo by Steve Worrall
Taking a diverse selection of Gainsbourg compositions from all periods throughout his career, and often not the most well known it must be said, Birkin picks songs that suit the new arrangement and provide a rewarding experience even for those of us who do not speak French. I’d really love to be able to appreciate Gainsbourg’s lyrics and wordplay but tonight it’s like watching a very high quality foreign language movie without the subtitles – I could certainly appreciate the sound and the visuals, the atmosphere and emotion, but I just don’t know the words! For this Birkin, Benyelles and Djam & Fam must be applauded. So we are treated to songs from the 1969 “Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg” album, their first together, such as “Élisa” to “Et Quand Bien Même” from Birkin’s 1990’s solo album “Amours Des Feintes”, Serge’s very last batch of songs he wrote for her before his death in 1991. There are early Serge songs such as “La Chanson de Prévert” from” L'Étonnant…” and the classic “Ces Petits Riens” which was also recorded by Juliette Gréco and the actress Catherine Deneuve. There’s just the one song, “Valse de Melody” from one of my all time favourite albums, “Histoire de Melody Nelson”, which starts off with Mohammed Zerouki's atmospheric Muezzin style chanting that segues into Jane's voice, it's a wonderful moment. 1983’s “Baby Alone in Babylon” is well represented – probably because Serge wrote the songs on this album for Jane after their split, so I would imagine the emotional resonance in the lyrics must be very strong.
Jane Birkin at the Barbican - Photo by Steve Worrall
There was a moving moment when she kneels on the floor to read a poem written by her nephew Anno, himself a musician, who tragically died aged only 20 in a car crash in 2001. After a couple more songs, Jane leaves the stage and Djam & Fam play one of their own compositions, the jaunty instrumental “She Left Home”, after which she returns in a flowing bright red dress, as seen on the cover of the "Arabesque" album. Then comes one of the highlights
of the night for me and the up-tempo “Les Clés du Paradis” from the
solo album “A La Legere”, which lights up the Barbican wonderfully. Birkin loosens her hair and lets herself go – lost in the music. It’s totally natural and unselfconscious and the crowd warm to her even more. Then it’s one of those songs that I always believed defined that bridge between the more traditional French chanson and the swinging Yé-Yé scene, “Comment Te Dire Adieu”, although ironically it wasn’t actually a French composition originally. Françoise Hardy heard it and asked Gainsbourg to write some lyrics in French for her and from then on it has probably become one of her most popular tracks, but tonight Jane Birkin adds her own distinct take on this much covered classic.
Jane Birkin at the Barbican - Photo by Steve Worrall
The final encore sees Jane alone on the stage and she delivers an emotional acapella version of “La Javanaise”, originally written for Juliette Gréco and surely one of Gainsbourg’s best loved songs. Suddenly people around me are singing along, some very confidently and loudly in French. I know I wasn’t the only one in the crowd to mumble away self-consciously through the verses before belting out the familiar words of the chorus in what I assumed sounded like fluent French; at least that’s what I assumed! It was a lovely moment anyway, the crowd sharing in Jane’s genuine outpouring of affection and there were, I am sure, quite a few lumps in throats and tears in eyes.
Jane Birkin & Djam & Fam take a bow - Photo by Steve Worrall
For more photos of the Barbican show please head on over to the Retro Man Blog Facebook page and hit "Like" for access to the Photo Album. You can see some photos from our previous feature on Serge Gainsbourg's house here and for some other music related locations in Paris, please check out the feature here. For more info please check out the excellent official Jane Birkin web-site.
From the Suburbs to The World: We are very pleased to announce the latest in our successful Retrosonic Special Edition Podcast spin-offs, this time round Adam and Steve are joined in the Pod by JC Carroll from The Members. This is an hour long special where JC takes us on an amusing and illuminating trip through his interesting musical career. From the early days of The Members' distinctive sound of the Suburbs from where they sprang, "a mix of Big Youth, Surf music, Hank Marvin and the weird stuff John Peel played on the radio...". We follow JC on his journey from the Members and beyond, from Punk Rock to Top Of The Pops and from Camberley to California. Along the way we discover which iconic Punk Rockers he has played music with, including that "what-might-have-been" Super Group to his solo recordings with people off the internet who he's never met off. We are then brought up to date to the release of the brand new Members album "In_Grr_Land", their first in over 25 years, and co-starring original bassist Chris Payne and a certain Mr Rat Scabies on drums. We also get a taster of what the future has in store for JC, including the new Julien Temple movie "London: The Modern Babylon" and we discover what links a collaboration muted at a dinner party in Addlestone to Serge Gainsbourg's finest moment. The Podcast is generously soundtracked by a choice selection of brand new and classic Members tracks along with prime cuts of solo material, this is certainly a fascinating and not to be missed tale of a life in music.
Please check out the Retrosonic Podcast site for more of our Special Editions which include in-depth interviews with Dick York from Cryssis along with Artist and Photographer David Apps, legendary Rock Photographer Paul Slattery and most recently, the superb feature with TV Smith of The Adverts, with an exclusive live session. All the Podcasts are available for download completely free!
I like to do a bit of Rock 'n' Roll tourism when I'm travelling, visit various music related landmarks, venues, shrines, album cover and photo locations amongst other things. It's all very well immersing yourself in musuems and galleries, I like that too, but every now and then I just want to have a break and see where Sid stabbed Nancy (allegedly...), where Dave Davies stuck a knitting needle through his amp or which ancient Neolithic burial mound Julian Cope used as a recording studio. I'm fascinated, not just by music history, but the geography too, I've gazed at the beautiful ceiling paintings of the Sistine Chapel but I've also seen the graffiti covered walls of CBGB's, no prizes for guessing which had the most profound effect on me...!
Here's some landmarks from a couple of recent trips to Paris, if you have any similar Rock tourist tales then please send them in, I would love to feature your favourites too.
Serge Gainsbourg doll in a store in a Gallery in Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
Probably first on most music fan's itinerary in Paris will be a visit to Père Lachaise Cemetery, to see Jim Morrison's grave. Sadly, the famous bust of Morrison that was once on the grave has gone, long since stolen by some over zealous fan and the grave is pretty unassuming now. Morrison died in a Paris apartment in 1971 but I still think it a bit strange that he was not buried in California as The Doors always seemed so synonymous with the place.
Jim Morrison's grave, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
Jim Morrison graffiti, Pont Alexandre III, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
Père Lachaise is also where you can find the grave of the Little Sparrow, Edith Piaf. I recently saw the fantastic movie "La Vie En Rose" about her troubled upbringing and sad demise, it's well worth watching, especially for the remarkable portrayal of Piaf by Marion Cotillard. Piaf's life was remarkably bleak, abandoned by her father to live in a brothel run by her mother, she was raised by kindly prostitutes, who nursed her through terrible health problems including temporary blindness at one point. She sang for money on the streets of Pigalle and was spotted by a nightclub owner to perform in front of wealthy clients, a nightclub owner who was later to be murdered by gangsters. Piaf's life continued with a catalogue of unremitting darkness, her only daughter died of meningitis aged only 2 years old and her true love, boxer Marcel Cerdan, died in a plane crash. After being involved in a car crash herself she became addicted to pain-killers and alcohol and died from cancer at just 47. It is a remarkable story, but despite it all she grew to become one of France's most revered musical icons.
Edith Piaf's Grave, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
My personal quest to visit Serge Gainsbourg's grave in the Montparnasse cemetery was finally realised last month. I'd already visited his house on Rue Verneuil, which you can read a report on here, but was disappointed to find the cemetery closed. I had to go back and made sure I got my timings right this time and it was well worth the trip. Montparnasse is a beautifully kept cemetery, and it is full of graves and shrines of some serious cultural heavyweights such as Guy de Maupassant, Simone de Beauvoir, Baudelaire, Samuel Beckett and Jean-Paul Sartre. I find it quite fitting, if some might say ironic, that Serge is buried amongst such illustrious company. He has, in his own irrerevant and anarchic way, made probably just as much impact on French popular culture.
Serge Gainsbourg's grave, Montparnasse cemetery, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
The grave is covered in interesting bits and pieces, from cigarettes, to drawings and photos and strangely enough, a full cabbage - in tribute to his concept album "L' Homme À Tête de Chou" or The Man with the Cabbage Head.
Serge Gainsbourg's grave, Montparnasse cemetery, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
I've already featured a previous trip to Serge's grafitti strewn house here, but it's always worth another visit to see how the daubings have changed. Still no news on the muted plans to open the place up as a museum.
Serge Gainsbourg's house on Rue de Verneuil, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
Le Grand Rex is a beautiful Art deco venue built in 1931 and located on the Boulevard Poissonnière. Wilco and Noel Gallagher, amongst others, will be playing gigs here in 2012.
Le Grand Rex, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
I'm not a huge fan of classical music, but one composer that really struck me when I was playing in my Junior School's orchestra (before that nasty Punk Rock took hold of me...) was Erik Satie. I just fell for the minimalist piano scores such as the "Gymnopedies" and "Gnossienne" pieces. You can hear his influence on music by Japan, David Sylvian, Gary Numan and Sweden's Hederos & Hellberg. Satie was actually born in the beautiful harbour town of Honfleur in Normandy (where there is now a musuem) but moved to Montmartre in the 1880's.
Erik Satie's House, Montmartre, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
Erik Satie's House, Montmartre, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
Abbesses, the beautiful little square at the foot of Montmartre is the inspiration, title and location of this brilliant video for a classic slice of instrumental Mod/Soul from DC Fontana. Here's a photo of the Abbesses Metro station featured in the film which you can enjoy below...
Montmartre is also the location of a famous photo-shoot of The Smiths by Paul Slattery, Paul travelled with the band in December 1984 for their gig at the Parc des Expositions. I re-traced their steps, taking in the very smart area just below the Sacre Coeur including the Rue Giradon, Rue de L'Abreuvoir and the Place des Quarte Freres Casadesus. These photos and more can be found in Paul's superb book "The Smiths, The Early Years" published by Omnibus Press.
The Smiths in Montmartre, Paris - Photo courtesy of Paul Slattery
Montmartre, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
The Smiths in Montmartre, Paris - Photo courtesy of Paul Slattery
Montmartre, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
The Smiths in Montmartre, Paris - Photo courtesy of Paul Slattery
Montmartre, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
The Smiths in Montmartre, Paris - Photo courtesy of Paul Slattery
Montmartre, Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
If you have any photos of music related landmarks then please send them in and I'll include them on the Blog.
I'm a huge fan of Serge Gainsbourg's music and would rank the "Histoire de Melody Nelson" as one of my favourite concept albums. A trippy, mostly spoken word series of vignettes based on a chance encounter thanks to a car crash in his Rolls Royce, and romance, between Serge and a (worryingly) young lady, breathily voiced on the album by Jane Birkin.
Serge Gainsbourg's House, Rue de Verneuil Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
I had to pay tribute at his house on the Rue de Verneuil in Paris, it's currently looked after by his daughter Charlotte and I heard that there were some ideas to open it up as a museum in the future.
Serge Gainsbourg's House, Rue de Verneuil Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
The exterior is absolutely covered in graffiti of tributes and drawings of varying quality and it's even more striking considering the house is located in the rather posh Saint Germain area of Paris. It's easy to find from the Saint Germain des Pres Metro Station, or a short walk across the river from the Louvre.
Serge Gainsbourg's House, Rue de Verneuil Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
I was really taken by a cartoon likeness of Serge and when I showed the photo to a comic book artist friend of mine he mentioned that it was actually drawn by Joann Sfar, a well known French cartoon artist. In fact Joann directed the superb fantasy biopic Serge Gainsbourg (Vie Heroique) which is well worth watching, particularly for the remarkable performance of Eric Elmosnino as Serge.
Joann Sfar Graffiti on Serge Gainsbourg's House - Photo by Steve Worrall
Serge Gainsbourg's House, Rue de Verneuil Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall
If you have any photos of rock & roll locations then please post them up in the comments, be good to see them. In the meantime here's a bit of Melody Nelson...
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