Mick Harvey - "Pink Elephants" CD, Album, 1997 (Mute)

Volume two of Mick Harvey's heroic tribute to the genius of Serge Gainsbourg. "Pink Elephants" is my favorite of the Harvey/Gainsbourg albums, due to the song "Scenic Railway" which is beauty captured in a glass jar.  A sad but such an observant song.  Gainsbourg's genius is that he can mix in the outrageous with the profound in equal quantities in one song. "Requiem..." is another wonder and Harvey again captures the essence of the original.   If you hear the original Gainsbourg recordings, Harvey is very respectful to its arrangements, but of course, he adds touches here and there.  There are no miss-steps in Harvey's approach to the Gainsbourg songs.  Gainsbourg's recording career was from the 1950s to 1990s, and on this album, Harvey covers material from the 50s to the early 70s which are the masterpiece years of Gainsbourg. 

MICK HARVEY "Delirium Tremens" (Mute) 2016

Mick Harvey, one-time Nick Cave left hand arranger, and Serge Gainsbourg lover (at least musically), has a new album of Gainsbourg tunes.   This is the third package of Serge tunes, and Harvey's good taste comes through.    The majority of songs on this album comes from his French TV project "Anna," starring Anna Karina.    It's classic all the way from side one to side two.  There are no bad cuts on this album, and the additional pleasure is hearing Serge's lyrics translated from the French to English by Harvey.  I think he stays on track with respect to Gainsbourg's playfulness in his literature, and Harvey does have that masculine swagger in the presentation of these songs.  One thing about this album and the other Harvey / Serge recordings is showing what a masterful songwriter genius the French icon is/was.     The other Harvey / Gainsbourg albums are "Intoxicated Man" and "Pink Elephants."  Get all three of them, and then of course, the original recordings by Serge Gainsbourg as well.