Mort Shuman - "My Death" Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo, 1969 (Reprise Records)

I have met people who liked a Mort Shuman song or two but never met a hardcore fan of his overall work.   He had a remarkable career.  Wrote classic Brill Building songs with partner-in-crime Doc Pomus such as "Save The Last Dance For Me," and Elvis' "Surrender," "Little Sister" and "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame," among other iconic pop tunes.  Shuman then moved to France, where he became a songwriter there during the height of the Yé-Yé decade, but more importantly, he discovered the songs of Jacques Brel.   One can make a strong argument without Shuman's translations of Brel songs into English, there would be no Scott Walker recordings of Brel songs, nor obtaining the interest from David Bowie, regarding the world of Brel.  Along with Eric Blau, Shuman wrote the book for the musical "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" which is greatly responsible for the Brel presence in the English speaking world.  And on top of that, he co-wrote one of my all-time favorite songs - "Little Children" recorded by Billy  J. Kramer. 

In 1969, Shuman recorded a very odd solo album "My Death," which is a combination of old school pop songwriting, but with strong traces of Bertolt Brecht, Charles Baudelaire, and of course, Jacques Brel.   Perhaps a concept album about birth to death, but nevertheless, a very eccentric pop album, which of course makes it a masterpiece in my ears and brain. 

My favorite songs on the album are the title cut, which is a Brel classic, and was recorded by Bowie, Scott, and even Rod McKuen.  Shuman gives it a pop flair due to its arrangements, but it's a fantastic version of "My Death."  The other fave on the album is "She's Gonna Give Me a Baby" which is a six-minute epic that ends tragically, but a beautiful melody does remain in the listeners' consciousness. 

Gérard Manset - "Rien À Raconter" Vinyl, LP, Album, France, 1976 (EMI)

There is a thrill of discovering an artist that no one in the English language talks or knows about, and I suspect that Gérard Manset is such a songwriter/arranger/singer.   I can find very little information on Manset in English, and according to Discogs, he has at least 23 albums under his name.  From 1968 to this year, 2018.  I have heard his music I think through a drunk period on the Internet, and going through YouTube for music discoveries.   In my collection, I have two albums by Manset, including "Rein À Raconter" (Nothing to Tell).  

Generally speaking, and what I have heard, Manset's songs are all in French (duh!) and feature massive orchestrations, but usually with a loud electric guitar in the mix.  There's nothing pastoral about his sound, both his voice and instrumentation is forceful and not knowing what the songs are about, makes me (or the listener) get an emotional reaction.  I sense anger, and a typical album by him is at the very least eight songs.   So, there's room for the music to build up to tension or a release of some sort. In other words, his music is sexy.  

What impressed me the most is his melody writing, but also his arrangements which is masterful, and more intuned to classical than somewhat a 'wall of sound.'   Manset shares an intensity with Jack Nitzsche, but he doesn't work on a big canvas like Nitzsche.  The music or album sounds like a man alone dealing with a demon or two.  Manset does the production as well as the writing and arrangements, so he's very much a solo artist in that sense.   The sounds that stand out is his vocal delivery which reminds me a bit of Jacques Brel in its intensity, and the sound of his electric guitar against the grain of the lush strings.   A remarkable artist, who I gather is popular in France, due that his releases are on large record labels, and for sure needs to get more attention from the English speaking world.  

Rod McKuen - "Beatsville" Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono, 1959 (HiFi Records)

As the son of an artist who lived in the so-called "Beat" world, I had the first-hand experience being in such a world, yet years later, one realizes that such a world was being mocked and made fun of by the establishment - both in the entertainment media and in the press.  I lived with my family at the height of the "Beatnik" era at the most iconic "Beat" location - San Francisco.  Eventually, my dad and mom had to move out of that city, due to the consistent harassment of the tourists who came to San Francisco to see "Beatniks."   At the time, there was a very popular TV show "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" which featured the most famous Beat(Nik) at that time, Maynard G. Krebs, played by the wonderful Bob Denver.  It didn't help my father at the time who was trying to live a private life in San Francisco. 

One of the by-products of the commercial world is an album by America's number-one poet Rod McKuen's "Beatsville."  It's McKuen reciting his poetry with jazz music in the background. On a cultural level, this is far away from Jack Kerouac's recordings with Steve Allen.  In fact, it's very much a knock-off of that theme and idea from an actor, poet, and songwriter.  Still, "Beatsville" offers specialty charms, such as a snapshot of that era and how the sub-culture was treated in the mass media.  McKuen's poetry reflects on the Beat landscape but seen through the eyes of corporate America, which in that Situationist stance, appreciates the spectacle of looking at the Beat culture from a safe distance for the average listener to this album.  Clearly, no one in the Beat world would be seen within a mile of this album. 

McKuen is a terrible poet, but his saving grace is that he had the good taste to admire Jacques Brel and introduced him to the English speaking world.  The way he was portrayed in the TV world is that he was a sensitive voice (due that he's a poet) and had a handsome face and appearance.  I'm a fan of his clothing sense, and I also like his voice, when he reads and when he sang.  I remember when I worked at Book Soup, McKuen was shopping at the store, and a few minutes later, David Bowie walked in.  Both were, of course, huge Brel fans.  McKuen actually was a pal of Brel, and in my mind, I wanted to introduce McKuen to Bowie just for that reason alone.  Of course, I didn't because I didn't know these guys, and in no fashion did their body language acknowledge one to the other.  In fact, I don't think either of them was aware of the other that afternoon at the shop.  Still, I feel it was a lost opportunity on my part - on the other hand, one couldn't possibly ignore McKuen in the 1960s.  I remember buying "Axis Bold as Love" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience when it first came out.  To my surprise when I put the disc on the turntable, it was a huge orchestra.  I thought "wow this is a very strange direction for Hendrix" and then I heard McKuen's croon, and went 'oh-oh.'   Both shared the same label, so in the factory, they put the wrong album into the wrong jacket.  

The other day I found "Beatsville" in my favorite local record shop, Mono Records in Glendale, and couldn't pass up the chance of buying this rarity.  In an odd way, it brought back memories of hanging out in The North Beach in San Francisco with my Dad, although the McKuen recording is a total Disneyland version of that location.  I imagine McKuen been there and maybe even lived in that town, but clearly, his interest in that world was more commercial than the reality of the location.  Still, "Beatsville" is very much a spectacle in the Guy Debord sense, and it's an interesting by-product of that era.    And the album cover, of course, is the real masterpiece.  A beautiful album cover!

On the other hand, I strongly recommend Bob McFadden and Dor's "The Beat Generation," which is written by our Rod.   Richard Hell turned this song into "The Blank Generation."  So McKuen not only made his presence in the Beat world, but also on the Punk planet as well. 

Rod McKuen - "Rod McKuen Sings Jacques Brel" Album, Vinyl, 1973

My one and only Rod McKuen album in my collection of vinyl.  The only reason I purchase this record is because it's music by Jacques Brel, sung by McKuen, who also translated the lyrics from French to English.  Beyond that, the album is great. 

I never warmed to McKuen's boho image, which I find very showbusiness related.  It's not he's talentless, it is just he's the mainstream American versions of someone 'out there' and that he's ain't. 

On the other hand, he is one of the first English-speaking artist (besides Scott Walker) who has committed himself in doing Brel recordings, as well as translating his words.  The truth is, McKuen does an excellent job in performing Brel's works. His voice is not the typical showman type of vocalist, but he in his gravel way gives the material real grit and soul.   The orchestrations on the album are also great - in being true to the material, and backing McKuen's vocalization.  This album is the flip side to Scott Walker's recordings of Brel's music.  I would get both.  

Barbara - "Volume 2 1960/1961/1962 Barbara chante Brassens et Brel"

Barbara – Volume 2 1960/1961/1962 Barbara chante Brassens et Brel

CD Compilation, Paris

Philips

You can't do wrong with songs by Georges Brassens or Jacques Brel, but when you are Barbara it becomes something extraordinary. Like Gréco, Barbara is a singing icon and worth being passionate about. As I mentioned in a previous review, Barbara is very close to someone like Scott Walker, in that she's a songwriter, but also used her talents to interpret the great songs by these masterful songwriters. One source feeds on the other, and one of the great things about art is that it doesn't come out of nowhere. If you pay attention, and follow the clues, it can lead you into a sensual world. Brassens struck me as a writer commenting on his fellow citizens and Brel, conveys the sensual world that he lived in. Barbara's job is to convey these gentlemen's passions and put it into her own world.

What I have is sort of a greatest hits package. Its great, but it makes me hungry to own the original vinyl. Therefore I put the record covers up, instead of what I have – which is boring looking.