Various ‎– "Mister Melody - Les Interprètes De Serge Gainsbourg" 4 CD Box Set, 2006 (Mercury)

Amazing box set of Serge Gainsbourg's music, but performed by other artists besides the mighty and great Serge.   Hours of Serge music throughout his career.  A lot of the recordings on this collection he actually partakes in their production or arrangement.  So, his presence is very much felt throughout every song here.  The famous and iconic recordings with Birkin, Bardot and France Gall is here, but also artists like Les Frères Jacques, Michèle Arnaud, Juliette Gréco, Philippe Clay, and even Petula Clark.   There are no bad tracks here and very much essential listening and ownership. If I have to choose a favorite it is probably Nico's "Strip-Tease."  Very well thought out with song selection and excellent packaging.  

I have to presume the songs here are what brought money to the Gainsbourg pocket.  As a hired songwriter, he brought the tunes to these artists, but all of them have the Serge wit and bite.  He didn't compromise or cheapen his work when he wrote these songs for other artists.  I sense respect between singer and songwriter here.  Love this package of goodies. 

Serge Gainsbourg - "Théatre Des Capucines 1963" CD, France, 2003 (Mercury)

This is an album or CD one doesn't see around that much.  It's perfect.  I have the CD, but I really want the 10" vinyl that came out in 2003.  I don't think the album was ever released in 1963, the time of its recording.   Why?  Nevertheless, it's a brilliant live set from one of the great songwriters of the 20th century.  For me, the jazz/latin Gainsbourg period is the best. I know he's mostly acknowledged for "Melody Nelson" and his work with Jane Birkin, which of course, is fantastic.  But the music that he made and recorded from the year 1959 to the early 1960s is incredible.  Gainsbourg was on a streak that was like a bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto.  Just non-stop pleasure. 

"La Javanaise," "Intoxicated Man" "Negative Blues" and others - all magnificent.  The backing band was just Elek Bacsik on electric guitar and Michel Gaudry on double bass.   Minimal precise, and no wasted space.   Whatever you do, do not ignore the early Gainsbourg magic or his genius at the time. 

ABC - "The Lexicon of Love"

ABC – The Lexicon of Love

Vinyl LP Album, 1982

Mercury

ABC wouldn't exist without Roxy Music, but with even that Martin Fry and company has brought a certain amount of glamour angst to the pop world circa 1982. And it is not only the music but the visuals as well. The Lexicon of Love is an over-the-top concept, that includes the music (of course) but also the graphics of the album cover and 12” & 7” sleeves as well as the videos – and their one hour film by Julian Temple that sort of puts the whole theme in one package. The film “Mantrap” is not great, but the individual videos are still of great charm and intelligence.

Trevor Horn, the producer and his team, brought the songs aurally into the scale of a full-color 1950's cinemascope film. This album and the first album by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, is Horn's masterpiece of production and conception. But one can't underestimate Fry's lyrics/conceptual skills and the sophisticated funk/pop of the band. Also beyond the visuals, one is struck by Fry's face which is acne-scarred, yet beautiful in the context of the ABC world. In other words it adds a certain amount of soul into the illusion of their world.

I remember seeing ABC at the height of the hype for The Lexicon of Love at the Hollywood Palladium with a full orchestra. It was a great spectacle, and ABC is very much about spectacle.