Search - Serge Gainsbourg :: Musiques DE Films1959-1990

Versatile genius goes to the movies

07/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 3-CD collection, containing around 70 tracks and spanning over 30 years' work, is a mere sample of Serge's enormous film soundtrack oeuvre - he produced much much more. Most of it is unavailable, however - as are most of the films concerned, many of which were reputedly pretty trashy.
The last comment certainly doesn't apply to the music here, which demonstrates Serge's immense mastery of popular idioms from cool lounge jazz (Le cha-cha du loup), limpid and classical French chanson (La noyee) through psychedelic rock (Moogy-woogy) to pop (Yesterday yes a day), easy listening (Un petit garcon nomme Charlie Brown) soft reggae (Goodbye Emannuelle), disco (Sea, sex and sun [not included here]) and all points east. In all these genres he is more than a match for the competition, and serves it all up with his trademark sleazy charm.
About a quarter of the music here is sung, mostly by Gainsbourg, sometimes by others including muses Jane Birkin and Anna Karina, celebrated Left Bank chanteuse Juliette Greco - and there is one early performance by Nico, who later attained cult status following her association with the Velvet Underground.
This collection should appeal to a wider audience than that of Gainsbourg's existing fans (innumerable in his native France, numerous in Europe at large but relatively few in the US) and will please all those who love well-crafted popular music with a thoroughly individual and nonconformist edge.
A very welcome introduction to a relatively little known part of Serge's body of work, then - now if they'd reissue the movies that the music belonged to, we could see how well it worked as soundtrack too!"