Artists and performers

This album by the great Serge Gainsbourg personally belongs in my top 100 albums in music history. The French edition of Rolling Stone magazine placed the album at the 14 spot on the list of the best French rock albums. The album was written over three years in three London studios, except for the duet with Brigitte Bardot Bonnie and Clyde, which was recorded in Paris. Although the entire album is dedicated to Bardot, it is a misconception that she sings anywhere else besides this track. In the remaining compositions, Serge was helped by professional vocalists, for example, Madeline Bell. (There was also a legend that the entire album was written in a few days when Serge and Brigitte locked themselves in a hotel room in Paris. Of course, this is also just a legend, although I am sure that a couple of songs were born in such an atmosphere) On this album, Gainsbourg's voice reached the ideal balance between early vocals and the later spoken-word delivery. It is as poignant as possible. The material itself is also perfectly balanced. This is no longer French chanson, not experiments with percussion, but not yet conceptual albums (which many consider magnificent, including me). This is almost rock, albeit with an eye to the French scene of the 60s. There are no bad songs here in principle, and even just good ones I could identify only a couple. Almost everything from the first to the last note is magnificent. Serge's authorial genius is in full volume. But I will still highlight Initials BB, Bonnie and Clyde, Que est in qui est out, and Hold up. But definitely listen to this album in its entirety, and it's best to do it in Paris somewhere in the Montparnasse area.

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Initials B.B.

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