The Drums Have Gone Silent

 

This morning, I received the sad news that Sly Dunbar has also passed away. This marks the end of the legendary rhythm section that played with almost every musician who needed a reggae rhythm in the 1980s. Both had enhanced numerous songs with their own drumming and bass playing. Here are a few examples of their work.

RIP Sly

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Another week, another journey into musical history.

Enjoy.

1965: Smokey Robinson and The Miracles

1972: Alice Cooper

1972: Chi Coltrane

1967: Jefferson Airplane

1977: Heart

1977: Bob Seger

1980: Diana Ross

1982: Dexy's Midnight Runners

1969: Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin

1980: Joy Division

1983: Bananarama

Prisoner Of Beauty

 

The Limiñanas, a neo-psychedelic band from the south of France, are back with a new album, which is due to be released in a fortnight. As usual, they manage to span the musical spectrum from Velvet Underground to Serge Gainsbourg to Jesus and Mary Jane.

In addition to Jon Spencer, Bobbie Gillespie was also invited as a guest this time, whose voice fits perfectly with the sound underpinned by distorted guitars.

Their homage to the YéYé sound of the sixties is also very beautiful, as they cover a song by Francoise Hardy and transform its sound perfectly into the here and now.

Monday's Long Song

 

Serge Gainsbourg has always been an artist who knew no boundaries and knew how to provoke with his music and lyrics. He achieved his masterpiece in 1971 when he released his concept album Histoire De Melody Nelson. 

It is basically a setting of Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita, which tells the story of the paedophile relationship between literary scholar Humbert Humbert and 12-year-old. Gainbourg's story begins in a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, the man at the wheel daydreaming in his luxury vehicle until he loses control of the car and hits a cyclist. His gaze falls on the spinning tyre and the rolled-up blouse of the girl lying on the ground. Melody Nelson has red hair, Serge Gainsbourg whispers to the audience, red is her natural colour. Serge Gainsbourg has just described his Lolita experience.

So far, so good, but what does the album have to offer musically? The orchestral arrangements and the constant changes in dynamics mean that the listener is absorbed by the songs, most of which are only spoken or whispered.  The interplay of floating bass, dry drums and a few guitar chords in Melody anticipates trip hop to a certain extent.

Serge Gainsbourg - Melody

Blind On A Galloping Horse

 

It's November and, like every year, I'm thinking about a year-end list and, as always, there's another album that shouldn't be missing from such a list. David Holmes, an Irish DJ and producer who has managed to gain respect in the DJ camp as well as in the alternative scene over the past few years, recently released Blind on a Gallopping Horse. Together with Raven Violent, who already left her unmistakable mark with her voice on his side product Unloved, an album of positive songs in a negative time was created. Blind On A Galloping Horse is a multi-faceted record with a lot to discover and an absolutely positive example of how the gloom of the world can be addressed without letting despair win out. On Necessary Genius he pays tribute to 'dreamer, misfits, radicals, outcasts' who are no longer with us and includes shout-outs to Weatherall, Terry Hall, Sinéad O'Conner, Serge Gainbourgh & Jane Birkin and more. Still underlaid with a dancable beats.

Yeah x 3 is proofs that he's able to make a softer pop song that should appear in every top 40 this year,

Facciamo L'Amore

 

After another stressful week at work I enjoy staying at home reading some good books and listening to music. I think the older I get the less the duties of my job. Especially when my company is going to turn everything upside down at an incredible pace. This song was released yesterday and was the perfect soundtrack to slow down. A ten minute track built on a simple rhythm and added with warm synths, a bit of guitar and whispered voices makes this song worth to be played. Rheinzand is an electronic collaboration from Ghent, Belgium, and featured at this place the last time when they released their superb self titled album back in 2020. The title of the song means Let's Make Love and has nothing in common with the song Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg made decades ago.

 

Two days ago Serge Gainsbourg died and I think it is time to remember one of the greatest singer/songwriter from France ever. Not only because of his duets with Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin or his songs for France Gall he was a leading figure of the  Yé-Yé movement which could be described as the French pendent to beat music. I have to admit that I always had a fondness for chansonniers because they had mostly something to say. 50 years ago Gainsbourg released his masterpiece with a concept album telling the story of 15-year-old Melody, played and sung by Jane Birkin, who is approached by a man, Serge Gainsbourg, at Rolls-Royce. He falls in love with the young girl, spends his most beautiful time with her and finally loses her in a plane crash. He was always radical in any way he made songs and telling stories and never mind what people thinking about his art. A hero of my very younger days and still one you can listen to in present times.

Serge Gainsbourg - Melody

Songs Of Freedom

Last weekend our cultural canal started like every year a series during the summer of themes in music. This year it is called Summer of Freedom. I expected nothing but some sentimental moments that will me bring back in history. Sadly it started later in the evening and argued that I will stay in front of television until late after midnight. And I have to say it was worth to watch this documentaries. There were many songs you can describe to a period of self-expression or liberation and you probably remember the times when this songs were great and the artists made statements with these songs. Jimi Hendrix played Star Spangled Banner on Woodstock against the war in Vietnam, Aretha Franklin sung Respect for women's liberation and Billy Bragg did it for the miners in the early 80's. I agree that songs seldom could change something (except Special AKA) but in my history there were always songs that were very close to historical incidents and personal events. So here are a few songs that are worth to be named in this context.

Serge Gainsbourg was an artist that was always controversial in the way he made music. He left the mainstream to make his own kind of music. In 1979 he moved to Jamaica to make a reggae album with Sly and Robbie. To make an album like this was radical in these days for a French artist but the greatest thing he did was tho record the French national anthem in a reggae version. The adaption of La Marseillaise in a reggae style brought him hatred from the ultra-right wing parties in France. But this song and especially this version is a statement for freedom and the will to stand for it. At the latest when some terrorist bombed the football game between France and Germany a few years ago. And what makes me still shiver was when France played a few days ago in London the whole British crowd started to sing La Marseillaise in the stadium.

Serge Gainsbourg - Aux Armes Et Caetera

Another song that stands for freedom is a hymn of the queer scene. Gloria Gaynor made a song that lyrics all of those people which was afraid to stand to their personal preferences to make it easier to stand for them. It is still an anthem of these movement and I can remember the first outings that confused me but now it is nothing more or less than simply normal.

A song that moved masses and finally was successful was The Special AKA's song by Jerry Dammers to make the world aware what happened to Nelson Mandela and that he was put in prison in South Africa for more than 20 years. At least he was released from his torture three years later.

You can tell the story of important songs for freedom until now. As a good example it is the story of Pussy Riot in the Soviet Union a few years ago.

Sly And Robbie

In the early 80's Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, a Jamaican rhythm section, got famous. They started their career playing as session musicians in Studio One and in various local bands. Their first recognition outside of Jamaica they got for their work on bass and drum on this tiny little hit.

The Mighty Diamonds - Right Time

The late 70's / early 80's were the days where many artists discovered reggae for itself. It seemed like everyone wanted to record at Compass Point studio in Nassau. And both prepared the floor for some good records and their production decisively stamped the reggae rhythms of these days. It is impossible to name all the collaborations they did at this place so I just selected some songs that are big over 35 years ago.

Serge Gainsbourg - Lola Rastaquouere
Joe Cocker - Look What You've Done
Ian Dury - Red letter
Grace Jones - Warm Leatherette
Bob Dylan - Jokerman
Material - Playing With Fire

Deadly Valentine

To be honest I always liked the music of Serge Gainsbourg because it sounds to be from a different world. I loved his voice and the lyrics as far as I understood them in past days and I always returned to him from time to time. I knew a few songs from his daughter together with Jane Birkin Charlotte. I was surprised that she announced a new record after a very long time staying absent from music. The first track from the so titled album was Rest, a piano based ballad. Their latest appetizer for the new album was Deadly Valentine a much more electronic adventure for her. Based on hypnotic electric beats her voice flows like mist over a river. Beautiful to start into Sunday.

Mick Harvey / Serge Gainsbourg

Mick Harvey is well known by his long time collaboration with Nick Cave, PJ Harvey and The Birthday Party. Years ago he installed a project translating the songs of Serge Gainbourg into English. His latest record Delirium  Tremens (what a name for a record) was released a few weeks ago and I only found less songs from it in the www. I really like his interpretations of Serge's songs. Almost slow ones with a whispered voice and his genius guitar in the back. Another soundtrack for the time round midnight.

Exploring The Archiv No. 2: Serge Gainsbourg

I'm not really a big fan of French chansons but sometimes I like to listen to some French pop. In France he is valid as one of the most creative musician of his time. He was also a very great influence for other singer/songwriter in the late 60's in France.

His early songs were inspired by the French writer Boris Vian and were very old fashioned chansons. Gainsbourg began to remove from this and experiment with new styles: jazz early on, pop in the 1960s, rock and reggae in the 1970s and electronic in the 1980s. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style makes him difficult to categorize.

I always liked his coolness and the way he whispered his lyrics. He was every time good for a scandal. So as he published a record about a love story between teenager an an older man, ending tragically when the teenager died by a plane crash.

Ballade De Melody Nelson

Another scandal was when he turned into reggae. He was one of the first European musicians that made a record in Jamaica. In 1978 he recorded with Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare 'Aux Armes Et Caetera' a reggae version of the French national anthem 'La Marseillaise'. This song earned him death threads from the right-wing veterans of the Algerian war of independence who were opposed to certain lyrics.

Aux Armes Et Caetera

Enjoy