The music of Serge Gainsbourg took a long time to become part of my musical landscape. I remember, as a teenager, hearing "Je t'aime" on the radio quite a bit, so obviously it wasn't banned here as it was in other countries. It sure sounded strange. But quite alluring. It was also overdone and parodied by late-night TV hosts like Jimmy Hannan or Don Lane on IMT. It reminded me of the song "Where Do You Go To My Lovely" by Peter Sarstedt, which wore out its welcome. Though I can listen to that song again now.
It wasn't until the early '90s that his name came up again, when Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes released a track called "The Confessions of Serge Gainsbourg" and, using that theme of French chic, had a CD launch at the Continental Hotel in Prahran. My friend and former Little Murders guitarist, Rod Hayward (though he's back with us again now), was in the Coral Snakes, who were well on the way to some success. Rod would also play Mick Harvey records like Intoxicated Man, where he had covered Gainsbourg songs with English lyrics.
Inevitably, I bought myself a double CD, and it became a backdrop to dinner parties in Elwood. Or drinking wine on the decking. I even played a few of the songs when I DJed, usually "Initials B.B." It might not have got people dancing, but people always came over and told me how much they loved that song. And it was always early in the night. I didn't want to clear a packed Lizard Lounge dance floor.
When I got back into listening to and collecting vinyl a few years back, at first I searched for a Gainsbourg compilation. Then I came across this album. I'd heard a lot about it, so I thought I'd give it a chance. It also helped that the sleeve seemed to be bigger than normal sleeves, with really thick cardboard. It looked and felt different from the normal albums I bought.
Getting it home, from the time the needle hits the vinyl and the music slinks out of the speakers, I was lost in Serge's world. It just sounds so good. Almost hypnotic at times. Even the incredibly short running time of 28 minutes doesn't detract from the record's attraction. This was another world to explore.
I managed to get a few more Gainsbourg albums, but I always come back to this one.
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