Remember that one night, where the lovely Janne Schra sang various Gainsbourg songs together with Mick Harvey? No? You weren’t there? Well, miss Schra just uploaded a bunch of tracks recorded that night in Tilburg. Pictured above: Xanthe Waite (left) and Janne Schra, the back-up singers (with solo spots) during the tribute show. Pic by Gert Gering.
Have a listen:
The Amsterdam-based Spinshots, featuring the superlovely miss Flora Dolores, have graced this blog more than a few times. Because of their wonderful Gainsbourg-cover, because of that duet Flora recorded with mr A Balladeer, because of their brooding French track and, well, because of Flora’s unescapable charm, really.
Last Saturday, The Spinshots presented their new EP. Shame I couldn’t be there, but all tracks are up on Bandcamp. You can hear their enriched sound on tracks like this one:
French rock band Kebous cover Gainsbourg’s L’hôtel particulier on their new album. It’s a loud version, with fx and piercing organ. THIS is the original version
Apt name for this band/ duo from Santiago, Chile that transforms Serge & Jane’s Je t’aime into a spaced-out psych-popper somewhere between the realms of Procol Harum and Tame Impala. And while we’re already floating on the psychedelic pillow, don’t forget to feed your mind with the Wooden Shjips‘ version of Gainsbourg & Bardot’s Contact.
Even a tame mainstream ditty like Duffy’s Warwick Avenue suddenly works when fused with Serge’s Je t’aime. Kleptomaniac: Phil RetroSpector. Art form: Mash-up, of course. Verdict: Perfect crime. Check his site for more.
Dra’man, bootlegger francophone extraordinaire, with a superb mash-up of Serge’s L’anamour and Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry. Not to be missed.
Though being one of the finest bands ever to follow the paths of the Byrds and especially Gram Parsons into so many jingle jangle evenings, Motor City’s Volebeats are still virtually unknown even to most country rock aficionados. On their 2004 outing Country Favorites they also proved a surreal kind of humour covering songs by Parliament, Abba, Slayer or Barry White twangy-style. Their version of Serge G’s Manon, erstwhile title song of the stylish Deneuve flick Manon 70, transports the original’s ragged ambiguity clandestinely to the Seen It All Bar – that place where all the pale riders gather when they come to Paris, Texas.
Bonus: Serge’s original, of course, plus Marina Celeste’s breezy, ultra-sexy Brazil style version from her Cinéma Enchanté album. Hush, hush, sweet Manon.
Serge Gainsbourg – Manon
Marina Celeste – Manon
Extrabonus:
Giovanni Mirabassi – Manon
Lulu Gainsbourg & Marianne Faithfull – Manon
Australian bands covering French classics, wrote a post about Mélodie Française on this blog earlier . Thanks to FS-reader Marjorie, I got the full album. It’s not bad, not bad at all. Sure, the Aussies sing French with an accent, but I’ve heard worse. Big Scary do a great version of Je t’aime… changing the notes a little but keeping the right atmosphere. So does Kate Miller-Heidke in her version of Hardy’s Il n’ya pas d’amour heureux. Soko backing up The Walking Who in an echo-heavy Mini, Mini, Mini (orig. by Dutronc) is cool, the odd one out is a French version of Nancy Sinatra’s Bang Bang. Icing on the cake is The Jezabels version of Morgane de toi (‘Madly in love’), a song by Renaud. I’m not that familiair with Renaud’s body of work, Morgane… surely is a modern classic with a very distinct guitar melody. The Jezabels add sexiness to an already explicit song, in my book a great achievement. I don’t know if Melodie Francaise is available outside of Australia, but it’s worth tracking down.
A lot of red dust swirling in the air while you’re riding into Redemption, TX, pop. 234. Actually feels like a ghost town, but some nutty old timer points his finger to the saloon, as if you hadn’t heard the tinkling in the breeze. Sergio Gainsborough is playin’ the friggin’ black and whites again, and it sounds like you’ve been knowing each other for a goddamn hundred years.
Kudos to mel-rockabilly, whoever she is.
Rockabilly from Switzerland with a Serge twist? Check out Hillbilly Moon Explosion from Zurich with a sexy version of Gainsbourg’s Chick Habit a.k.a. Laisse Tomber Les Filles, originally composed for France Gall. Video garnished with some pics feat. Betty P. – parental guidance recommended.
EXTRA: Hillbilly Moon do a mean version of Poupée de cire as well. HERE