French Rock Masterpiece on Crystal Clear Vinyl!
Pressed at RTI!
Often cited as the masterwork of French icon and national treasure Serge Gainsbourg, Histoire De Melody Nelson features actress, amour, and inspiration Jane Birkin, arranger/conductor and co-conspirator Jean-Claude Vannier (L'Enfant Assassins Des Mouches), and a tight, hand-picked crew of top-shelf U.K. session musicians, including Big Jim Sullivan, Vic Flick, Brian Odgers, and Dougie Wright. Originally released in 1971, this is an essential album for the discerning music lover.
Light in the Attic's initial reissue marked the first time that Histoire De Melody Nelson was ever made available domestically in the U.S., now available in two brand-new très chic color variants. Dispelling countless myths, hearsay, and rumors surrounding Nelson, New York-based writer Andy Beta contributes a stylish essay for your edification, while the maestro himself chimes in with a period Q&A interview from France's Rock N Folk Magazine, originally published in June 1971.
One of the greatest marriages of rock band and orchestra.
Even if your French stops at 'bonjour', the music lets you know that this is a record about a dark, obsessional love. On 'L'hôtel Particulier', for instance - describing the sleazy grandeur of the rented rooms where the narrator and Melody make love - Gainsbourg's voice shudders with lust and dread, and the music responds, flares of piano and string breaking into the song over an impatient bassline.
...a masterpiece of perversion and corruption....it's by turns fascinating and repellent, hilarious and grim, but never dull...
Features
- Crystal Clear Vinyl
- Old School-Style Tip-On Gatefold Jacket with Original Artwork & OBI Strip
- 1971 Q&A Interview with Serge & Liner Notes by Andy Beta
- Pressed at RTI
Selections
- Melody
- Ballade De Melody Nelson
- Valse De Melody
- Ah! Melody
- L'Hotel Particulier
- En Melody
- Cargo Culte
