Artist: Jacques Brel
Album: Olympia '64
Year: 1964
Well, this one gets my vote for most pretentious of the 1001 albums thus far. Brel was a Belgian singer who sang all sorts of sweeping, dramatic songs in French. It's amusing stuff but not really my cup of tea.
I can see how Brel was an influence on singers like Scott Walker (who would cover Brel on his early albums) and Neil Hannon (of The Divine Comedy). These are anecdotal songs with a penchant for exacting details. Granted, I couldn't understand the details as I listened to the album because I don't know French, but reading an English translation of the lyrics proved helpful in that regard.
"Tango Funebre" is my favorite of this bunch, one that Walker would go to cover on Scott 3 in a version that works better for my less-cultured sensibilities. If I were French, or at least understood the language, this album would've worked better for me, but as it is I wasn't quite feeling it. Next...
Rating: Not worth a listen
No comments:
Post a Comment