Histoire de Melody Nelson

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Histoire de Melody Nelson
Histoire de Melody Nelson cover
Studio album by Serge Gainsbourg
Released 1971
Recorded London, England
Genre French pop
French rock
Length 27:57
Label Polydor
Producer Jean-Claude Vannier
Professional reviews
Serge Gainsbourg chronology
Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin
(1969)		 Histoire de Melody Nelson
(1971)		 Vu de l'Exterieur
(1973)

Histoire de Melody Nelson is a 1971 concept album by controversial French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. The Lolita-esque pseudo-autobiographical plot involves the middle-aged Gainsbourg unintentionally colliding his 26-horsepower 1910 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost into teenage nymphet Melody Nelson's bicycle, and the subsequent seduction and romance that ensues. Histoire de Melody Nelson is considered by many critics and fans to be Gainsbourg's most influential and accomplished album.

At just under twenty-eight minutes, the short running time and the stylistic consistency and similarity throughout the album gives it qualities more in line with an EP or an extended musical piece with a number of movements. Histoire de Melody Nelson‘s mix of freewheeling guitar, funk style bass guitar, near spoken word vocal delivery, and lush, deep orchestrated string and choral arrangements by Jean-Claude Vannier[1] have proven to be highly influential amongst later francophone and anglophone musical performers including the French band Air, David Holmes, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, Portishead, and Beck, whose 2002 track "Paper Tiger" from Sea Change is extremely close to the distinctive Histoire de Melody Nelson sound.

After the release of the album, a music video was made for each song, and released all together as "Melody" a short musical.

Jean-Claude Vannier performed the album live at London's Barbican on October 21st 2006 with guest vocalists Jarvis Cocker, Badly Drawn Boy, Brigitte Fontaine, The Bad Seeds’ Mick Harvey and lead singer from Super Furry Animals, Gruff Rhys. Vannier performed the album in its entirety alongside Vannier's solo album L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches.

Publicity for the Barbican concert revealed that the musicians used for the album were Dougie Wright, Big Jim Sullivan, Herbie Flowers and Vic Flick who all joined Vannier for the concert.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

All tracks composed by Serge Gainsbourg; except where indicated

  1. "Melody" – 7:32
  2. "Ballade de Melody Nelson" (Gainsbourg, Jean-Claude Vannier) – 2:00
  3. "Valse de Melody" – 1:31
  4. "Ah ! Melody" Gainsbourg, Jean-Claude Vannier) – 1:47
  5. "L'hôtel particulier" – 4:05
  6. "En Melody" (Gainsbourg, Jean-Claude Vannier) – 3:25
  7. "Cargo Culte" – 7:37

[edit] Personnel

  • Alan Parker - guitar
  • Brian Odgers - bass
  • Douglas Wright - drums
  • Alan Hawkshaw - piano
  • Jean-Claude Vannier - arrangements, Orchestra Director

[edit] Awards

#21 - Pitchforkmedia: Top 100 Albums of the 1970s

#144 - Rate Your Music: Top Albums of All Time

[edit] External links