Cannabis (film score)

Cannabis
Film score of Cannabis by Serge Gainsbourg
Released May 1970 (1970-05)
Recorded Studio Davout
Paris, France
Length 29:24
Language French, English
Label Philips
Producer Roger Duchet, Nat Wachselberger
Serge Gainsbourg chronology
Slogan
(1969)		 Cannabis
(1970)		 Trop Jolies Pour Être Honnêtes
(1972)

Cannabis is a film score by French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, released in May 1970 through Philips Records, accompanying the 1970 film of the same name, directed by Pierre Koralnik and starring Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin, and Curd Jürgens.

Contents

Conception

Background

After collaborating on Anna, a 1967 television movie starring Anna Karina, Gainsbourg and French director Pierre Koralnik decided to work on another movie which would eventually become Cannabis, when three producers (Roger Duchet, Andrée Debar, and Nat Wachsberger) commissioned one, based on seeing Gainsbourg and his then-lover Jane Birkin starring together in the 1969 film, Slogan, directed by Pierre Grimblat.[1] All of the music for Cannabis was composed and written by Gainsbourg after the film had been shot, with help from arranger Jean-Claude Vannier, with whom Gainsbourg would again collaborate the following year on Histoire de Melody Nelson.[1]

Recording

Cannabis was recorded at Studio Davout, a recording studio in Paris, France, with producers Roger Duchet and Nat Wachselberger.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [3]

Upon its release, Cannabis was received positively. Thom Jurek of Allmusic wrote that it was "among the most startling [...] in [Gainsbourg's] oeuvre", and also noted that the score was "one of the most sophisticated [...] Gainsbourg ever conceived".[3]

Track listing

All music composed by Serge Gainsbourg and arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier.

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Cannabis"   2:28
2. "Le Deuxième Homme"   1:10
3. "Première Blessure"   2:25
4. "Danger"   2:09
5. "Chanvre Indien"   2:27
6. "Arabique"   1:30
7. "I Want to Feel Crazy"   1:41
Side two
No. Title Length
8. "Cannabis" (vocals by Serge Gainsbourg) 2:29
9. "Jane Dans La Nuit" (vocals by Jane Birkin) 1:24
10. "Avant De Mourir"   5:25
11. "Dernière Blessure"   1:23
12. "Piège"   3:10
13. "Cannabis-bis"   1:51
Total length:
 29:24

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
France May 1970 Philips Records LP 6311 060
Canada 23 August 1970 Disques Bagatelle LP BAS 602
France 2008 Philips Records LP 6311 060

References

  1. ^ a b Lerouge, Stéphane (2003). "Pierre Koralnik interview", pp. 10-13 [booklet, CD]. Album notes for Cannabis by Serge Gainsbourg. EmArcy.
  2. ^ "Serge Gainsbourg - Bande Originale Du Film "Cannabis" at Discogs". http://www.discogs.com/Serge-Gainsbourg-Bande-Originale-Du-Film-Cannabis/release/1828465. Retrieved 2 November 2010. 
  3. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Serge Gainsbourg: Cannabis > Review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/cannabis-r667812/review. Retrieved 2 November 2010. 

External links

Serge Gainsbourg
Studio albums
Du chant à la une!... (1958)  · N° 2 (1959)  · L'Étonnant Serge Gainsbourg (1961)  · N°4 (1962)  · Gainsbourg Confidentiel (1963)  · Gainsbourg Percussions (1964)  · Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg (1969)  · Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971)  · Vu de l'extérieur (1973)  · Rock Around the Bunker (1975)  · L'Homme à tête de chou (1976)  · Aux armes et cætera (1979)  · Mauvaises nouvelles des étoiles (1981)  · Love on the Beat (1984)  · You're Under Arrest (1987)
Compilation albums
Bonnie and Clyde (1968)  · Initials B.B. (1968)  · La Chanson De Prévert (1978)  · De Gainsbourg à Gainsbarre (1990)
Live albums
Enregistrement public au théâtre le palace (1980)  · Live (1985)  · Le Zénith de Gainsbourg (1988)
Film scores
L'Eau À La Bouche (1960)  · Anna (1967)  · Ce Sacré Grand-Père (1968)  · Cannabis (1970)  · Je t'aime... moi non plus (1976)  · Madame Claude (1977)  · Goodbye Emmanuelle (1977)  · Je vous aime (1980)  · Tenue de soirée (1986)
Films
Je t'aime... moi non plus (1976)  · Équateur (1983)  · Charlotte for Ever (1986)  · Stan the Flasher (1990)
Writings
Evguénie Sokolov (1980)
Related articles
Discography  · Albums  · Songs  · Gainsbourg (vie héroïque)