Histoire De Melody Nelson

Before I talk about the album itself, let me share about the rabbit hole I fell down. I was about halfway through the first track, Melody, when I thought, “Man, this song *really* sounds like Beck’s song Paper Tiger. Then I remembered that Beck once produced an album for a French Singer named Charlotte Gainsbourg… I look it up, and sure enough, Charlotte is Serge’s daughter. Just an interesting couple of facts (I think this is what happens when an INTP is a big fan of music) . By the way, I looked it up and Beck actually sampled the Serge Gainsbourg track on Paper Tiger, which explains their startling similarity. The article in which I found that information about Beck sampling Serge pointed something out that hit home for me. It said that the two are rare amongst singer-songwriters in that they are as attracted to sound as they are to song. That really spells out why I don’t like most singer-songwriter music, it seems like for many of them the music is merely a vehicle for them to present their lyrics. One could say they are just poets masquerading as musicians. But there is an album of the day to talk about! To borrow a word from the succeeding generation, this album slaps. I didn’t know I needed an album that sounds like George Baker’s Little Green Bag overlaid with whispered, French, spoken-word vocals and orchestral blasts, but here I am. Serge is apparently considered the greatest musician France ever produced, and has influenced many that came after him, so he definitely belongs on the list My personal enjoyment: 4/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

There are more pedos than women on this fucking list...

I would say that I enjoyed the music behind this one. But knowing my history of the nation of France, I decided to look up what this album is about and boy did I find another reason to not like the french. This album is about a man hitting a 15ish year old girl on her bike with his Rolls Royce, who he then promptly falls in love with and seduces. I don’t care about the artistic intent and all that when the subject is pedophilia. Not a fan

no, no, no. absolutely not. i don't care if many music critics and personnel find this influential and life changing. this album is about statutory rape! i was going to give it 2 stars because musically, it wasn't too bad of an album, but that was until i got to the sex noises in "en melody". what on earth is this album? i wish i could give 0 stars.

Fuck this ode to pedophilia.

Non-content de nous proposer une ribambelle d'albums rock de merde. Robert Dimery, l'emminent créateur de cette liste scandaleuse n'a selectionné que deux albums français au sein des 1001. Parmi eux donc, cet album de Serge Gainsbourg, figure emblématique de la chanson française. Mais là encore, Robert avait tout faux. En effet, malgré la ribambelle d'albums comprennant au moins un titre classique de Serge Gainsbourg, Robert a trouvé le moyen de choisir un album experimental racontant une histoire dont tout le monde se fout, d'autant plus que les décérébrés votants du générateurs ne pipent pas un mot de français (ce qui vous en conviendrait, démontre une fois de plus leur manque flagrant de culture). La France est donc representee par cet album ridicule ou le Serge s'amuse a nous susurrer des mots a l'oreille, ce qui me plaça dans un inconfort palpable. Le pire dans tout ça, c'est que celui sur qui nos derniers espoirs reposent n'est autre que le hautement surcoté MC Solaar, que je me devrai de sanctionner d'une note assassine pour l'ensemble de son oeuvre. Ce mercredi matin ne démarre clairement pas de la meilleure des manières, d'autant plus que comme vous le savez, il semblerait que je n'ai plus d'eau chaude a mon domicile.

lost one star for perving on a minor, and another for being french. if you perv on minors, you deserve to suffer. if you’re french, fucking kill yourself. music was ok though.

wtf, this is absolute crap. like an even less interesting, less musical version of that moby turd. singer just whispers in french with the mic INSIDE his mouth, music is just sporadic jazzy numbers. I'm sure artists think it's cool, but i think it fucken sucks.

French music is already way overrepresented in this list, but now you want me to listen to an album about a lecherous old pedophile "romancing" an underage girl? FUCK NO! "Oh this album is so influential" say sexual predators, creepy old bastard men and rape apologists because it gives their sick and disturbed predilections validation. This album is garbage and should be wiped from the cultural landscape.

the instrumentation and production are impressive, but the concept is cringey AF

I thought his voice sounded so creepy so I looked up what the album was actually about: “Its Lolita-esque pseudo-autobiographical narrative follows the illicit romance that develops between the middle-aged Gainsbourg and 15-year old girl Melody Nelson.” Yeah, no. This was gonna be a 2 based off what I initially heard and now it’s a 1.

Really nice to listen to. I don't speak French, so I didn't understand most of the spoken word/sung lyrics, but I'm sure it was all very innocent and wholesome, right? Right?

I saw a documentary about Serge Gainsbourg maybe a dozen years ago, and that made me a fan. Fascinating person and artist. This album is great. It's very, well, Serge Gainsboug. Weirdly accessible, even in the 2020's, and even though I don't understand any of the lyrics because I know maybe a dozen words in French (nearly all food, my fellow fromage-heads). The musical arrangements are fantastic, and, wow, that guitarist can play! Somehow, with the music playing underneath the spoke French dialogue, it just works. This is one I'll listen to again.

If you think the concept of this record is crazy, just wait until you hear about the song/music video he made with his daughter in 1984.

Call me crazy, but breathy french music about statutory rape isn't my jam...

Tre merde !

No thanks. I actually hear the air from his mouth. Grosses me out

Pretty groovy. Really dope precision bass tone. Sexy French lyrics I don’t understand at all. Super simple drums. And a throaty blues guitar. Kind of a perfect 70’s rock album

Histoire de Melody Nelson I have listened to this before, it’s one of those cult albums that is always on lists as being hugely influential, which is very clear as this seems the stepping off point for Portishead in particular. I love the bass, drums and guitar, particularly the bass though - what a great tone, with great melodicism and it’s perfectly placed in the mix, anchoring as well as moving the songs forward. The string arrangements are excellent too, cinematic and widescreen, but also slightly unsettling, kind of familiar but unsettling at the same time. Thematically it's kind of interesting to try and pick apart, and it’s kind of hard to discern whether it's pederastic fantasy, or a Lolita-esque treatise on obsession. He certainly had a tendency for relationships with women much younger than him, and this album could quite easily be seen as a pervy endorsement of relationships with teenage children, but equally seen as narrative fantasy, with any paedophillic readings telling you more about the listener than him. I guess it probably falls somewhere between the two, and the openness to interpretation is deliberate and what makes it such a fascinating piece of art. Musically I do love this, as I say the bass is excellent, the production is superb and as a 30 minute narrative sing cycle it is excellent. The marriage of funk with cinematic strings with atonal tendencies, and the occasional French folk element gives it a propulsive yet slightly off kilter atmosphere, which feeds into the whole narrative theme of it. I’ll go 4, I can’t quite work out whether the ick is central to it’s quality or detracts from it slightly. 🧅🧅🧅🧅 Playlist submission: Melody

Who is ̶K̶e̶y̶s̶e̶r̶ ̶S̶o̶z̶e̶ Melody Nelson? Had I the fluency required to understand this album I might have enjoyed it more (the Wikipedia certainly didn't help), but it's just not something I'd ever want to return to. It wasn't half bad, and I actually enjoyed the background music and chords that played throughout, but by god it sounded like this man was recording post mic-consumption, and I just couldn't get past that.

Sauvegarder Avant: Rien Dès Le Début: Melody, Ballade De Melody Nelson, Valse de Melody, Ah Melody, L'hôtel particulier, En Melody, Cargo culte (c'est à dire tout l'album) Presque Sauvegarder: Rien Notes Générales: As someone who speaks French, I figure my two-cents is valid here. In terms of the "Lolita" part of the wikipedia page, that's really not a big part of the narrative and the whole narrative is clearly not meant to be taken seriously as the guy meets her after hitting her with his Rolls Royce as he's driving on the sidewalk. The music is the most important part, and once you let Gainsbourg's mic-swallowing exist in the atmosphere of the tracks it's not so jarring. Would've been a 5 if it was longer, I just wish it had more time to develop some of those songs. But I guess that's the point of the album, it's a short fling from car crash to plane crash. 4.5 that gets rounded to a 4 for length.

Would give zero if I could. It's not a provocative art piece to sexualize a 15 year old child like that (and have that child be portrayed by a grown woman moaning), especially if the artist went on to sexualize his 13 year old daughter who was unable to consent. Go and actually read some Nabokov or go touch some grass but don't listen to this. It's not worth it, you'll have to shower the ick off just to hear the boring porny baselines.

Probably the most pretentious, least enjoyable pile of absolute shit I've ever heard. Who the hell is this for besides music students who need to pretend that awful music is good to feel smart?

How come I didn't even know about this album before? I've heard of Serge Gainsbourg, but never in context of music. And now I know what a mistake that was. Histoire De Melody Nelson is a really well crafted album (although very short, just 27 minutes), that combines four main pillars, that could stand on their own anywhere else: - a funky bass line, that welcomes us to the album and doesn't leave us until the last notes - guitar with incredibly psychedelic solos, you could easily mistake it for a Pink Floyd part - orchestral elements added by Jean-Claude Vannier, adding another dimension to the album - and finally the vocal of Gainsbourg, soft and very deep voice, mostly just talking, is like a perfect topping for this musical cake. The whole album feels like a jam session of four musicians playing different genres of music, but somehow not only it works well, but is absolutely amazing. One of the easiest 5 stars on this list, especially among the albums I have never heard of.

C'est en lisant dans le livre des 1001 la critique d'un certain JiH dans le grimoire de Robert que j'ai enfin ouvert les yeux ; cette compilation des 1001 albums ne s'adresse qu'à la communauté hipster. Pas question pour l'éditeur et ses complices de sélectionner un album à succès, non, jamais. Il est ici question de choisir l'un des albums les moins connus de l'artiste afin de jouer au connaisseur et pisser sur le mainstream. Une bien triste vision des choses que je dénoncerai en message privé à l'intéressé, puisque je le connais.

skeptical of anything 'cool' or beloved by people who wear beanies in their late 20's i endeavoured to study the lyrics of this album. because musically is this fuck good enough to stand on its own. i expected to find a story that may perhaps vindicate this album a little bit from the charge of pretension. boy was i wrong. so from what i can gather serge crashes his rolls royce into a 14 year old girl with whom he instantly falls in love with, and plans to take her virginity. and this is set to the chord progression of 'hey joe'. "Histoire de Melody Nelson is considered by many critics and fans to be Gainsbourg's most influential and accomplished work, as well as one of the greatest French-language albums in popular music.[2]" - wikipedia silly fucking french nonce. its a bloody good thing we stuffed them at waterloo, or this sort of thing would be happening everywhere.

Artistic depiction isn't endorsement. Feels like a 70's French art film for your ears. That may not be everyone's cup of tea. It's got a consistent groove throughout, although it's erotic overtones do become unsettling even without considering the subject matter. I've listened to this album multiple times throughout the years and I haven't become Humbert Humbert.

When I think of Serge Gainsbourg, I’m immediately reminded of the surreal TV tribute by Les Petits Chanteurs d’Asnières—a children’s choir dressed in dark shades, each holding a fake cigarette and a glass of "whiskey," belting out one of Gainsbourg's hits. Meanwhile, a teary-eyed Gainsbourg chain-smokes real cigarettes as he watches. Bizarre barely begins to describe it. This odd tribute captures Gainsbourg’s world—one that feels completely culturally, ideologically, and musically alien to me. Histoire de Melody Nelson treads a similarly mystifying line, presenting the unsettling story of a middle-aged man (played by Gainsbourg) infatuated with a 15-year-old girl (played by the very much of-age Jane Birkin). Even by the standards of the '60s and '70s, this was a taboo subject. Viewed through today’s lens, it can provoke strong repulsion, a reaction that is entirely understandable- and even justified. Yet, this perspective risks conflating the art with its disturbing themes. Much like Anthony Hopkins' chilling portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, the protagonist of Histoire de Melody Nelson is not meant to be sympathetic, yet his story remains compelling. The Silence of the Lambs excels through its taut storytelling, masterful pacing, and relentless psychological tension, rendering Lecter’s monstrous nature both horrifying and fascinating. Similarly, Histoire de Melody Nelson captivates with its seductive orchestration and avant-garde arrangements, even as the narrative unfolds in a morally troubling manner. Musically, the album is a tour de force, with Jean-Claude Vannier’s brilliant arrangements at the forefront. The lush string sections, combined with funky basslines and jazzy percussion, create an intoxicating contrast between elegance and raw emotion. Each track transitions seamlessly into the next, crafting a cinematic experience that feels like a fever dream—unsettling yet beautiful. Vannier’s orchestration is both grand and minimal, featuring moments of baroque splendour that draw the listener deeper into the album’s strange world. Jane Birkin’s voice, with its suitably lustful and breathy delivery, perfectly embodies the naive yet seductive character of Melody. The synergy of Gainsbourg’s murky storytelling, Vannier’s lush instrumentation, and Birkin’s ethereal performance make Histoire de Melody Nelson an album where the music itself is as compelling and provocative as the story it tells. The album’s innovative use of strings and its brooding, cinematic quality can be heard in the work of Trip Hop acts like Portishead and fellow Frenchmen Air, who similarly blend melancholic orchestration with moody, atmospheric textures. Gainsbourg’s fusion of orchestral grandeur with modern sounds laid the groundwork, making Histoire de Melody Nelson not just a product of its time but a lasting influence on the evolution of experimental and genre-blending music. Does this album belong on the list in my opinion: Yes Would this album make my own list: No Will I be listening to it again: Infrequently

Should be removed in the 21st century.

Creepy and gross. A celebration of child rape. Did Epstein or Trump write this? We need less of this in the world.

Disgusting. Shame on you for including this.

Just because a thing is about a thing, it isn't necessarily a proponent of that thing. Come on guys, Lolita is not pro-paedophilia. Anyway, Serge is a big pest. 5 stars.

A topless redhead clutching a plush doll, with a lustful look on her face, bell bottom patchwork jeans spread out and barefoot: this was the album cover that engulfed the minds of those who came across it, first in France and then, eventually, the rest of the world; the definition of the pixie dream girl set in the early 1970s. But what about the music? One can trace the entire lineage of sad sack, impressionistic yet aspiring romantics who fall in love with all the wrong people for all the wrong reasons to Serge Gainsbourg and his cinematic displays of illicit love, set to the structures of a short film. Serge wound up creating the blueprint of what would become an inevitability as the music worlds would converge and crater in time; varying other genres luxuriating in the influence of this baby blue landscape of lust and lament held up by lustrous, action packed orchestration. While Serge would go on and continue to upend his processes, this landscape he created has gone on to become timeless, regardless of the seedy underbelly within.

Air, Slint/For Carnation and many more owe a debt to this. Crazy. Really interesting and low-key groovy.

Gainsbourg, figura capital de la música francesa y eso, en los 60 y principios de los 70 era decir de Europa. No solo era músico sino artista en general y también personaje. Esta es su obra más reconocida, aunque criticada en su día. Con Jane Birkin desde la portada, con Lolita como referente, compone un disco calificado como sucio y sórdido, pero también como magistral. Su influencia llega hasta Beck (Sea Changes sin ir más lejos), Radiohead 8que trabajó en Moon Shaped pool con su director de orquesta aquí) y sobre todo en el ambiente de Portishead. En Francia es inabarcable, con Air como más evidente. No es poco, para muestra el homenaje en 2006: Monsieur Gainsbourg revisited. No contiene «Je t'aime... moi non plus» , grabada 3 años antes con Birkin. Pero es irrelevante: el disco no tiene relleno, a pesar de su duración. Mezcla música orquestada y embriagadora con pepinazos de 60´s-funk-rock como En Melody o psicodelia como Cargo Culte. Una delicia para escuchar no una sino varias veces.

1971 concept album by French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. Histoire de Melody Nelson is considered by many critics and fans to be Gainsbourg's most influential and accomplished work, as well as one of the greatest French-language albums in popular music. Its Lolita-esque pseudo-autobiographical narrative follows the illicit romance that develops between the middle-aged Gainsbourg and 15-year old girl Melody Nelson. While it became a pivotal album of the 1970s and was instrumental in the development of French rock music and trip hop genre... Thanks, Wiki! I was surprised by the sound of this album. Spoken word "whispering" vocal... The funky bassline is cool! Since I like trip-hop it was interesting to hear the music that influenced some representatives of this genre... French female voice pronouncing "Melodie Nelson" is sitting in my head all the day :)))

I don't speak French and I'm not familiar with Serge Gainsbourg so it's difficult for me to comment on the lyrical content of this album. Perhaps it's ironic, maybe it's sincere, or it could be deliberately provocative, it's difficult to tell without the right cultural context. That being said, this album SOUNDS great. It has funky bass lines and groovy instrumentation. And it is mixed incredibly well. As a concept album, it has long, sprawling instrumental passages, recurring motifs and genre changes. He put a lot more effort into it than most english-language concept albums. My 4 star rating is based almost entirely on the musicality of the album.

Voted on the arrangements and tunes, not the lyrics. I will not be taking questions at this time.

𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘰𝘯 remains one of Serge Gainsbourg’s most distinctive works — a compact concept album blending smoky spoken vocals, Jean-Claude Vannier’s lush string arrangements, and deep, funky bass lines. Musically, it feels timeless, influencing artists from Beck to Portishead, yet it’s still very much a product of Gainsbourg’s provocative imagination. Here’s a quick plot summary, which you can find almost anywhere online: an unnamed man (played by Gainsbourg) drives through town in a Rolls-Royce, spots a 14-year-old girl named Melody (played by Jane Birkin), falls in love with her, spends intimate moments with her in a hotel, and eventually loses her in a plane crash. Gainsbourg’s lyrics here would, in a #MeToo era, likely be condemned as sexist or exploitative — and that was, at the time, very much his intent: to shock. It was a strategy he had already used successfully with 𝘗𝘰𝘶𝘱é𝘦 𝘥𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘱é𝘦 𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯 — the France Gall song that won the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest — whose playful yet suggestive lyrics she famously did not fully understand at the time — and the scandalous 𝘑𝘦 𝘵’𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦… 𝘮𝘰𝘪 𝘯𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘴. Problematic by design, but musically exquisite, 𝘔𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘰𝘯 remains a fascinating example of art deliberately walking the line between beauty and provocation.

Pretty trippy! Blocked out the sounds of construction at my workplace :)

If soft core porn were an album. This would be it. The male voice trying to be sultry gave me a bit of cringe thinking that he was talking to the 15 year old girl on the album cover. It's the kind of album you listen to at night after your wife has gone to bed. All that aside, the music had nice get high and relax feel to it. It seemed almost timeless considering it's from 1971. It could easily have fit into any decade. Scale: 5 - My absolute favorites. 4 - Albums I like. 3 - It was ok to listen to but I wouldn't seek it out. 2 - Didn't like. 1 - Absolute shit.

Can you be MeToo'd for listening to an album? My French is too basic to understand what's being said. But the one thing I know about Serge Gainsbourg is, while he was a louche bon vivant back in 1971, these days we'd call him a creep. To wit: 1) The 1,001 book describes this as a "gloriously seedy concept album exploring the author's fascination with the unattainable teen heroine." 2) There's topless Jane Birkin on the cover made to look like an apple-cheeked child, clutching her doll. The album is supposedly from the POV of Gainsbourg's even skeevier alter-ego, "Gainsbarre." However you wanna dress this up, I'm guessing it's problematic. And it's not as if the music compensates for that. "En Melody" is pretty great, especially the bass, as is "Cargo Culte." But Gainsbourg does the same shtick in every song. Can I get a version without him?

musicalmente davvero molto bello, ma porcodio devi davvero parlare di come ti scopi una quindicenne, da QUARANTENNE?

You know, Serge, you're what the French call "les incompetents"

While I would not go back and listen again, I definitely felt cool while listening 😆

Yeah, not listening to this one out of principles. There's the argument that the music itself was highly influential and perhaps it was but once you know the concept of the plot you feel dirty for giving it any sort of praise. Are there more worse "sounding" records? Obviously but yeah this is difficult to recommend overall.

Did not listen based on the subject matter.

Distasteful, given its subject matter . This album shouldnt be on here

Is this really an album to listen to before you die???! No.

Gross and uncomfortable.

Lecherous, creepy, gross.. whatever your adjective, this was not good

Wasn't initially going to rate this as a protest against the content. But felt I should express my disgust at the material, whatever the quality of the music. Not an ok topic for an album. And what on earth was Jane Birkin thinking when she posed for that cover? Shouldn't be gracing the list.

“Hey, it’s that French guy who made that song that sounded like French people having sex, which subsequently got banned by the BBC. Wonder if he’s done anything else?” The answer: the worst, most French-sounding concept album ever. According to Wikipedia, it’s about a guy who has a relationship with a 14-year-old. Yep, 14. I even tried giving it the benefit of the doubt — maybe it was some Lolita-type deal where you’re meant to be disgusted by the protagonist. Nope. Just French people being French. The music wasn’t any good either. Glad it was under 30 minutes.

You can't legitimise this shit. Even though I don't understand a word, and Sunderland is involved. Sunderland.

This must have been Jeffery Epstein’s favorite album. Fuck pedophilia and anything that glorifies it. The album is terrible too. This needs to be removed from the list.

If I could give it a zero I would. An album about a middle aged man in a relationship with a 14 year old should not be allowed on the list - no way his estate is getting streaming royalties from me.

the person in the reviews who said "there are more pedophiles on this list than women" was BANG on

This sounds like the musicians were told to play as quietly and with as few notes as possible while the singer talked into and had mouth sex with his microphone. Garbage.

Stop breathing in my ear dude. There’s absolutely nothing remarkable about this except how quintessentially French it is. Also, this story about pedophilia was especially revolting as I listened to this while taking care of my three year old daughter.

Unsure why people think the French language sounds sexy, in the context of this album in particular it sounds quite creepy and slimy, even if I hadn't read the context/story of the album on it's Wikipedia page. Good lord do yourself a favour and do not give this album a listen. This album is all about glamourising paedophilia, from this middle aged man who falls in love with a 14 year old girl and taking her virginity. No thanks, can't even deal. Not to mention the album "art" with a topless girl clutching at a doll, I just hope that the model they used was of age, but being the 70s probably not. I truly don't get the acclaim that this album has, considering it's subject matter. If the female protagonist was just 10 years older I wouldn't have this strong of a reaction to the album, there are some ok trip-hop spoken word beats underlying the story - from the short sample I listened to. However, there is no place in the world, or world of music where we should be praising a story like this. Listened to the first song as I was reading the Wikipedia page, then stopped after I read what it was about. Best: N/A Worst: Entire Album. 0 Stars if I could

Horny French man becomes obsessed with 15 year old girl, knocks her up, and then she dies in a plane crash. There's really nothing redeemable about this one.

not only French (derogatory) but PREDATORY FRENCH

What have we here?! Things just got ridiculously cool and edgy. Seductive, lustful… it sounds illicit. The music is genius. Just want to listen over and over again. I wish I knew what he was saying / singing. I was taken by this music I’d never heard before, I had to learn more. Had no idea how influential Gainsborough was, but I can understand why. And when I read about the concept of this masterpiece, I was so proud that I got it (the gist anyway) just based on the music. As it sounds, it’s about an illicit lust and obsession. Absolutely incredible piece of music. This is one of those records I’d never have heard but for this project.

2 words: Phenomenal album So a well deserved: 5/5

Ramstein but without the industrial sound, distorted metal guitars and heaviness, with the lyrics sung in French. I was a bit surprised by how much I enjoyed this strange record.....

Een album over het feit dat je een 14 jarig meisje wil ontmaagden. Ik zie het Suzan en Freek niet doen in ieder geval. Ome Serge had er minder moeite mee. Zolang het fictie is en het gemaakt is als een soort van kunstvorm vind ik dat het moet kunnen. Zie ook het boek Lolita, of het minder bekende maar ook goed geschreven Muidhond. Als kunst niet meer mag choqueren wordt het wel heel saai allemaal. Ondertussen zit ome Serge me in m'n oor te fluisteren en brommen alsof 'ie ook mij wil ontmaagden. Het is een beetje bijzonder allemaal. Maar het is wel, zoals de jeugd zou zeggen, een vibe. De Franse Nick Cave. Maar waar Nick Cave het liefst 2 uur lang verteld, beperkt Serge zich tot een minuutje of 28. Het stomme is dat ik meneer Gainsbourgh niet kan verstaan (als ik mee-lees kom ik verder dan verwacht, thanks havo pretpakket) en Nick Cave wel, maar Gainsbourg houdt m'n aandacht wel beter vast. Track 6 vind ik wat minder met dat gegiebel, maar het hoort bij het verhaal gok ik. Tering wat maken die aanzwellende strijkers, het koortje, de bas, de drums en die gitaar het af en toe wel dik zeg. De sfeer druipt er vanaf en het is een super cleane opname, dat maakt het ook wel fijn. Bovendien lees ik in de Wiki dat de beste man vijf pakjes per dag wegrookte. Dan ben je een hele grote speler. Alle gekheid op een kankerstokje, dit is een regelrechte 5. Dit kun je met recht een album wat je een keer gehoord moet hebben noemen.

Now I know where Beck got Paper Tiger from

Arrangements are ahead of its time. Sound so up to date in 2026

I kind of hate how much I like this album.

There was this old Tom Green bit where he stuck dog shit on a microphone and went around interviewing people. And interviewees were torn between their desire to be on camera and their disgust at the dog shit. That's basically the career of Serge Gainsbourg. He gives you so much incredible art, then he covers it in dog shit and lets you decide if you wanna indulge. Case in point: this album. It's a funky, lush, and sultry blend of different styles, and it's all anchored by some of the best bass you'll ever hear. And then there's the lyrics. This album (like all of Serge Gainsbourg's music) is packed to the gills with insane wordplay, double entendres, allusions, and beautiful poetry ... and it's all in the service of a story about a dude who crashes his car into a 14-year-old girl and rapes her. I love the hell out of this album. No, I don't care for the subject matter, but I love the music, the performances, and the overall vibe. And maybe that makes me a shitty person, I don't know. But I love it. Conversely, I hate Lolita. I hate that book precisely because I can't stand the subject matter. I don't care about the beautiful language. I can't get past the repellent material. But this? I love it. (Maybe if Lolita had had better bass lines, I'd like it more.) Anyway, I love Serge Gainsbourg. People call him a provocateur, but that's being generous. He's basically a 6th-grade boy hell-bent on trolling everyone. (One of his biggest hits was setting the French National anthem to reggae music (it kills, btw) and abbreviating the chorus to just ("To arms, et cetera!"). He got death threats. He wrote huge hits for teen girl artists and packed their songs with blowjob puns. He sang a song called Lemon Incest with his daughter Charlotte, and he told Whitney Houston, on live TV, that he wanted to fuck her.) If he weren't such a musical and lyrical genius, no one would care. But damn. The dude is insanely talented. His work is messy. He never did the same thing twice. (If you love this album ... well, too bad. He never did anything like it again.) But it's never dull. Anyway, this album is just incredible. I totally get the one-star reviews from people, but me? Hand me that shitty microphone, Mr. Green.

Having never heard this record before, imagine my surprise when I'm hearing its influences on Pulp, Portishead, Beck, and beyond. It's a spectacular album and this is exactly why I am doing this challenge.

5/5 - amazingly orchestrated

DUDE! This is a must listen. Trip-hop before trip-hop was cool. The basslines creep into your spine and force your head to bob. Serge Gainsbourg's voice is DRIPPY. So smooth over the bassline, enhancing it, just slipping in there, delivering the lines. This is an album you'll want to keep in your back pocket. It's all in French, and one day I hope to become fluent enough to understand all of it. My Rating: 5/5. I'd give it 10, but I can't.

I’ve known about Serge Gainsbourg for about 25 years now, but this is my first time listening to one of his albums from start to finish. He’s truly incredible. This album has such a strong mellotron presence, giving it lush orchestral arrangements that bring out that baroque and chamber pop vibe. You also get some psychedelic rock touches and these raw, gritty guitar riffs that even flirt with a proto punk sound. The entire album is sung in French, and all those musical elements I mentioned are layered on a French pop foundation. The production is fantastic, with the bass especially standing out. This is definitely one of those albums you want to listen to with headphones to really appreciate all the sound layers. If the rest of his catalog is as solid as this, Serge Gainsbourg might just work his way into being one of my favoritesi. 5/5

When I saw French pop I immediately assumed there would be some scratchy voiced Frenchman sounding French and there was and it was great and so was the rest of it.

5 étoiles juste pour le monde dans les reviews qui continue de se faire troller par Gainsbourg.

Totally essential hipster listening here. After reading the brief wiki blurb, happy not to be able to understand the actual text of the songs. But sonically it’s excellent. Serge may be the best thing that comes out of this project for me.

"Historie de Melody Nelson" is a concept album by French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. It was arranged and co-written by Jean-Claude Vannier and produced by Jean-Claude Desmarty. The album concept follows an illicit romance which develops between the middle-aged narrator (Serge) and a 14 year-old girl Melody Nelson (portrayed by British-French actress, singer and Serge's then-partner Jane Birkin). The music and vocals are a mix of funk-style electric guitar and bass, spoken word and Sprechgesang (talking and singing) vocal styles and lush strings and choral arrangements. Many critics consider this album as one of the greatest French-language albums in popular music history. The seven-minute "Melody" opens the album. Serge's deep, cigarette-soaked voice talking softly. The guitar, bass and drums eventually get louder. Strings are added and there's an air of suspense as the narrator collides his rolls royce into a girl, Melody, on a bike. They exchange information. A pyschedelic guitar gives this a spy movie sound. Jane Birkin vocals appear in "Ballade de Melody Nelson" as she and the narrator talk and the narrator falls in love. A thumping bass and guitar at the start with strings coming in later to accentuate the emotion. Serge is whispering throughout "L'Hôtel particulier" as he meets Melody at a secretive hotel to have sex. Lush and prancing strings. The funk and 60's style guitar really gets going in "En Melody." There's laughter of a girl and then just silence with the wind blowing as an airplane crashes with Melody in it as she is returning home to Sunderland. The narrator laments Melody's death in the closer "Cargo culte." Soft music initially that builds. A vocal choir in the background. Some nice garage, pyschedelic guitar. The narrator compares his misguided hope of Melody returning to the Cargo cults of Melanesia. Now this is a compelling album , notwithstanding the age of the female involved. Suspense, drama, romance, sadness. The string and horn arrangements and core band perfectly fit the story moments are they are told. Excellent arrangements. The band is great...pyschedelic and funky bass and guitar. Serge talks, whispering and sings. This is a great album and I see why it has influenced many and is held in such high esteem.

For a few decades, Serge Gainsbourg was likely the most famous rock star that France had ever produced. It wouldn't be until the 90s and early 2000s that we got the likes of Daft Punk, Air, and Phoenix, and they all had to performe in English to achieve their fame. Before then Gainsbourg was it. His influence would end up being huge by the 90s, finding new life among some indie artists, and especially the emerging trip hop scene. Famous fans included Beck, Air, Portishead, R.E.M., Stereolab, and countless others. Mike Patton of Faith No More would later join Lovage, which was practically a Serge Gainsbourg tribute band. Less flattering, but the idea of a short, sort of ugly man being a 60s sex symbol would be an a model for the character of Austin Powers. "Melody Nelson" was Gainsbourg's masterpiece and his only really fully formed album. The plot concerns a very seedy narrator (who uncomfortably resembles Gainsbourg himself) hitting an underage girl with his car before trying to seduce her. The idea is repulsive but the story is vivid. Not all main characters need to be likeable and this one certainly isn't. Musically, the album is built around themes and expertly blends rock with orchestral arrangements. He certainly wasn't the first to do this but the style is something different here. Whereas other artists might inject an element of classical music to elevate the sound, here the orchestra feels dragged down by the overall seediness of it all. "Melody Nelson" set a template for all kinds of chill, sexy, and carefree music that would eventually converge with 80s hip hop and 90s indie rock for some amazing music. Sleazy as the content may be, this album is certainly noteworthy

From the opening bass-bending strings, this is a real classic. Obviously you can blame this for that period in the late 90s where all rock music had an orchestra sloshed all over it. But the use is far more subtle here. I have no idea what Serge is perving on about underneath the music, and I don't want to know. Actually, no, I do. And well obviously the lyrics are extremely evocative. Also he talks about Sunderland. Yes. In that one where Jane Birkin is being tickled. It's so funky. And the final return to the theme of the opener but this time about cargo cults and Serge wishing for crashing planes to bring back his lost paedo desire. It's brilliant. Obviously it's ick. But it's still quite clearly brilliant. It's also, you know, fictional. Also shout out to the concept album over and done in half an hour. A few could learn from that.

utterly french, in every aspect. and absolutely brilliant

Il y a des disques qui sont bons, il y a des disques qui sont importants et puis il y a des disques qui sont des putains de miracles. Des anomalies, des ovnis sonores qui atterrissent sans crier gare et qui redéfinissent les règles du jeu pour les décennies à suivre. "Histoire de Melody Nelson" est de ceux-là, c'est plus qu'un album, c'est une oeuvre d'art totale, un film pour les oreilles, un poème symphonique de 28 minutes qui vous attrape à la gorge et ne vous lâche plus. Je vais être franc avec vous, essayer de faire preuve d'objectivité avec ce disque est une mission impossible. C'est un de mes albums de chevet depuis l'adolescence. Je l'ai écouté des centaines de fois, dans toutes les situations possibles, et à chaque fois, la magie opère. Alors, pour cette chronique, on va laisser l'analyse froide au vestiaire et parler avec les tripes. En 1971, la France musicale, c'est encore le yé-yé qui agonise gentiment et la variété qui s'installe confortablement. Et au milieu de tout ça, Serge Gainsbourg, notre génie national, le parrain de tous les branleurs magnifiques, décide de tout dynamiter. Il part à Londres, s'entoure de la crème des musiciens de studio anglais (ceux qui jouaient avec les plus grands, de Shirley Bassey à James Bond), et ramène un son d'une modernité absolument ahurissante pour l'époque. Un son où les basses sont lourdes, profondes, presque menaçantes, la batterie est sèche, précise, implacable, les guitares sont discrètes mais venimeuses. Et par-dessus tout ça, les arrangements orchestraux de Jean-Claude Vannier, absolument somptueux - classieux comme aurait dit Gainsbourg - qui viennent draper le tout d'une mélancolie cinématographique. Et puis il y a l'histoire, une histoire sulfureuse, évidemment. On est chez Gainsbourg, merde ! Une histoire d'amour impossible et tragique entre un homme mûr et une "petite Anglaise aux cheveux roux", Melody Nelson. Une Lolita de Nabokov qui aurait troqué sa sucette pour une bicyclette. C'est un album-concept, un vrai, qui raconte une histoire du début à la fin. De la rencontre accidentelle ("Ballade de Melody Nelson") à la fin tragique ("Cargo Culte"), chaque morceau est un chapitre. Le génie de Gainsbourg, c'est de raconter cette histoire avec une économie de mots incroyable. Il ne chante pas, il parle. Son fameux "talk-over", ce phrasé nonchalant et sensuel, est ici à son apogée. Il pose ses mots sur la musique comme un peintre poserait des touches de couleur sur une toile. Chaque mot est pesé, chaque silence est assourdissant. Et c'est scandaleux, bien sûr. Pour l'époque, c'était une provocation car parler de cette relation avec une quasi-mineure, avec cette sensualité à la fois frontale et poétique, il fallait oser. Et il a osé et il a pris tout le monde à rebrousse-poil. Le public, la critique... Personne n'a rien compris. L'album a été un flop commercial monumental et il faudra attendre plus d'une décennie pour qu'il soit enfin reconnu et certifié disque d'or. C'est le destin des oeuvres d'avant-garde : être trop en avance sur leur temps. Mais aujourd'hui, quelle claque ! L'album n'a pas pris une ride, il est d'une modernité insolente. Des artistes comme Beck, Portishead, Air, toute la scène trip-hop et électro des années 90 et 2000, ont pillé ce disque jusqu'à la moelle. Cette façon de mélanger rock, funk, arrangements de cordes et spoken word, c'est lui qui l'a inventée. "Histoire de Melody Nelson" est un album culte, un album mythique. C'est un monolithe noir au milieu de la discographie française, un chef-d'oeuvre absolu dans le parcours quasi-parfait d'un des plus grands artistes du XXe siècle. C'est un disque qui se vit plus qu'il ne s'écoute, c'est une expérience. Alors oui, ma note est de 5/5. Et elle est tout sauf objective. C'est une note de fan, une déclaration d'amour à un artiste et à une oeuvre qui m'ont façonné. Si vous ne l'avez jamais écouté, arrêtez tout ce que vous êtes en train de faire, mettez un casque sur vos oreilles, et laissez-vous emporter. C'est 28 minutes de votre vie, mais je vous promets que vous en sortirez changé. C'est le son d'un génie au sommet de son art et rien que pour ça, il mérite la note maximale. Sans discussion possible.

Firstly, this is a tight half hour. No filler, no need to stretch the album out to 40-60 minutes. While this isn't what I'd consider driving music and I can't really see myself sitting down to jam with this, it's very good. It's evocative of its time without falling into a caricature of its time. And it's sexy, man. I mean, wow. I don't know anything about Serge but I'm guessing this is a time in his life where we never had to suffer a full day without someone offering him sexual favors. I have no trouble believing that this album was the soundtrack to many an intimate evening.

Sensational album, first track is where Portishead got its sound from, the Jane Birkin lolita-like singing, beautiful and werird and big variety in type of music, 9 out of 10 French albums I find at best "okay", this is the 10th

Narratively, this album is a strange, transgressive Lolita-esque tragedy. It is purposefully repulsive and obsessive. Musically, it is phenomenal. It is delivered via spoken word and sung portions. The music features lush orchestration and great funk guitar work. It sounds very much ahead of its time and I feel like Serge Gainsbourg’s discography could be a rabbit hole for me. This album has also been incredibly influential among Beck, Portishead and others.

Getting mad at the story presented here is a bit like getting upset over Nabakov’s Lolita. By dismissing it totally, you kind of miss the point. It is a work of art, from the viewpoint of the bad guy. Nobody likes a pedo. Doesn’t mean you can’t tell a good story about one. And, at the time of its release, the subject of middle aged men having a mid-life crisis and chasing after ridiculously young women, was kind of the zeitgeist. Context helps when it comes to art. Musically, this is really lovely. It’s even better if you don’t understand French. The twanging guitar and rhythmic drums of En Melody can be heard decades later in bands like Stone Roses and Ride. The low driving sound of Cargo Culte could have come from a Soundgarden song. The influence of this record is everywhere.

This album exceeded all my expectations. What a concept album! An album with a theme that could almost no longer be made these days; social media would explode. Now it was also quite provocative in 1971, but 2 years earlier the big hit "je 't aime, .....moi non plus" was released by this Serge Gainsbourg and his muse and partner Jane Birkin, which already caused quite a stir. Now Serge liked provocations and the more reactions that generated, the better. Much later he managed to shock half of France with 'Lemon Incest' sung by him and his very young daughter Charlotte, accompanied by a clip that again caused quite a stir. In any case, the story of 'Histoire de Melody Nelson' is not complicated. A 40-year-old man drives a Rolls Royce in a somewhat seedy neighborhood and muses about his life. Not paying attention, he runs over a young, doll-like girl on her bicycle. He seduces her and after a short passionate relationship (a cooing Jane Birkin in L'Hotel Particulaire) Melody leaves back for England, but her plane crashes. The record is first and foremost an ode to Serge's muse and long term partner Jane Birkin: Melody is a conjugation of Jane Birkin's middle name and Nelson was a national war hero and also a hero of Jane's father. You will of course also recognize 'Lolita' by Nabakov, a book that immediately appealed to Serge Gainsbourg. The music, especially the first song of 7.5 minutes, is particularly sultry with the languid, lazy bass, the organ and the unruly guitar. It's easy to imagine why this record was such a source of inspiration for the trip hop movement from the 90s (Tricky, Portishead et al). Serge talks sometimes, then sings, and musically it is almost impossible to imagine what comes next. It's a complete musical spectrum of funk, soul, jazz rock, but also strings and a whole choir. The music was not written by Serge, but by his friend Jean Claude Vannier who might've made his best work of a lifetime. Superb

Beautiful

French concept album, which was to be expected to be included in the 1001 list. Apart from a (great) compilation album, it is the only Serge Gainsbourg album in my cd collection. The plot is pretty stupid, but I am not able to understand the lyrics anyway, and the music is great, especially the final song, Cargo Culte. Score: 5 stars (9/10)

It's a classic story. Man runs over teenage girl with a Rolls Royce, has an illicit affair with her in a sketchy hotel, and then she dies in a plane crash. I've been a fan of Serge Gainsbourg's songs for a long time, including "Ballade de Melody Nelson," but I'd never listened to this concept album of his. I quite enjoyed the progression of movements, incorporating orchestra and chorus along with sultry bass and funky guitar. It's a unique and compelling sound.

Well, my years of high school French weren’t enough for me to follow the details of this story, but the music was sure groovy. I can very much appreciate its influence. Now reading about the theme creeps me out, so I am going to try to ignore that…

5 stars, and I’m only on the first song.

Serge! You sexy man! Ooo lala. His voice is like liquid chocolate... I'm loving this ganache of sweet tunes, littered with the sweet voice of an angel. Influential and sampled by many and reviled by an army of angry liberals I just yearn for his yellow stained fingers to stroke the nape of my neck.

oh, yeah, smooo-ooth, lush and pure 1970s. Quelle Poesie decontracte, esprit de reves. This is so different & new to me. I do like a concept album from time to time.... (But if I had to guess, the its Francoise Hardy, (but I'm wrong, its Jane Birkin) and yes zeh eenglish weeel be geluwss that a french man can spend an album in admiring contemplation of a single, fascinating woman while sustaining our rapt attention.

This is a great album; you can hear how Jean-Claude Desmarty has inspired producers like Nigel Godrich (check out "Paper Tiger" by Beck to hear what I'm talking about).

This is a really fascinating album and piece of art. It's disturbing, perverted, poetic and sonically unique. I really enjoyed it.

In an alternative, dystopian world, I could have lived and died without ever having heard this 28 minutes of sublime music. Fortunately, I do not live in such a world, so I have heard it, and my life is enhanced by having done so.

Surprisingly delightful!

This was a great listen, and surprising that it was made in 1971.

Clairement un chef d'oeuvre cet album Un peu cringe par le propos et cet éternelle obsession des français pour les filles de 15 ans🙄 mettons ça sur le dos de l'époque ... Cela dit, La bass est juste malade sur cet album ! Le tone, les grooves. Fondateur du trip hop bien évidemment. Les arrangements de cordes sont sublimes