Histoire De Melody Nelson

What in the hell is even this? I enjoyed the music, but I didn’t understand one syllable of the French that was whispered, spoken, or sung into the mic. This was strange.

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.

As far as concept albums, the concept of Histoire De Melody Nelson is pretty creepy. The dark brooding build of this album is fantastic, the pace is really exciting stuff. The guitar work is really interesting stuff, switching between frenzied and slow strumming. It’s an odd album for sure but the music is gripping. 4 stars

Good music but the lyrics make me feel very uncomfortable

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.

It’s very French. Not a bad thing, but it’s low on instrumentals and high on vocals I don’t understand. Wasn’t into it.

I loved this album so much. Did I know what they were saying? Not a bit. But it was super compelling and the music itself amazing. That’s the late-60’s early 70’s sound that still is effective today. I downloaded the album when I finished listening.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. Musically it sounds great, apart from Serge eating the mic. His voice does occasionally border on ASMR territory, but most of the time it just sounds creepy. Maybe that is the intent? I've never read or watched Lolita, but as far as I'm aware it is meant to be a critique of male obsession, albeit a very extreme and controversial one. I haven't had a look at the translated lyrics for this album, but given the various controversies on Serge Gainsborough's wiki (esp. Lemon Incest), and his taste for younger women, I'm veering towards this being more of a creepy album than a provocative critical piece.

weird and dull

Crappatony

Not my vibe

A “pseudo-autobiographical” account of the 40-something Gainsbourg’s fling with a 14 year old virgin and his subsequent obsession with her. Yuck. The music and production are great but I really need someone to Eternal Sunshine all knowledge of Serge Gainsbourg from my mind.

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.

I think I need a cigarette and a choir of smoking children impersonating me to understand this.

This is pretty gross. The instrumentals are cool but the subject matter and the delivery are just so sleazy. He was married to a girl half his age when he wrote this in his 40s, so it is semi biographical. Gross.

I loved the soft cozy vibe and the fact it is still really really French. Funny was the difference between each songs. One was quite rocky, the next really French, the next very very Disney…

Love the frwnch language! Hat french people

this actually sounded pretty good instrumentally but unfortunately i hate pedophilia

No thanks on the Lolita-esque, proto-ASMR concept album. First I thought I didn’t like it only because it was in French and I didn’t understand it. Then I read what it was about and I was sure I didn’t like it. 1⭐️

The influence of this record is everywhere. 5/5

This is weird, boring and pretentious. Not for me

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.

This album seems to be ahead of its time. The grooves it finds are something you might find right at home in the modern day. It’s a cool vibe that reminds me of Leonard Cohen.

I have no idea what I'm listening to but I kind of dig it. Like to took way too many shrooms and I am in a 70s pr0n movie.

The music is pretty good. It’s all spoken dialogue.

C'est merde

My only interaction with this man before now was seeing footage of a room full of children dressed up to look like him with fake beards, whisky, and cigarettes, all singing to him as he wept. One of the funniest things I've ever watched and also this album was pretty good

I can see how it influenced many musical artists. Not musically This story could be told in a touching way, I wouldn't know. Rating based on the instrumentals

maybe I just didn't notice any of the storytelling but this was just music to me

This is less a music album, and more a work of art. It's a very solid album, but it's much better if you think of it as something to experience in a museum or similar venue. I think it tries to help put you in that mindset with the orchestral music and purely spoken word. I think that also helps with the topic of the album. I don't think the album wants you to take it literally, and it's definitely not encouraging you to do as its main character is doing. With all that in mind, this is really good. I honestly wish it wasn't all spoken word, but I think it would take away from the vibes of the album. I probably won't ever listen to this again, but it was good. Favorite Song(s): Melody

Why is this French dude whispering indistinctly into my ears? Don't care about it enough to give it 1 star but it might be the empties thing I've come across on this list so far (137ish albums in).

it has a cool album art

1. melody - 1.5 2. nelzon - 1.5 3. valze - 1 4. melody 2 - 1 5. l'hotel - 1.5 6. melody 3 - 1 7. cargo - 1.5

Histoire de Melody Nelson is a 1971 concept album by Serge Gainsbourg. The concept for this follows a middle-aged man who falls in love with an underaged girl. While recklessly driving his Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost one night, the album's unnamed narrator is distracted by the silver statue on his car's hood and collides with a young red-haired girl on a bicycle. The two exchange information after the accident, and the girl introduces herself as Melody Nelson ("Melody"). The narrator falls instantly in love with Melody, who is revealed to be only fourteen years old ("Ballade de Melody Nelson"), but who nevertheless makes the narrator happier than he could have ever imagined ("Valse de Melody"). He plans to take her virginity, knowing she has never been in love before ("Ah ! Melody"), and they travel to a secret hotel where they have sex ("L’Hôtel particulier"). Afterwards, Melody boards a cargo plane to return home to Sunderland, England, but an autopilot malfunction causes it to crash, killing her ("En Melody"). The narrator laments Melody's death and compares his misguided hope that she might return one day to the cargo cults of Melanesia, wondering if they caused the plane's crash and finding himself unable to think of anyone or anything else ("Cargo culte"). I've always heard of this record and have seen the cover around, but this is the first time I'm getting around to listening to it. I did not expect all of the lyrics to be in a spoken-word delivery style. It really adds to the creepy vibe of the whole plot. Like seriously, this is pretty weird. The instrumentals are so good, though. Funky guitar riffs and bass lines are all over this. There's also a lot of orchestration which creates a unique juxtaposition from the funky instrumentals that just works. I gotta say, this is damn creative. Despite the creepy plot, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy listening to this.

Some great ideas in there...

Not my thing, but kinda cool in its own way.

This album is as French as it gets. It's a nice listen that won't overstay it's welcome, but also something I don't absolutely have to play again. 3/5

Quite an odd album. Classical jazzy rock with French spoken word vocals. Musically it was enjoyable but the vocals weren’t.

A really sexy album, damn. Yes, the uh... subject matter is a little. Mm, problematic. But the music-! Just wonderful and very moving.

Oui oui. More like no no.

Really just great. Does the old rock thing where "old guy wants a teenager" but this is genuinely great music so what can you say? Also helps that I currently happen to be learning French. Reading up on Serge Gainsbourg did not make me happy though. Best song: Cargo culte

Never heard of this artist or this album. Before my time and it's all in French. I like the slinky intro, like the opening scene of a spy movie. It's got a soundtrack vibe from start to finish. Serge is definitely not a singer, just a talker, and not understanding him one bit makes this a long journey for anyone. I can tell he's telling a story, but I can't follow it. Good background music to work by and I think I would have enjoyed it more if he spoke less and included more of the guitar from the intro song. Entertaining yes, Top 1001? Not even close. It's a one trick French pony!

I enjoyed it. Reminded me of the Gift by the Velvet Underground where there's some awesome instrumentals going on behind a story being told. I do agree with other comments where how close his mic is can be unsettling. I would guess that's the point considering the subject matter but it does make it tougher to listen to. Rating: 3.2

I really liked this. It is immediately obvious to trip hop listeners how influential this album was. I'm not put off like others by the whispery French spoken lyrics. I like the spare arrangements and string flourishes on the through-line of bass. But God Dammit Serge, if you're going to make up a girl for a story, throw a few extra years on and make it decent. Three stars.

Liian taiteellista omaan makuun.

Hated it

That was.... interesting. I guess? Maybe awesome if you're trying to impress folks with a pretentious taste in music. There were admittedly some great guitar riffs, but overall not particularly enjoyable.

"En Melody" was pretty good musically. The big problem with it was the Fran Drescher laugh in the middle. "Melody" was a really good song. The rest of the tracks, except for "Cargo culte" were worth the listen. I don't speak French, and couldn't give a rat's-a** the suave vocal style. However, musically, I really enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

Cool style of chilled funky instrumentals with spoken word on top. But the creepy subject matter is a bit ick

No likey.

Olipas pervo albumi. Onneksi en ymmärrä ranskaa.

of COURSE Gainsbourg has a concept album about diddling a 15 year old! This is so on brand and I'm disappointed I didn't know about it. I need to learn French just so I can fully appreciate how pervy this man is. Make no mistake, I love his music. Haven't listened to him much in the last 20 years but I had a real SG phase in my 20s. The guitars and drumming on this album a phenomenal. If you don't know Serge, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHLIHrN95Vg&t=60s&ab_channel=InaFrenchStyle

Interesting Lolita-esqe concept album. As it is in French I could not follow the story and relied on the Wikipedia entry to fill in the plot. Disturbing and tragic as it is I think it is an excellent album musically and I listen to it twice before making any judgments. The subject has been used in other musical compositions, such as The Police's song, "Don't Stand So Close to Me". Which is a very good song, enjoying the music does not mean condoning or emulating the artist. That being said I enjoyed this album, the music has a cool, funky groove and the French spoken word does not detract from it.

Vá hvað mér fannst ég alltaf vera að hlusta á sama lagið og sama textann aftur og aftur. Melodí eitthvað eitthvað. Elkert að þessu og væei mjög góð bakgrunnstónlist ef ég man þá eftir þessu sem ég mun ekki gera

Ignoring theme and lyrics, stunning music.

utterly french, in every aspect. and absolutely brilliant

3/5

From what others have said about this album, it seems as though this is mainly about pedophilia or at least the tendencies of that in some or another way. As I do not speak or understand French to a degree that I can judge the actual meaning of these texts and I cannot know if this is actually the artists view or some sort of Lolita type story, I decided that I will not be pro- or anti- towards what is said and its meaning. I believe in seperating art and artist as long as the artist doesn't put these beliefs into the art. If this happens to be the actual beliefs and tendencies of Serge Gainsbourg, I am totally against it and will not acknowledge it as good art. If it happened to be the second option, a Lolita similar story that does not share the authors views, I think it is good art as so many people are still unsure what it is. Alright, now to the album itself: It's some pretty interesting French Pop with a lot of Spoken Word aspects as well as Funk, Blues and Psychedelic Rock influences all throughout. It seems to tell a story but as I said, I do not understand it. It's generally very diverse in its styles and experimentation and it sounds really different from a lot of other works of that time and I am sure that back then this was absolutely groundbreaking. The first track 'Melody' gets things started with a Progressive and Blues Rock sounding song on which the Spoken Word French Pop is added. It's absolutely one of a kind sound and the drums and the guitar mainly drive the songs first half until some symphonic strings are added after around 3 minutes. From there, the song spirals deeper and deeper into the symphonic and epic sound while keeping the obvious dark tones and rhytmic background works to keep the song moving. It's a pretty good song but as I don't really speal French and this is very much designed for the text to be understood, I am in a little disadvantage. The song has some really nice moments but it doesn't get musically interesting enough for me to really enjoy the song. 'Ballade de Melody Nelson' brings in some actually sung vocals although they are still very soft and quiet and sometimes nearly spoken. The song itself is a quite interesting Baroque Pop piece and I wish that it would go on for a little longer especially because the female vocals are really amazing and add much more the the song than on the first track. But except from it being a little short, it's still a really good song. The short Waltz of 'Valse de Melody' goes again pretty symphonic with its style but this time it's way to short to actually build up or have any moments that would make this interesting. It starts and ends right away without much in between. It's forgettable and basic. 'Ah ! Melody' is again, way to short to really stick as a song but at least the songwriting and the "chorus" stick out much more and it does leave at least a little impression for the time being. The albums second half already arrived with 'L'hôtel particulier' starting it. It's pretty similar to the first song in the way how the instruments are used and although I like it and the sometimes actually sung vocals are quite nice as an addition, the song just cannot grip my attention enough. It sounds way to much like the things that the album had so far just combined together. It doesn't feel exciting or new at all. The few Jazz and Funk elements of 'En Melody' are really interesting. They feel off but in a good way, it's just that I am not really a fan of the guitar here. It doesn't really fit where the album has gone now sonically and the vocals and Spoken Word parts are really weird and with the albums context really disturbing. No thank you, I'll pass. The album closes with 'Cargo culte', another pretty Rock sounding song and again with the hefty length of over 7 minutes. It again, focuses a lot on the Spoken Word story that I again, do not understand. But the song does pick up towards the end with a pretty nice choral combined with the Rock instrumental which is a really unusual but well working mix. The song overall just builds tension and does that much more than the first track. I do think that the first song does its job a little better but this is still pretty good. favourites: Ballade de Melody Nelson, Melody, Cargo culte least favourites: En Melody, L'hôtel particulier, Valse de Melody Rating: decent 6 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

Music ok, subject totally sus

He gets one star. And only because the backing music can be good. His voice is fucking gross. It is so gad damn wet sounding. Get the mic out of your mouth and swallow some spit before singing.

Couldn't understand anything so I started reading the lyrics and that was a little disturbing. It's about a late 50s man's obsession with a 14 or 15 year old girl who dies tragically in a plane crash. Not that that matters - Lolita is a classic after all - but this didn't affect this review very much. The guy just whispers creepily over non-descript music. The instrumental "En Melody" wasn't bad, but otherwise this is not worth listening to.

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.

Wow, I don’t speak French, but this album sure sounds horny! *reads other reviews* oh… Wow En Melody might be the best song on this album! *gets to 1:30 mark* OH… The music on this is genuinely great. It creates an atmosphere of great storytelling. Unfortunately, I have a bit of misophonia, and the Gainsbourg’s cotton mouth made this an insufferable listen.

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

Weird Nelson. Can’t sing, can’t play. Stick to crime, Baby Face!

Wasn't expecting much but it was actually pretty good

I’m not sure about this one. It was easy listening but I don’t think I would listen to it again.

Great

Got bored didn’t listen till the end the historie one was alright

I listened to this while making a quiche and it made the entire activity seem like such a sexy endeavour.

Een Franse man die over rustige beats in je oor fluistert… intens, maar ik vind het mooie muziek. Melody en Cargo Cute m’n favs

Musically it's damn close to a 5.. Subject matter and vocals bring this down a bit. Trying to be objective as possible and if this was in english perhaps I would rate it lower.

I was digging the music quite a bit and flipped over to find out what the words were about. This went from a 4 or 5 to a 1 instantly.

Wonder what this French guy is talking about? Looked it up on wiki, this is an even weirder album then I thought. I guess musically ok, but I'm not going to listen to it again.

I didn't really enjoy this. Tough, for me, to rate something when I don't know what it's about.

Sounds like a french guy trying to hit on you while bassy rock music plays in the background. Stand-out: L'hôtel particulier

Wow I hated this so much

Simple mais élégant et ce n'est pas parce que c'est en français... Ok peut-être que ça l'est mais ce n'est pas grave !

Very sexy. He might be talking about garbage collection, idk. But it's beautiful.

Really cool basslines all over this and Gainsbourg’s vocal style is always great to listen to. Sometimes it gets a bit overbearingly noisy though, and naturally it loses a star for the general noncery of the album concept

Kinda cool

Every time I found myself enjoying the music, the vocals really ripped me out of it. Not for me. Thankfully, it was a short album. Likely would rate lower if it was much longer.

I put this on without really looking at it and immediately thought “okay, sorry, but giggling at whatever I’m mishearing as “Melody Nelson”, gee this will be funny when I look and see what they’re actually saying,” but nope, they were whispering and crooning “Melody Nelson” the whole time and it’s just too funny to me. Sexy/groovy French songs about the most bland 1970s teen-girl name I’ve ever heard. I feel like I ruined this for myself. Melody Nelson.

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.

Je ne sais pas comment cet album est reçu par les gens qui ne comprennent pas le français, mais ça reste un hymne à la pédophilie. Malgré son brio, l'œuvre de Gainsbourg m'a toujours mise mal à l'aise par sa misogynie et son racisme. La musique est toutefois enveloppante comme du velours, avec de petites envolées.

Weird…. but sounded cool?

Wtf

Serge Gainsbourg came here to fuck and by god he got it

I quite like Gainsbourg, but I guess that's partly because my French isn't good enough to realize how incestuous most of his lyrics are.

The fucking French! The music is class 4/5 The concept is ass 0/5

Cargo culte, disque culte. Le sujet et certaines paroles de ce disque majeur dans la discographie de Gainsbourg n'ont pas forcément bien vieilli. La référence à Sunderland, ville natale de Jane Birkin dans l'avant-dernier titre, suggère que l'histoire dans le disque est surtout une ode érotique à la femme (et muse) de Serge, ici transformée en fantasme quelque peu crapoteux où Jane serait mineure au moment où Serge la séduit. Gainsbourg était coutumier de ce genre de provocation, et ça ne s'est pas arrangé avec l'âge... A quick aside in English about the Sunderland reference for readers living a across the Channel: didn't know that Jane Birkin, here gracing the suggestive artwork of this record, had a Geordie background, which strikes me as funny given that she was considered as a typical London fashionista in France--anyway, one cannot underestimate how Jane's presence on Gainsbourg's side, both as a wife and an artistic partner, was pivotal for the success of some of his most timeless musical endeavors, whether through her suave vocal performance on this record, or through the lustful one on the song "Je t'aime moi non plus". Sad that Jane recently passed away, she was such an endearing figure. May she rest in peace... Pour finir (en français), sur cet album, sa production, ses orchestrations novatrices et ses arrangements ont toujours une influence notable cinq décennies plus tard, et ont donc eux particulièrement bien vieilli. On ne compte plus les grands artistes qui ont pris pour référence ce disque, de Beck à Neil Hannon, de Tricky à Broadcast, ou de Jarvis Cocker à Portishead... 4/5 for the purposes of this list of "essential albums" 9/10 grade for more general purposes (5+4) Number of albums left to review: 121 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 383 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 225 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 283

This is a bit of a tricky one. On the one hand the subject matter is decidedly ... challenging, although the fact it is in French (which I don't speak well) does obscure this. On the other hand the music is really good, with a great guitar sound. Then there's the album cover which makes me think I'm not far away from going on a list somewhere. At the end of the day though, this is a really good collection of music.

This guy writes an entire album about seducing one particular jeune fille. Props!

the concept behind this album is a little strange ngl. the instrumentation is fantastic, but i don’t care for the frenchman whispering in my ear

Wow, it's crazy because I was going to give this song a 2 simply because I don't speak French. I thought, as a big fan of experimental music/the use of sound, maybe it could pull up to a 3. Turns out it's just a pedophilic anthem about a man hitting a 14 year old with his car, taking her virginity, and then sending her on a plane that crashes (she dies). Aw, my first one star! 1 Album I Wish I Hadn't Heard Before I Died.

Audibly very interesting. Would listen to first and last tracks again for moody chill vibes. Vocals are sometimes clacky.

Grim.

I only knew Je t'aime, everyone knew Je t'aime! The music on this album is great, really cool. Vocals very French! Not sure what the lyrics would be like translated, sounds a bit dodgy reading about it. An interesting diversion and an album I would never have listened to without the generator :)

pedo music wtf?

3 stars for the music 1 star for the noncey French bloke

I don't speak French, but what I did understand from this album was the amount of times he said the name Melody. Serge's obsession with a 15 year old girl is not something I'm going to praise. That being said, I'm not going to praise this sub par album either. I wonder why Melody had to die in a plane crash and not this perv.

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

Not my thing but I didn’t hate it.

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

I dig it

Got halfway through before looking up a translation. Hard to vote an album very high when it's about banging a 14 year. Oh then she dies. The french are wild for this one

This came out 53 years ago and it sounds like the latest moby/portishead release. So far ahead of it's time it's scary a 1971 trip hop album.

That was brilliant!

Some sorta ok French music I guess

will say i peeked at your guys rankings and stopped after the first song…

Le pédophile raciste

Made it through the first song

I dunno French is not among my favorite languages

Very nice.

This is a tough one to rate to be honest. Instrumentals? 5/5. Vocals 2/5 (I just really hate how they are mixed). Subject matter? 1/5. Ability to convey a story I can clearly follow despite the language barrier? 5/5. I suppose that rounds out to a 3.25 which will get a 3 from me.

Mediocre. French whisperings into your ear, while jazzy instrumentals are playing. Not exactly groundbreaking. NNN

Theatrical and cool in a way only the French can do

nice mood music

Some of the music in this is quite good, but the overall effect is strange. The love affair with a 14-year-old lyrics make me glad this is in French, a language I do not speak. And a lot of the quiet whisper singing sounds like self parody of a French concept album. Feels like one of those things where its cultural impact has actually made the real product feel silly 50+ years into the future.

Looks creepy. Sounds creepy. Is creepy.

I’m torn on this one. I really enjoyed the music and its influence on later artists such as Beck is palpable, but the subject matter is extremely objectionable. I know pre-2000s people were a lot more accepting of relationships with underage girls and probably every popular musician should be me-tooed, but this Lolitaesque glorification of fucking a 14 year old girl gives me the ick. 3 stars, I guess.

I feel violated

J'ai trouvé la musique vraiment intéressante. Ça faisait un mélange de musique de film, progressif, avant-garde, chamber pop, etc. Mais tout ce qui a attrait aux chants venait tout gâcher. Les susurrements de Gainsbourg, les paroles vraiment malaisantes (est-ce qu'il est vraiment dans la satire ?...), la thématique plus que douteuse. Le produit global fait de quoi qui se veut "artistique" mais qui finalement est prétentieux et surévalué. 4/10

Im ngl the music kinda fire. But you search it up and u get some drake ass info about the songs. wtf

Incredibly uncomfortable listen. Not bad musically per se, but not to my taste, before we even get to the narrative that defines this concept album.

What

This was a weird and creepy story. Why are the love interests in 60s and 70s songs often concerningly young? I didn't enjoy the singer singing in unison with the strings. I just kind of felt uncomfortable the whole time.

having not understood a single word of this album, i am left to speculate only by vibe. this feels like an album a middle aged man in the 70s would make about his upsettingly young girlfriend & muse who he treated badly and then later killed. i have not checked wikipedia yet to see how i did. 2.5

This is another one where I wonder if I had the book, would it explain to me why this album is here? But more importantly, would that make it make sense? Would I find it believable? Feels like no.

Different, obviously because it’s in French. I did like it very much & certainly wouldn’t have listened to it had it not been on the list.

I don’t know how to feel about this one. The music wasn’t that memorable, but it worked, and the guy never leaving the mic alone was weird, but I didn’t hate it. It’s also a concept album, which is ALSO weird but it’s not like the main concept is supported by the artist. I liked how it was under 30 minutes, though. I’ve been getting a lot of short albums lately. Time to suddenly get hit by 69 Love Songs or The Gershwin Songbook.

Surprisingly, didn't hit the mark for me. Seemed so full of potential.

I thought it was honey at first, but I enjoyed some of the later songs

Yeah I’m what? Underwater French music?

This was French and the subject matter is questionable but I liked the music.

STANDOUTS: n/a OVERALL: 1/5; whyyyyy is this here?

Five of the Seven tracks feature the word 'Melody' in their title ('Melody', 'Ballade de Melody Nelson', 'Valse de Melody', and my two favourite titles, 'Ah Melody' and 'Eh Melody'). I guessed Serge was going for a melodic album. To be fair he nails it. The above mentioned tracks are all jam packed with melody. The other two tracks are spoken word, but still a big old vibe with cool instrumentation and chanted backing vocals. Also, it's in French. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: Cargo culte Date listened: 23/06/24

Don’t know what to make of this. Ended up listening to it several times. Suspect it might be better if I could understand the story. Or maybe not because it sounds a bit off colour lol. Didn’t hate it didn’t love it probably won’t listen again. Am quite taken with the ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ song that played on the channel afterwards though

Kinda fucks

cool, mysterious, slightly off-kilter, an interesting listen and even better the second time

This is how to be cool musically and to get chicks, especially hot young ones. Could not be groovier or more sure of itself (the same thing as cool, surely). The giggly song is devastatingly effective, as much for the sizzly guitars as the hiccuping mirthfulness. Simply could not be any cooler (or loucher). Could/should be longer, maybe.

The music was fine and the vocals were okay not that I could understand them. I won’t be back to this. 2.5/5

This reminded me of a French Leonard cohen. However, not knowing French I’m left with just the sound of his voice and the music which were both fine but nothing special for me. 2.5

This is a lyric centric album and I don't know French, but the backing band is really good. B

3 for the actual music 1 for vocals and sick concept

Rollo.

So many non-English language albums in the world, so few on this list. And what do we get? A weird pedo story. No thanks.

The French chatter gets on my nerves. Serge's whispered chanting and Jane's breathy melodies make me more aggressive than the hip hop I don't appreciate. 1/5

Det var ikke et album jeg behøvede at høre før jeg døde

Can't believe it took this long to get to a Gainsbourg album. It's short and sweet and there should probably be about three more of his albums on this list. Perfectment

Always interesting but he's never really moved the needle for me.

Ok, Serge meets Melody Nelson. Serge professes his love for Melody despite just meeting her. Melody’s not seriously interested but enjoys a good flirt regardless. Serge gets kind of obsessive towards Melody. This pushes Melody away. Melody falls for her dentist. Serge falls into a deep depression and decides to stalk Melody and her new dentist husband. Serge starts living in a tree next to Melody and the dentist’s house. One night while watching Melody eat dinner with her family Serge slips and falls out of the tree he’s living in. Melody hears the crash and runs out to see what happened. She doesn’t remember this guy Serge. He wakes up with her over him but the blow to the head erased all memory of her. He’s once again enamored with her, asks her name, she says “Melody Nelson”. This time around she falls for him and leaves her dentist husband/father to her 6 children to run off with some weirdo named Serge. I gotta brush up on my French but I think that’s the gist of it.

Interestingly, I was following this artist on Spotify already. He must've been on Jacques Brel's radio (big fan of Brel), and I followed. Right off the bat, I hear Beck's Sea Change in the first song. The man and woman back and forth reminds me of Lovage. And that makes total sense, because holy shit, look at his album cover for the 1959 album Nº2.... Dame as Lovage. It's neat to hear all the influence in later music that I enjoy. Now, I just need to learn French.. I like L'hôtel particulier as a favorite.

Sexy, cinematic, French! This plays out like a movie and Serge is at times the narrator, and other times the soundtrack singer. I have no idea what he's saying, but it is a seductive mood. Is this foreplay, or the entire act?

Sigh. We're really doing this? Fine. Sonically, I could enjoy this. I quite like the music, and I don't even mind the spoken word and whispering. Trés French, mellow, cool. But, and I hate to be that person to get hung up on this, am I really going to just listen to some old pervy Frenchman rhapsodize about fucking a teenager? Some of these lyrics? I just can't. "Aimable petite conne" "si delicieuse enfant" 🤢 Way to live up to national stereotypes, Serge! When I was younger, a teenager, I read Nabakov’s “Lolita,” and the subject matter didn't phase me too much. Maybe it's just where I am in life right now, or where we are in society, that I see more ways that the world is fucked up, and my tolerance for this sort of thing is lower. Maybe it's because I'm female and was also a 14-year-old girl having to deal with lecherous old men that I find it hard to care about the story's narrator and instead wonder what things were like from Melody's point of view. I was never into slasher films either, and I guess this is similar to that. Maybe those films are good in a technical aspect and feature great acting, but at the end of the day I just don't want to see a bunch of gore and watch the worst of humanity depicted for my entertainment. Sometimes I can appreciate art that explorers darker social and psychological themes, but I guess this album veered too close to glorifying predatory behavior for my comfort. Anyway, if I challenge myself to set all of THAT aside (and this subject matter does challenge me, clearly), I guess I enjoyed the other aspects of this album as they were done well. I can appreciate the clever wordplay on, for example, “Ah, Melody,” and the lyrics in general are poetic and evocative. I like the idea of a shorter focused album which tells a story through the songs. This would have probably been a four from me, but I think I have to deduct a star for the creepy subject matter.

The biggest standout to me on this is the string arrangements. With the backing music I would have liked to hear more melody rather than the talk/whisper stuff. Not a big fan of the background story of this album.

ja leuk hoor maar deed me wel echt weinig

alto franse muziek, lekker zo'n frans mannetje die in je sensueel in je oor fluistert, ASMR avant la lettre muziek wel leuk tho Maar vind de asmr te raar

He sure seems to like himself. I don’t.

Such a lovely and enjoyable album. I don’t know if it was the French language or the music or a combo but it felt warm and calming especially with that defining bass

A puzzling and intriguing listen that I've come back to several times. Super influential.

I don't give a flipping fuck about the music. It could be a French sequel to Dark Side Of The Moon who all I care, and I'm still rewarding it one stars. When I was listening to "En Melody," I did a double take because it had snippets of a young girl screaming in pain. I did a quick search and apparently this 'concept album' is about a middle aged man "falling in love" with a 14-year-old, Melody, and raping her. My adolescent ass is astonished an album glorifying pedophile made the 1001 Albums list. Serge Gainsbourg himself is probably a closeted pedophile expressing his sexual fantasies with his work. After doing research, I found that Gainsbourg is also a neo-Nazi? I genuinely don’t comprehend how the French people condemn his work. I’d give the album zero stars if I could.

Weird French dude

I don’t know what he’s saying, but it sounds sexy. Great drums, heavy basslines, and generally just a cool album.

Good

Musically not that bad of an album, but it just doesn’t interest me

Some nice music but I don’t understand the words!

- un album francaise?? - c’est super qu’il y a des albums en autres langues. tant pis que je n’ai pas assez de comprehension pour pouvoir toute absorber ce qui se passe dans ces chansons - reminding me of leonard cohen (specifically you want it darker album) but that may just be because his voice is low and speaking slowly. far more orchestral than that. - i don’t like whatever is happening in ‘En Melody’ - instrumentation is superb though, cinematic orchestral feeling - 3/5

That was very nice. I kept thinking about Beck’s Sea Change album, thinking he must have gotten some inspiration from this record!

Well the instrumentals are pretty enjoyable. If it wasn’t for that heavy breathing and intense vocals.

Too bizarre to listen to repeatedly, confirmed by a second listen.

Lovely French weirdness I didn't know existed.

French.. cool sounds

Hm.

french man asmr. no thanks!

Could have done without the French voiceover, but it was kinda nice.

What

The story within this album is unsettling, but backed by the music (and with a little media literacy) you can feel that the narrator is entirely on the wrong side of the tracks and that Serge composed this music to get that point across. As an album though, it’s beautifully composed. Every song has its own distinct personality and has the ability to not only shift tonally across tracks, but also within songs themselves, as strings or guitar or even occasionally horns fall and in out of the mix behind Serge’s unnerving whisper-like vocal delivery.

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

French pop, avant-funk. Ni fu ni fa.

Rollo.

Very breathy French. Not really for me.

Ok I liked the music but idk if I can really like it cause it’s super problematic and the grooming/pedophilia lowkey makes me uncomfy

Mostly spoken word over generic music. Dubious, disgusting content.

Pretty good album. I know or Gainsbourg from his Bonnie and Clyde song that Luna covered.

Cool DeLa Soul sample found !

I don't get it. I suppose it being in French has something to do with it, but it just comes off as sleazy.

Not knowing the language allowed me to fully focus on the musicality, and it’s fantastic really. Sets a great tone across the tracks, Serge’s soft spoken and tender vocals are really enchanting. A highlight are the creative guitar choices in the album and the orchestral choir of voices towards the end of the final track Favourites: honestly I struggle to pick individual songs, I find the entire album has a great vibe.

Pure vibes

It's okay, it sounds like mellow James bond background score

4/5. I'm not sure what just happened, but I'm pretty sure Mr. Gainsbourg just seduced me.

Thoughts before listening: Serge Gainsbourg is a name I recognize but not one I know much about. I feel like this is likely 70s French easy listening pop music, but that doesn't sound as cool as Serge Gainsbourg's reputation would have me assume. Review: The music sounds really cool, but I hate talk singing. Even when it's in English and I know what's being said I still just find it to be more distracting than enjoyable. This is not something I'd ever choose to listen to on my own, but I guess I'm glad I've now heard it. 2-stars cause the guitar in the first song is pretty cool.

It was okay. I didn’t love it.

It’s better if you understand French. The dialogue did not improve the songs

Why isn't 0 stars an option here?

Short and sweet.

A bold concept somewhat spoiled by the delivery. The vocals require emotion to convey the story when the language is not familiar and that simply isn't there. Possibly on repeated listens, subtle twists may well be found. Nevertheless the music is more than solid and often a quirky take on what was popular at the time.

So... I like the vibe of this album but knowing it's about an old due falling in love with a 14 year old is yikes. I would give it a 1 but I want the 1s I give out to be things I don't ever want to listen to again. As much as I hate the subject matter, the music itself was quite pleasing which saves it. 1.5/5

Im sure that this would be very interesting if I spoke French but since I don’t I only really have the sound and the wiki description to work with. Going off of that, I’ll take the wikis word for it on the subject matter and legacy fronts but all I heard was mildly interesting French music that was enjoyable for 40 minutes at least. Already forgetting a lot of this and it’s been like 2 hours since I listened.

Meh.

- It sounds like he's trying to seduce me but I'm not French so nope - Eh it sounds nice but not into it - Appreciate how short it is

- oh god the premise of this is gross - probably not as impactful to me because I don’t speak French

Is this French man trying to seduce me? I think it’s working! Like they’re in my head talking sounds so personal. 3.3

It feels a little too navel-gazey for me.

While I love French pop AND questionable, pretentious nonsense, this wasn't my scene at all. I don't like music where the main focus is the singing and the instruments unobtrusively provide a bit of backing noise. I'm actually surprised this has a 2.8 overall score (as of writing this). I expected lower.

je ne pas comprend mais it is very good and makes me feel like an intellectual alcoholic who smokes a lot and looks at young girls in a problematic way ziehe 1 Punkt ab für pädophilie aber sorry die musik ist gut...

Well that was certainly something. Not a fan of the concept itself, but this is the type of album I would expect to find on this list. I'm not gonna listen to this regularly, but going through it once was an interesting experience. The backing music is catchy, even if the vocals don't do much for me.

I’m not sure if knowing French would increase the value of this album, or make it more disturbing. Hilarious what type of content they could get away with in 1971. The music and style however is very good. Not something I’d rush to listen to again, but wasn’t unpleasant overall.

I liked that it was only half an hour long. I didn't really like the man speaking in french which was most of the album

Super weird concept album

Not super into this but I don't regret listening. I can remove the art from the artist here as the concept is kind of disturbing.

There's some cool funky sounds on this album. Don't particularly care for spoken word but there are some interesting sounds and it's interesting how it's essentially a story (with some creepy ass subject matter). Interesting but would never listen again.

Interesting, and ok

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.

This one is for the pervs and the rhythm section! Gorgeous and lush, the production of this record has been imitated many times, but this is kind of singular. My only complaint is that the record is a little short.

Hey man, maybe don't call children "delicious".

If God was real he would have sent the fatal heart attack to Serge Gainsourg before he ever wrote this shit. The music underlying this French ode to noncery in no ways makes up for or redeems the subject matter.

Melody must’ve been a good bitch.

Interesting. Erotic. I like…. 3/5

Short and sweet, but totally wasted on me. Interesting music though.

me, not understanding any french, listening to this: :) me, looking up what the lyrics mean: :(

I’m glad this ugly Frenchman is dead and can’t inflict his music on the world anymore

шо-то очень необычное

ХВАТИТ МЕНЯ СОБЛАЗНЯТЬ ПРИЧМОКИВАНИЯМИ И ГОЛОСОМ Но вообще этот альбом я пожалуй сохраню полностью для уютного чтения книг в пледике. очень залипательная штука алкоальбом: какой-то вязкий и очень сладкий напиток. наверно, клубничная настойка

Из уважения к французскому шансону. Но очень странно, что ничего больше (почти) нам не включили. А зря, я бы может и послушал что-то вместо очередного альбома Боба Дилана. Альбом ультракороток, и это... наверное, не entry-level альбом для понимания, кто такой Серж Генсбур. Это одна из первых его экспериментальных работ, более того - это первый концептуальный альбом на французском языке. Новатор, экспериментатор... и совершенно неуспешен в продажах. Хулиган, чё сказать)

A very creepy topic but man did I not expect to like this as much as I did. Think I need to re-listen a few times to fully digest, but really made me think. 4/5

Not sure what's going on here but I listened to the whole thing

French music. 2/5

An album about a French pervert who hits a 14 year old girl with his car and then falls in love with her. Typical. Is it influential? Sure. But I prefer my trip hoppy loungey music without statutory rape and death even if it is French. Fuck this guy. Listen to Stereolab

Hmm this is a provocative co--looking at what this album is about--OH NO Didn't know I'd need to bust out Muzzy to interpret this. "Je suis la jeune fille" YEAH APPARENTLY I took French in school because I thought Gambit was cool at the time. He's not. I took a 200-level course in college for a gen ed. Went to class one day after a GWAR show and I still had some of their fluids in my ear. Classmate thought my ear was bleeding until I said I saw GWAR. He understood then. Interesting instrumentations. I can see where it's influenced so many. Horrible subject matter. Wish this was GWAR.

So... a concept album about kid-diddling, performed by a(n alleged) kid-diddler? Fucking great! Trying really hard to find a positive in this pile of shit. Once in a while the beats and guitar work align into something interesting, but it's not often and Beck ripped off all of them. The ever-present whisper talking vocals (produced so high in the mix sometimes it's hard to even hear the music over it) are AWFUL. Seriously, go watch The Simpsons episode "Life On the Fast Lane". You will never again be able to unhear Marge's bowling instructor Jacques on every track. Fuck this album in its entirety! Gotta go listen to something akin to an audio shower now.

Well…at least it was short…

I don’t understand French so could t get into it.

Mix of soft dinner music and orchestral arrangements about a pedophile. I would give this a zero if it were possible.

Spoken word is definitely not my taste. Some songs by the artist are OK, but I didn't enjoy a single song on this particular album.

How is a album about statutory rape on here?

Some of the best prog rock instrumentals I’ve heard combined with lyrics that are moaned straight into your ears and are about a pedophile. Truly a French moment

Kind of dug the composition and production. This guy sure liked this Melody lady! 3/5

Really sick instrumentation on here, especially on the first and last songs. Super interesting album sonically and one that you can tell has had an influence on a lot of artists. I do wish the lyrics were about something other than fucking a 14-year-old.

The whole album is kinda like a middle-song breakdown where the band slows down and gets quiet and lets the lead singer whisper. Like the second half of Nervous Young Inhumans by Car Seat Headrest. Except the whole album is this and the singer is speaking another language and it’s not ironic. I still fw it though, was an interesting album

Literally Bens review was EXACTLY the perfect way to describe the album. I enjoyed it even tho I didn't understand one word. The album just flowed nicely

Jesus, am I conflicted. I mean, on the one hand, this album basically birthed trip-hop: Portishead and Jarvis Cocker were clearly breastfed from the teat of this funky, odd, non-English-language concept album. And on the other hand, Melody was 14yo when the narrator met her and 15yo when he took her virginity, so in essence, they are responsible for two kinds of assault. Ick. I mean, Lolita is both celebrated and reviled. I think this album should be as well. Also, RIP Jane Birkin.

5/5

nah

this is not ‘must-listen’. gtfoh

Difficult to rate without understanding the lyrics, but pretty good riffs and drumming.

French pop, avant-funk. Ni fu ni fa.

I have the joy of appreciating both the lyrics and the music. The orchestration is great, he's a master lyricist, and has a masterful delivery

Finally got going by the last track, "Cargo Culte", but "trop de concept, pas assez d'album"

Some of the string accompaniment isn't bad. I'm not into his whole vocal style. Didn't find anything to be all that ground breaking.

Killer Bass and instrumentals but vocals killed it for me.

The music is wonderful, the concept of a spoken word story narrative is fascinating. I don't speak French so I looked the "plot" up. This story is literally rape. The narrator is wealthy, hits a young girl under 15, seduces her, and then she dies. It's a sad and unpleasant story. I don't care if it's older and times have changed. This content should not be celebrated. Disgusting.

Interessant, origineel, grappig. Kan hier best wel een tijdje naar luisteren. Wilde eerst 3 sterren geven maar kom toch net uit op 4.

Dude i dont know how much i can enjoy a concept album about a middle aged man falling in love with a 15 year old girl.

Well, first off, it's good to have a non English language record. I'm not good enough at French to follow this, so I used a lyrics translation site to read the lyrics as I played this record. This album has a really lush sound which, coupled with Gainsbourg's terrific semi-spoken, semi-sung vocal style is top-notch. The album tells a story where the narrator knocks a young (under-age) girl off her bike and then engages his desire for her. You might not expect such content in a modern record, but I guess it's in keeping with Gainsbourg's somewhat louche persona. Weirdly, Melody wants to see the skies of Sunderland and heads off to her doom. Sunderland? Does that have significance in French?

3.5/5. The album for all the pretentious wankers of the world. The musical arrangements are sound but the concept is some weird retelling of Lolita.

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

Actually really impressive what Serge does on this album. The sly spoken word (with a heavy helping of mouth sounds) is just so very French, but like in the good way. Just a really sweet and interesting listen. 7/10

an album about banging a 14 year old is hard to take even if I don't understand french

Le Shit

French bloke talking at me and a French woman giggling

I don’t speak French. So i probably lost a lot here considering how this album is a story. That plus the fact a lot of it was told kinda spoken like a poem didn’t help. The instrumentals were fine, but I didn’t have the context or ability to enjoy this. I had to do research which helped me understand why it’s on the list

This some Epstein shit

Beautiful

Sounded like a cologne commercial

The trick is to hit play on the album of the day and then keep your hands busy. Perhaps too intimate a soundtrack to cut fruit to, but I got it done

Instant classic! First time hearing it but it immediately feels like discovering a key piece to a jigsaw puzzle covering late 80s/Early 90s music, from daisy age rap in the US to trip hop in the UK. I'm retroactively embarrassed to not have already been intimately familiar with it. I also feel really stupid for not knowing about his work with Jane Birkin. I was fortunate enough to listen to it on headphones and was richly rewarded - strong backing band, beautifully recorded. Great dynamic range, too, that pretty much doesn't exist anymore in this era of highly compressed tracks produced to sound good out of a speakerphone. I have no idea what they are talking and singing about but I strongly suspect that he would be cancelled if this came out now and I might not even be able to listen to this if I understood it. Funny how some things unexpectedly stay with you. I immediately recognized 'En Melody' from this minor De La Soul skit from back in the day: https://youtu.be/FTMOTsL1YIE?si=VFusrpdIM8e-QyKN

I've never heard of him/them before, but I enjoyed the whole French-narrated chill-rock-style. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much if I understood the lyrics/narration storyline, as the Wikipedia plot summary makes it sound a bit creepy (at least for listening in the 21st century), and a little bizarre/pretentious, but thankfully my spoken-French comprehension is pretty abysmal. I didn't really want to hunt down "Melody, the musical", but I *did* listen to this album via YouTube Music, which very bizarrely showed a completely wrong-seeming video while playing "Ballade de Melody" (something involving some white guy trying to save a non-white kid (male) in what appeared to be riots/protests/terrorist attacks). A bit more surreal than I suspect even Serge Gainsbourg was hoping for.... (A little more digging on this video reveals that it was made in 2021 by Christopher Honore as a tribute to Gainsbourg but "updated to reflect the times", whatever that means; most of the comments seem to find it an inappropriate appropriation. You can see it here: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o165uRDuYU>) (And I found a YouTube playlist with the various original videos collated together: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AznHU0cWvz0&list=PLEB4AA81A5D349F09>) I loved seeing (on Wikipedia) all the artists and bands that have been influenced by this album, and I can totally see this influence now that I've heard this album. For that alone, I'd give it 5 stars (especially since I enjoyed listening to the album), except I still think this is all a bit creepy.

I'm sorry. I can't. Don't hate me.

There is a lot to unpack with this album. I was prepared to hate this record, but the first thing you notice is the music. It’s like a loungy, cool jazz, rock fusion. It’s got soaring strings coupled with crunchy guitars all coming together with an ambient, laid-back vibe. Could be a Post-rock masterpiece except for the fact that it’s a concept album and lyrics are necessary to convey the concept. The lyrics are not sung, but spoken over the music. Think about the cheesy, stereotypical beat poet with a cigarette and a beret in a jazz café, and that’s with the vibe of the lyrics. Since the lyrics are in French, I am oblivious to the concept. Which is a good thing, because the concept sucks. According to the Internet and other reviews, the narrator is perving on an underage girl he just hit with his Rolls-Royce. I could potentially rate this album a 4, if the lyrics were better integrated into the music and there was not all the pedophilia.

Very cool and some super chilled music

"Parles-tu français?" "Melodyyy Nelson!"

This is a parody, you cannot convince me otherwise. This is not serious, bffr.

fire instrumentals with a weird pedo story?

It’s tough because on one hand, this is really a close to perfect album as far as late 60s/early 70s French music goes, and that’s a genre I love. Gainsbourg’s influence on so many other legendary musicians (including Joe Dassin) is impossible to ignore. But he was also a certifiable freak who liked making songs about little girls and liked making actual real life little girls sing provocative songs whose lyrics they did not understand. So for that reason I must give it a 4. I’m glad Serge Gainsbourg is dead. But it is a very nice album. Ughhhhhhhh

This just isn't for me.

Doesn’t do it for me.

Good music that I enjoyed going to sleep by.

In French.

Weird but interesting

Really interesting album. The whole second CD was unfortunately unavailable on Spotify, but I did enjoy the first.

Very unusual, liked it!

What a trip! I wasn't familiar with this artist aside from his late 60s hit "Je t'aime", but turns out he is Charlotte Gainsbourg's father. I deeply enjoyed the vast range of musical styles. Very eclectic. Great concept album, tragic story. 4/5

3.5/5

I enjoyed the musical arrangements for the concept album. I feel like this album has to be listened to in the right setting to be fully enjoyed. However, I was extremely weirded out and taken out of it when I realized that the entire story in the album is about an older man falling in for a 14-year-old girl... 1.5

Meh. It was fine but I don’t understand French and it’s not like the melodies or musicianship were so spectacular that they made up for it.

Never listened to this before, never will again.

Rollo.

this was about underage romance?

should’ve just been an instrumental album

Maybe I just didn't get it, but I honestly thought this album was terrible. Nothing else to say really

Wow - what striking music I heard from this album. I was immediately taken by the instrumentation, the jive, something about Gainsbourg’s production really impressed me despite not being able to catch much of the meaning. Imagine my shocked face when I eventually looked up the story behind the songs. Conflicting indeed.

Interesting 60's vibe with the music, difficult to pin down on genre might be worth repeat listens, as I think it will grow on you

Bad baguette

Rollo.

Intoxicatingly weird

Going into this album after reading a few reviews, I really didn't expect to like it that much. But I was pleasantly surprised. The music was very calming, along with a lovely soft voice, and of course we all know how elegant French can sound when spoken in that way. Being fluent in French and understanding everything was definitely a bonus too, since I knew what was being said I was able to follow along with the story pretty well, as weird as it was at times. I think the main thing that this album lacks is diversity, as calm and soothing as it is, it is a bit repetitive, and the spoken word as opposed to singing definitely doesn't help with that. A bit more actual singing and something to keep the music a bit more interesting would have done this album wonders, all it really needs is to be more diverse and dynamic.

déroutant mais intéressant. une courte histoire assez obscène, avec un son expérimental.

Just can't push it to 3 :(