Olympia 64

This live album by the great French chansonnier Jacques Brel is unique in several respects. It was the second—and final—live recording released during his lifetime, and it paved the way for his success in America and across the globe. He performed in the former Soviet Union and was incredibly popular here in the former East Germany as well. My parents owned several of his records, so I was introduced to his artistry at a very early age. His songs will endure forever—whether in the original versions or through the voices of other singers across various genres. The incredibly emotional opening song of this live recording immediately drew an enthusiastic response and a standing ovation from the audience in Paris. A live masterpiece.

There's a real spirit and captivating vibe to this album. A much more forceful sound than I had expected, mostly as a result of Jacques Brel's strong vocal delivery. Olympia 64? Mais Oui!

Let ugly people make music again

2/5

neat

Chanson, it's a term that it's widely used to describe any song whose lyrics are written in French. The term it's mostly used to describe polyphonic french songs in medieval and renaissance music, or like in this case to any form of French pop music. Jacques Brel, it's one of the most prolific masters of the chanson, most of them composed by him, with theatrical arrangements, earning devotes in Belgium and France and later on through the whole world. His songs have been translated into almost 96 languages to the point he used to introduce parts in Dutch. Olympia 1961 and this one, Olympia 1964 are his only two live albums, and the huge energy you can feel between him and the crowd response, charms you and genuily haunts you to the point one can only thing on some sort of Belgian Frank Sinatra. And speaking of which, Musicians like David Bowie or Marc Almond has said that they are influenced by his particular voice, and many others has translated to english and performed some of his songs, including Judy Collins, Sinatra himself and even Nirvana, who recorded in Brazil an adaptation of his song Le Moribond. Brel was also a successful actor, appearing in almost 10 films and directing two others, one of them Le Far West was nominated for the Palme D'or at the Cannes Film Festival. in 1973. With almost 25 million records selled worldwide, he is the third best selling belgian artist and even when numbers might not be an accurate way of measure things in music, the truth is if you like surprises or simply discovering a new language or new artists, this live album it's something you need to experience at least once or twice.

3 fine fine

It’s lovely. I don’t speak French but I’m sure the lyrics are whitty.

𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘢 64 makes it easy to understand why Jacques Brel was such a captivating performer. I really like his voice and the way he can turn even the simplest line into something intensely dramatic. He doesn't just sing his songs; he practically acts them out, moving between tenderness, anger, and theatrical excess. Still, I suspect some of that magic is lost when experienced through a recording rather than from a seat in the audience. I can hear the passion and energy of the performance, but I don't always feel as involved as I would like. And then there's 𝗔𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗺. The way Brel builds the song from quiet storytelling into an almost overwhelming climax is extraordinary. For those few minutes, I almost feel as if I'm sitting in the audience myself. A good live album, but above all, a reminder that I would have loved to see Jacques Brel perform in person.

Favorite track(s): Amsterdam, Les timides, Les dernier repas

Another unique and happy discovery, an album to listen to before you die.

Super French

Cool, pretentious but very emotive

Interesting.

"Je voudrais une baguette" - that’s roughly my level of French. Not the ideal prerequisite for fully appreciating French chanson, which, from what I’ve read, is praised for its poetic lyrics and clever wordplay. There are elements of this album that genuinely impressed me. Jacques Brel’s vocal performance is outstanding. The commitment and urgency he delivers his lines with convey a great deal of significance. At its best moments "Olympia 64" transcended the language barrier. Take the opener "Amsterdam" which gave me a clear impression of how Jacques views the beautifully depraved capital of the Netherlands, even if I didn’t recognize the words he was using. Equally impressive: this is live music, which is easy to forget given how flawless the overall performance is. The sound is captured and mixed perfectly. This album is challenging to rate. It didn’t completely click with me, but I think it's mostly due to the language barrier and my lack of exposure to the genre. I spun it twice to give it a fair chance, but right now I only feel a strong 2. It’s an album that makes me wish my French was better.

5.

Not bad for a cartoon skunk.

I love france and this did feel wonderfully historic, but I was happy it was only 28 minutes. Hearing the crowd go wild made me feel a certain way. A rare case when one of the least streamed songs, Les Vieux, was my favorite.

Olympia 64 Jacques Brel 1964 Genres: Pop, Rock Styles: Chanson, Live 1. Amsterdam (★★★⯨☆) -Contexto: Retrato de los marineros del puerto de Amsterdam: cantan, duermen, mueren, nacen, comen y se van riendo. Mezcla ensueño con vulgaridad física (cerveza, pescado, eructos, el olor a bacalao). El tono va acelerando hasta ser casi un torrente. La música se basa en una melodía tradicional (tipo Greensleeves). 2. Les Vieux (★★★⯨☆) -Contexto: Retrato de la vejez: la lentitud, el silencio, la rutina y la cercanía de la muerte. El tono es sombrío y pausado. 3. Tango funèbre (★★★☆☆) -Contexto: Por título y música, un tango de tono fúnebre vinculado a la muerte. No puedo asegurar el desarrollo de la letra. 4. Le Plat Pays (★★★★☆) -Contexto: Homenaje a Flandes y a la tierra llana: viento, lluvia, cielo bajo, y una catedral como única "montaña". Es una canción de apego a su tierra, con tono nostálgico. 5. Les Timides (★★★☆☆) -Contexto: Trata sobre la gente tímida y su incapacidad de expresarse, sobre todo en el amor. No tengo la letra completa en la memoria como para detallar más sin arriesgar inventar. 6. Les Jardins du casino (★★★☆☆) -Contexto: Canción con música de Gérard Jouannest. Por el título remite a un casino y sus jardines, pero no tengo certeza del argumento. Verificar la letra. 7. Le Dernier Repas (★★★☆☆) -Contexto: No puedo resumirla con fiabilidad sin la letra delante. Prefiero no inventarte nada. 8. Les Toros (★★★☆☆) -Contexto: Gira en torno a la corrida y los toros. No tengo la letra lo bastante segura como para resumir su postura. -TOTAL = ★★★⯨☆ (3,25)

Pretty much the GOAT of chanson, and also of miserable songs about down-on-their-luck loser guys who hate women. No complaints

I honestly don’t think I would’ve enjoyed this even if it were in English

What’s interesting about such a stripped down, vocal-focused album is that you get a bit of cultural insight into what makes a region’s music unique. I feel like it’s harder to connect with it without the appropriate lived context though, so even if I understand the language and appreciate Jacques’ singing chops, I’m afraid I don’t have much to say about this. Standouts: Les vieux • Tango funèbre

Bro is obviously singing his heart out but this is just not for me. Props for all the inspiration to Scott Walker though

okkkkk

Jamais écouté avant. Difficile d'être objectif avec le premier album francophone (et j'imagine l'un des rares...) de la liste. D'autant plus quand il s'agit d'un enregistrement live de celui qui est peut-être notre plus grand auteur et interprète, l'immense Jacques Brel. Il y met son époustouflante théâtrilité au service de quelques uns de ses plus beaux textes, dont bien sûr Amsterdam, dont c'est l'unique enregistrement, mais aussi des titres moins célèbres, comme les sublimes Le Dernier Repas ou Au suivant, chefs-d'œuvre de réalisme poétique et d'écriture au millimètre. Et on comprend comment et pourquoi des dizaines d'artistes, y compris anglophones, se sont réclamés de son héritage, Scott Walker et David Bowie en tête. Si la chanson francophone devait avoir un sommet, Olympia 64 n'en serait sans doute pas loin... Top : Au suivant Flop : Les timides

Actually a banger.

exhaustingly melodramatic, and a pointless selection - he has made many better albums. This is like selecting The Kinks At The Kelvin Hall over Face To Face.

After reading about this album a bit I guess I csn appreciate it for what it is, but I didn't enjoy the listen.

Not for me. Thankfully short, and I’m pretty proud that this was an influence on Scott Walker. I was listening to that last track and went, “Hey that sounds like ‘Next’!” And sure enough!!

Pleasant listening; maybe I would appreciate it more if I understood French

621/1089 - It was cool and he's a very talented singer. Unfortunately a lot of the songs had similar structures and harmonic devices which dampened the listening experience for me.

This one was not really my thing. I'm not one for flashy, theatrical show-tuney sounding music. It's nice and quaint, and I'm glad this project gave me the chance to learn of Jaques Brel and his contributions to music. The album is a live recording of Brel mostly speak-singing in French, which I've now learned is a genre unto itself - chanson! Interesting, but wasn't for me. It's a 2/5 but I'm really glad it's on this list.

French pop, hmm. Gave it a 2.

My French brother-in-law would love this, and since he’s a singing thespian, I’m sure I’ve heard him perform some of these. Drama plays a heavy role in Brel’s performance here. Surprised “Ne me quitte pas” isn’t in the set. The sparse music behind him adds to the show tune quality.

Mmm c

My first time listening to any Belgian music! It has a very "large", theatrical feel. Not my thing, but either is Phantom of the Opera, really. I wish I could easily listen to this with a service that will translate the French to English, as I rely so much on lyrics to determine the quality of the production. I would not skip if this came up again, but it isn't something I would necessarily seek out.

I did not enjoy this. I don't particularly like listening to music in other languages because lyrics are very important to me.

I don’t speak French and I feel like that’s 80% of what makes this record potentially enjoyable. Otherwise it’s just stereotypically French sounding music

???

Exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for from the last. Fun, but I'll never listen to it again

This is what I imagine non-English speakers hear when they listen to Leonard Cohen. Can I understand anything he's saying? No. Do I feel every emotion he's expressing? Absolutely. Now give me a damn croissant and fly me to Paris. 7/10

This is smack dab in the middle of Not For Me.

Man this guy really falls for every trick in the book. This time it's the classic scam that has swindled us all at one time or another. The dreaded maxim "French =deep." If the author ever reads these reviews, please contact me, I have a bag of beans that, well, lets just say, they are pretty "special." Imagine enjoying some of my magical beans and sitting back and listening to some British electronica?! You cannot lose. I too believe French people often have a more artistic view of shit, and if that sounds ridiculous, just look at their society. In North America, our money first, Americanized society (we ALL lost the Cold War), is spineless, illiterate, and failing. We literally fight each other on behalf of making things worse (see privatized healthcare). Like subjects in an experiment, rights and "benefits of capitalism" are stripped back slowly every day so we don't notice right away, and then we're instructed to blame immigrants or like the .5% of people with different gender identities. We pay more for less, and since they've figured out they can get away with it, they all but say it out loud. It's "good business." The only way out is guillotines (FRENCH INVENTION), but good luck when the psychopaths in charge have entire military forces to protect their interests and their supple necks. Ugh. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah. Parisians will burn down Versailles if they catch wind of a person working 38 seconds of unpaid overtime. It's clear that we could learn a lot from the French in general, but this? This is just mediocre to bad music that made the list because he's speaking a fancy sounding language, and us English speakers are uhh how you say dumb. 2 HIGHLIGHTS: We need a Chiac album. Mon car start pas :(

The 1964 crowd loves a good chanson.

These are compelling melodies, and the emotion carries through the vocals. This takes you back in time to a movie or a painting. My initial reaction would be that it is difficult to appreciate something like this in a language I don't speak, but I can feel the sentiment through the music.

As someone who kinda speaks french this was relaxing and fun ngl

Don't speak franch BUT I like the vibes :3

I can’t justify putting this as a 5 for such a lyric focused album without speaking the language but I wish I could

3 out of 5. A nice French crooner.

Don't want to give it one star because it's not bad it's just not for me.

It was an interesting listen that focussed me on the music and vocal since I didn’t understand the lyrics. My only experience with French music is Edith Piaf, so it was cool to hear another French legend. Brel’s voice was powerful and dramatic. I was surprised to learn how many other artists—especially David Bowie—were inspired by Brel.

5.6/10. An album with both sides of grandeur and softness, it does a great job of making you feel like you were actually there. It utilizes an array of instruments, and the album feel like they were built as a theatrical mixing pot, including influences from traditional French chanson, waltz & folk dance rythyms, grand orchestration, and stripped-down music (solitary instruments make up the entire instrumentation). Brel does well with the live performance, but I personally am not that big a fan of French lyricism, the language just doesn't have the emotion due to complex pronunciations.

9/10 - this was amazing, don't know what the chap is singing but awesome, need more world music in our lives

No esperaba un álbum en francés pero buena voz tiene

Non. The recording quality is really poor. The instruments sound like they are upstairs. I feel like the nuance of the music is lost. Quite like his delivery - Jacques sounds mad as fuck. Some of the arrangements feel quite heavy and dark - but that might be how bass heavy this recording is. The crowd are raucous as heck - often drowning out the performance. Arrêtez de applaudir ! Still rather listen to this than a stack of my 1* albums so it's a 2*.

This album was duller than a plastic dull knife.

Fine I guess

Pleasant I suppose.

Fine, I guess. Nothing bad but nothing that really grabbed me either.

Oh, yeah. This was alright. It didn’t knock my socks off, or anything. But I’m not mad I was made to listen.

1001 best albums, huh? If that is the case, what the fuck is this?

This was pretty good. Amsterdam especially kicked ass, but at various parts I also had hints of Leonard Cohen and even in a weird way Ry Cooder. The language barrier is an issue, but the emotional tone was undeniable and the influence was clear. Way better than yesterdays album (Rocket From The Crypt) which had me thinking "why the fk is this album on the list?".

I think this dude has some serious rep in the French and Québécois circles. My dad used to play that song 'Mille Temps' by him all the time, a song I found pretty goofy as a child - a long-lost memory awakened by this album appearing on this list. Anyways, this was a pretty neat (and short) live album. The guy's singing style is certainly something; it's like he's doing too much with his choppy phrasing and delivery (especially on 'Tange funebre'), but the underlying melodies are actually really beautiful - I was sort of entranced right away with the opening 'Amsterdam'; it just sounded so massive and *important*. I haven't brushed up on my French in a while, so I'm not entirely sure what he's talking about, but I can only assume it's the most important thing ever. Everything that follows is consistent and neat, especially the intimate and subtle build-up of 'Le plat pays', but the album really does peak at that opener. My takeaway is how much I loved how expressive and impassioned Jacques' voice is; it can be a bit much, but there's nothing out there quite like it. Also, nothing quite as French as it.

It was fine but being in another language in a completely outdated music genre, I don't think I could ever point to it and pick it out from any playlist. It just sounded up the time.

Some more classical French, very nice

Very swoony and romantic. Lovely to listen to but probably wont relisten that frequently. Would like to hear more sometime.

This is for someone.....but that someone isn't me. :)

A very emotive singer and that had some interest for me but it is an album focused on the singing and the emotions are around what he is singing about so not being able to understand French i found diatracting. The rating is not a croticism of the artist who can clearly sing and express even to non-french speakers some of hia intention, it is more a criticism of the list. Albums you must hear, not albums you must wonder what they are singing anout.

3.5/5

I've always been more for Aznavour and Montand than Brel, but I can appreciate the artistry on display here.

não sei se eu gostei mas de fato, francês é mto chique né le chat noir neles!

chique demais. frances eh bacana de se ouvir, mesmo num entendendo nada. eh de boa, nada demais. vozerão brabo, hein. pelo menos não eh dad rock medíocre, então tá bão

I didn't care for this. Kind of dull, and I don't really have anything more to say about it than that

TL;DR: A relentless onslaught of chanson, by turns compelling and punishing. BEFORE: I know the name but don't know the music and can't understand the lyrics. I understand that he's Belgian, but he is the most French-looking dude I have ever seen. AFTER: I'm not quite sure to make of this - it was a bit of a slog. It's dramatic and passionate and Brel's phrasing is fantastic (I think). The vocals are usually on full send and the language barrier was a challenge for something so driven by lyrics. Sometimes it works, and sometimes you wish he would just calm the fuck down. When it comes to the accordion, I am very much from the Gary Larson school of less is more and none is best, so I struggle with the prevalence of accordion in French language music. HIGHLIGHTS: Le Dernier Repas is a wonderful opener. I enjoyed the tempo changes and tango influence in Les Toros, Mathilde and Tango Funèbre and the unhinged vocals in the latter. Le Plat Plays is a haunting composition with a more subtle vocal. The unexpected change of energy in Jef is particularly powerful. LOWLIGHTS: Trop d'accordéon. Les Bonbons is an attempted seduction from a drunk hobo with a bad cold. Les Timides is pretty tedious. I found my interest waning pretty frequently, especially towards the end. VERDICT: I have to give this an honest assessment based on my experience. It's a lot. I liked parts of it but some of it was irritating or excessively strident and the instrumentation is a mixed bag. I may have enjoyed it more if I understood the language, and bumped it up from a 2 to a 3 on that basis.

Doesn't do anything for me.

I don’t understand French. Whatever he was singing about, he did sing it with passion. There are English covers of these songs out there but I’m not curious enough to go hunt them down.

Nice and nice

I just don't know french and this distracted me while I tried to study.

A bit rich for my taste. I've never quite got on with French pop music outside of the Serge and co, and even he has some songs that sound as bloated as these. Though few that sound as much like they should be sound-tracking a circus.

very French. Short and sweet

no thanks

No idea what this is. I mean I guess this is cool, I don't understand any of it but it's not bad. Definitely not my style of music and a bit slow for my taste but I can see the appeal. Surprised to hear he was an influence on David Bowie, not sure I see that at all. I definitely enjoyed this more than I thought I would, the songs are very theatrical which is probably what Bowie was influenced by - Glad to have heard this album.

Nostalgie...

Absolutely fantastic, some quality classic french pop. Magnifique

If we understand anything after 700 albums, we understand that (1) Dimery has an unrestrained love of all things David Bowie, but (2) in general has very suspect taste in music. I really like this style of French cabaret/swing music. I'm sure there are scores of albums from this tradition that everyone should hear. I would start with Charles Trenet or Edith Piaf. This album, by contrast, must be what it’s like for non-english speakers to listen to Bob Dylan. Repetitive songs with minimal melodic content performed poorly. It’s clearly about the lyrics. But when you can’t understand them, what, exactly, is there to like other than the style? And Brel's style is too hammy for my taste. But I read that David Bowie once cited this as an influence; which no doubt explains its inclusion here. One start for coming in under 30 minutes.

Oui! I have a hard time connecting with this style of music, but I will say Jacques Brel does have an incredible voice and his performance is top notch. Also, what a pristine production for something recorded live in 1964!

The French people seem to like it.

Classy.

Grand, felt regal listening, good background cause I didn’t understand a word

Ok, unlike his fictitious brother Kjel Brel.

he sounds like that french cat. other than that, solid, classic. very very french

1964 Francesa, en vivo Julio Iglesias pero francés? Creo que no me gusta nada la música francesa "tradicional", al menos la de esta época

Fuck these bookwriters for putting this on this list. Fuck them for saying albums in other languages must be heard. Fuck them for trying to demonstrate they have been exhaustive in this list. Fuck them for thinking we all want to hear a French album from the 60s. And fuck them for not including countless other albums in favor of trying to be cultured. By the way, this album wasn't half bad. Frenchy signing french songs in french with a french "hon hon hon" laugh mixed in. Brother was dealing.

Not as bad as I thought it would be.

😋🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇨🇵

Review - pretty good, very atmospheric live album with a Francophone chanson vibe to it. Not the sort of thing I'd be in the mood for every day but some quite good songs and a few very good performances. Characterful. Made me read the Wikipedia page about the best selling Belgian artists of all time too so that's nice. Score - 6/10 Need to listen? YES

I expected it to be one star. It’s better than that, but still bad

Jacques mate, maybe take a valium and have a sit down? Warning: Melodrama and schmooze may cause testicles to retract

Sehr netter französischer Chansons, Aufnahmequalität schlecht

Boring