Olympia 64

Didn’t really like

Very theatrical and lyric-heavy. I'm sure it has a lot more punch for fluent French speakers. His voice is a bit unconventional but he delivers a lot of emotion. Not something I'll return to but it's good to hear something so different.

Just so French it's untrue.

Not so into it. I liked Amsterdam and I was familiar with Funeral Tango through Scott Walker’s cover, which I like a lot. The rest of the album doesn’t do anything for me.

This album had too much going against it for me. The biggest two being that it's in French and that it's a live recording. There was very little likely to get me past those two issues, and the fact that a lot of the songs sound the same certainly didn't help. Not for me at all, guy is an incredible singer though.

Not sure how I feel about this album, his singing is good, but I don’t know how this genre changed the face of music. It’s very of its time and doesn’t blow me away

It feels like a hard album to judge as I don’t speak French and it’s a live album but anyway not the sort of music I listen to and not an artist that I will be seeking to listen to but the music and voice wasn’t bad so not dreadful

шансончик

It's kinda hard to appreciate a lyrics-focused genre when you can't understand the lyrics

Perfect as background music for a Parisian cafe. Nothing I really care to listen to purposefully.

I recall the phrase “Jacque Brel is alive and well” from when I was a kid. This was tolerable but I was glad it was only 28 min.

Not sure what to make of this. It was short enough but I didn’t hate it like I was expecting to. So it was raised by low expectations.

it was fine i guess? not my thing

I think Chanson works better with female vocals. This is fine, but would not seek this out if I was looking for French pop.

Not my cup of tea.

Could this be the absolute definition of french annoyance?

Different, captivating. Wish I could understand the words.

2,5 stars

Impressive energy in his singing - you can feel he means every word he sings. But the songs are uninteresting and the sound quality is not very good. The best part is that the album is quite short.

This is a review I legitimately feel guilty about cause the magic of this album (if it has any) was completely lost on me. For instance, I know he wrote a lot of the lyrics and poetry and that went into this album, which could be super powerful and moving, but I don’t speak French. I also could see how the super theatrical element to this music is especially inspiring, and I could see how an artist like this could influence somebody I really love who is also theatrical, like Bowie, but again it just didn’t click for me when I have nothing else to cling to. But I would say that’s the most impressive and interesting part of the album was the instrumentals. But again, this album’s awhile just didn’t click with me despite the obvious talent.

Would probbaly really love it if I knew what the lad was saying

It’s the wrong link here, as it should be to Olympia 64 (Live), with 15 songs 48 minutes, which makes a difference - with Au Suivant and Madeleine matching Amsterdam. I know it’s my loss in not speaking French but the stories are lost/water on me. I appreciate the atmosphere and delivery, but…

It is not my jam, but I do enjoy it enough at times. I was itching to listen to something else by the second to last song.

French Sinatra

waste of time. Same as 1000 other crooner albums of the era, BUT THIS ONE IS IN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE, SO COOL, PUT IT ON THE LIST.

Well, cross that one off the list.

2.5/5 Neither here nor there for me. Didn’t think it was bad, but it also kept sinking into background noise every time I tried to listen to it so it never got to good or great.

As a bit of a metal guy, I am pretty used to not understanding the lyrics, but I feel that with this, I am really missing out. That being said, it still was an enjoyable listen.

The monkeys paw really and truly unfurled with this one. I wanted a unique album that wasn’t just mediocre British Punk or American Rock, and in a sense I got it with this album. On the other hand, I didn’t really care for this album all that much. Listen, I had to give an album a 1 star review yesterday for the first time in 108 albums. I ended that review writing that “All I can do at this point is hope I get a better album tomorrow.” When I checked out the reviews on this one, I was not the happiest camper. However, it’s completely understandable why the rating is so low. I don’t speak French, and neither do a majority of the people rating these. I don’t really love the way Jacques sings here. I didn’t get much entertainment out of this one. But, it’s getting somewhat of a pass this time. Yesterday’s album was in English and I outright detested it. This one was at least fun, gracefully short, and has the built in excuse of being in a foreign language. It’s not what I’m looking for, but it’s fun. Would that be a reason that a majority of reviewers are going to rate this one pretty low?? Yeah, for sure, obviously. But, you can tell without speaking French that Mr. Brel is a talented singer, even though this isn’t really my thing at all. I think my favorite song was “Les jardins du casino”. Why?? Don’t know. Doesn’t matter. The instruments were fun enough throughout the album, and the obvious passion put into this man’s craft elevates it to at least a 2 for me. Not nearly enough for a 3, but I can at least see the reason someone from France in the 60’s would go crazy for something like this. It’s not bad, but it’s not for me, and it’s probably not for most people in general honestly. But, I can see why it’s here, even if I’d have liked another Pearl Jam album or 2 instead. This is my first experience with a “Chanson” on the site. Humorously, of the 6 listed on the site, every single one of them has a 2 star rating, which will likely end up matching my own takes on all of them if they end up sounding anything like this one. One of them is even in the bottom 20 rated albums on the website. Knowing my luck this week, I’m going to end up rolling it pretty soon, or just another Chanson in general. I can’t say I’m the most excited about any of them. The French make outstanding Electronica, but I’m not so fond of the Chanson from what little I’ve heard so far, and it would seem I’m not in the minority when it comes to that take either. We’ll see when the site decides to spring Chanson 2/6 on me so I can verify whether or not they all kind of sound like this or not. Until then, this one is a very comfortable 2 stars out of 5.

I am not a big fan of live albums but yet, I am happy that Jacques Brel was able to make his mark in a list such as this one. I think it is a short and interesting listen but I'd much rather hear the studio version in this case. 7/10 [SWAP]

Kinda fun considering i dont speak the language

As always, it’s difficult for me, who is woefully monolingual, to rate a non-English album when lyrics are the focal point if the songs. Evidently, Brel was deeply influential in France and Belgium. Unfortunately, I don’t really understand why—just that he WAS. This album didn’t offend my ears, but it seemed behind the times for the 1960s, so, perhaps unfairly, I’m giving it a 2.

I really wanted to like this more than I did, especially with Scott Walker and David Bowie such big fans. I suppose it demonstrates a certain level of sophistication to enjoy Jacques Brel, sadly a level I don't appear to have.

It’s real tough to like a big band singer when you hate the voice.

Maybe this was really high quality for its time? I’m not sure. I’ll never know. The guy has a good clear French voice, that’s as much praise as I can give. Just so so dated when it comes to listening in the 2020’s. Two points for signing about casino gardens, they’re underrated

I give Brel and his devotees the benefit of the doubt I'm missing something about this music's aesthetic quality or historical significance because I'm not a French adult in 1964 whose never heard rock n roll before. He doesn't seem like an explosively powerful performer or have a magnetic singing voice. The songwriting and instrumentation are pretty traditional. When I heard "Le plat pays," though, I did pause at its weird beauty; I feel there's SOMETHING here on this album I'm not understanding (besides the French lyrics). I think he's handsome and has a cool demeanor, so maybe I'm actually over-enchanted despite not loving most of these songs. I dunno, I'd like to think I would have been listening to jazz or Varese or something if I were a continental European in 1964.

These old live singer-songwriter albums really rely on 2 components: the singer's voice and the lyrics. Because typically, the backing instrumentation is pretty simple and just enough to be a platform for the singer. Not only that, since it's live, the instrumentation is washed out by reverb and poor recording equipment. So back to the 2 components. The singing: It was alright. Not a performance that blew me away by any means. But you can definitely feel that it packed a punch and was just odd enough to stand out. The lyrics: well I can't really comment. Because I don't speak French anymore and I can't be asked to translate this whole thing. It would be great to give some love to some of the more diverse albums here but if I'm being honest, I wasn't feeling this one. Amsterdam was probably my favorite track.

Was alright. Not really my thing.

an excellent singer, with lyrics up front, and well written. but you better be a fan of that style of what was considered pop music of the time

Belgian Nan-Rock! But seriously, there was something about Amsterdam, but in French... Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ Nan ★★☆☆☆ (3/10) Total reviewed : 222 Already owned : 50 Purchased : 11 To buy list : 3 Nope : 158

lol what is this? Why is it here? It's not bad, but a top 1,001 of all-time? French sounds so silly, especially in this context. While I know the most convenient thing would have been to record this live, but there's no live element that benefits this album over being a studio recording. The applause is distracting and makes everything a little disjointed. I was going to maybe call this album good, but I think the only good thing on this album is his vocal control. I will be glad to never listen to this again. Favorite Song(s): none

Very charming, but ultimately not my thing. I do love the Song Amsterdam, but I prefer the Scott Walker version. 3/10

I'm sure someone likes this

Huh…?

Very disjointed with songs seemingly from different concerts, and not a voice that cuts across all languages.

203/1001 Jacques Brel - Olympia 64 Heard before? ❎ Revisit? ❎ The name isn't a new one to me, but his music is. When the music is so vocal forward and you don't understand the lyrical content, you need to love that voice to embrace it. Unfortunately, it grated on me right from the off. On the other hand, it's mercifully short at 28 minutes.

2/5 - Very much not for me. Generally not a fan of live albums but the recording seems to have been done well for this one. Easily the Frenchest album I've ever heard.

Knowing the translations for these songs won't make this any better for me. The music is playful and entertaining, but I don't find his voice anything but average... like this album.

Exhausting!

A live performance of a Belgian singer singing in French backed by an orchestral ensemble. It was OK. Like watching a very old foreign film with a scene in a restaurant or club with a band.

I could tell it was great but I didn’t love it

Absolutely great album

Good on Robert for including something non-English on the list. But this? I question the authenticity of his efforts.

This album has me feeling really indifferent. I doubt I will remember this album for anything good or bad.

OK, I feel awful giving this a bad score, because I'm sure it's all my fault. The thing he's doing with his throat sounds like the sound you make when you're pretending to speak underwater. I've been to France plenty of times, I'm aware there is a guttural aspect to the language, but for some reason, this guy bugs me. Other than that, it's pop music, which in this case is fine, I guess? But I'm not sure *why* this album must be listened to before death. So overall, I'm not sure it's bad, but I hated it and it was hard for me to listen to half an hour of guttural throat noises, so 2 stars it is.

There were 2 songs I couldn't find anywhere but i think 3/4 of this record gives me enough to judge. Musically interesting though, and i think French is a very musical language, it's hard to listen in a language I don't understand. I read along with translations so I got an appreciation for the meaning i think. Hard to give it more than 2 stars though.

Gaullist nonsense

Does nothing for me

Not something I would listen to

A period piece, and quite interesting to hear it. Clearly a guy with loads of charisma.

To quote renowned music critic Austin Powers, this sort of thing ain't my bag, baby.

Appreciate it. Millions of French can’t be wrong.

If I stay true to my thoughts about rating, I have to give this a 2. I mean it's not bad, but it's just not something I would select to put on. And TBH, it's something I would probably turn the channel on if it came in and I had control. Made especially for grandmas with plastic on their couches and covering their carpets.

No another live album! He clearly tries, but the recording quality is pretty trash. I don't know enough french to appreciate the lyricism.

Traditional pop that's limited by the confines of its tradition. Brel is great here; his vocals - especially on the opener "Amsterdam" - carry the performance. He injects every song with a dramatic flair that elevates the music. That music is pleasant, but it lacks variety. There are ballads and more upbeat tracks, but they all feel somewhat predictable. Of course the focus here is likely on the lyrics - I don't speak a lick of French but from reading about chanson the story and poetry of the lyrics seem to be the most important part of the songs. Regardless of lyrical quality, this makes for songs that are often hookless and just a vessel for those stories. And without some kind of variety, it can feel like the same song with different stories. Probably a great performance in 1964, but I would long for something exciting to happen if I were to see it today. I like the accordion though.

Thankfully a short album. At times it was ok but most of the time all I could think of was Joey Tribbiani trying to speak French.

If I was 30 years older I might like this, but I'm not and I don't. 2 stars or D.

Français en tabarnak (je sais, je sais; il est né belge). Points for the poetry, and that's about it.

France in the '60's has that classic romantic sound, but that doesn't mean it makes for good listening. Doubly so when it's a terribly mixed live album. That said, he reminds me of a French Sinatra or Martin; a crooner.

Heel dramatisch maar het heeft wel wat ofzo

French singing with piano and other instruments. Good voice but I disliked the crowd noise.

I'm sorry, I'm sure this is great but I can't take it in 😏

Very very French. Like I get it, it’s in French, it’s going to be French, but this was like cartoony level French. Besides that distracting part, I will say that this is one of the better sounding live albums I’ve listened to. Besides a couple tracks I doubt you’d even guess that it’s all live. Very dramatic at times that I could almost believe that this is a soundtrack of a musical. Not bad at all but definitely not for me unfortunately. I think my favorite track was “les vieux” but I will not be adding it to any of my playlists due to the audience noise that was discordantly loud at the beginning of the track.

Sorry, but i don't speak French

2 - No es mi estilo

Apparently a lot of the praise for this derives from the lyrics. But I'm not French, nor do I speak French, so I'm a bit buggered in that department. Therefore I can only rate the music rather than what he says, which I tend to favour anyway. I don't like his voice, the music is overly theatrical at some points and boring at others, I don't like how he's looking at me on the cover. Very generous 2, probably the most generous 2 I've given. It wasn't exactly unbearable to listen to, and I did enjoy the first song somewhat. It also is a quick listen, doesn't overstay it's welcome.

First album i've rated thats entirely sung in a foreign language (French). This isn’t my usual genre, but I can appreciate its dramatic, theatrical nature and the passion in his singing. Even without understanding the lyrics, the emotion translated. I could still feel it. What I really appreciated was how uniquely immersive it felt hearing these songs performed live rather than in a studio. The crowd, the pacing, the atmosphere it all adds to the whole album. I could picture him on stage just from the audio all through out the album. Standouts for me: Amsterdam.

1. amzterdam - 1 2. vieuz - 1.5 3. tango - 1 4. plat - 2.5 5. timidez -1.5 6. cazino - 1 7. Repas - 1.5 8. Toros -1.5

What? Okay, it's not that I dislike it or that it's in a language that I can't understand. It's just that it's soooo wordy, lyrically important and the voice is especially what the music is focused on. As an English speaker this doesn't leave me with much than a bunch of passionate syllabls. And that gets old pretty fast. For foreign music like this to work for me there has to be a really great mood and backing music. This lacks this.

Yea this one was rough. Nice enough voice. Also under 30 minutes

I suppose I am not Gallic enough (at all) to like this all that much. Monsieur can belt it out, an no doubt to the 60s French heart these were stirring as hell--so, respect to you Jacques!--but too melodramatic for me.

Part of the problem here for me is lack of context (which I don’t have time to rectify), but I didn’t find this terribly compelling or interesting.

French bullshit

French/Belgium crooner performing live? Not exactly a must listen to me.

Bro PLEASE clear your throat bro please

If you’ve ever wondered what it sounds like when a man wrestles with his own soul in front of a cheering crowd, this is it. Eight songs, 28 minutes, and enough emotional intensity to power a small French village. Brel doesn’t just sing—he attacks every lyric like it owes him money. The audience? Absolutely loving it. Me? Mostly wondering why my O Level French didn’t prepare me for this linguistic hurricane. I managed to spot “window” and “fish,” which I’m fairly sure weren’t central themes, but hey—small victories.

Jag föredrar hans bror Kjell Brel, ingenting på den här skivan är lika bra som hans "Under en filt i Madrid" Amsterdam har man ju hört i en mängd versioner, inte minst Scott Walkers och jag föredrar den. De långsammare låtarna funkar bättre än försöken till upptempo, det är ungefär vad jag har att säga. På cdversionen finns Mathilde med, den känner man också igen för den har Tom Waits gjort Svag 2a

Det låter lite som Leonard Cohen, lite som Sven-Bertil Taube. Fast på franska. Och förstås tidigare. Rätt trevligt att lyssna på en gång eller två. Men kommer kanske inte att göra det igen. Hade jag förstått franska hade jag måhända fått ut mer av det. Eller inte.

En rättvis bedömning hade nog krävt vissa kunskaper i det franska språket. Emellertid, Brel har en fin röst och arrangemangen förmedlar definitivt en viss stämning. Kanske skulle betyg varit högre, men jag går utgå från den information jag har.

Jag kan inte franska och då faller det mesta med den här inspelningen för. Varken rösten eller musiken är tillräckligt intressant för att stå på egna ben utan texten. Därmed blir det väldigt svårbedömt för mig.

You can’t make me finish this.

French.

Someone please go fetch me my escargot s'il te plaît

I don't know who this is for but I know it isn't me.

it's a nothing burger album but it's in french so that gives it some points !!!

It's really hard to appreciate someone who supposedly has really solid lyrics when you don't speak the same language. That being said, it felt a bit spastic during most of the album. Also I'm not a huge live album guy as I've mentioned before. Also it's all in French so that's gonna cost it a star.

Too French for my liking

Didn't enjoy

Ok 2/5

Ehh

French

This was the Frenchest thing I’ve ever consumed. I wish I was alive in the 60s cuz apparently you didn’t need much talent to become popular or remembered.

Nah

No one makes me listen to a French man

French cocktail lounge music. Not my thing.

This is #day441 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… all right, here's some chanson. I appreciate this record being on the list, though at times it felt a little too French for me. I'll land on a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day442.

Completely new to me. Spotify has an 8 track album, but wikipedia has 15. Apparently 8 is the original, and 15 is a reissue. I'm gonna listen to the 8. I've had some long albums recently, so I'll take the under half hour option. Track 1: I don't speak French. Won't even bother trying to understand. Won't look at the lyrics. Just vibes. He likes to trill those r's. A gradual builder. Kind of wish I could see what he is doing. Interesting. Track 2: So, apparently, this style is lyrics-focused. Not understanding the language, I feel like I'm missing a key ingredient. He seems to be singing with a lot of expressiveness. I like the instruments. But my mind is wandering. A bit languorous. Track 3: Awesome. Felt like a scene from L'Atalante. Track 4: Kind of stopped paying attention. Track 5: There are two things taking me out. One is the lack of lyrical understanding. I won't carp on that anymore. The other is, I personally prefer to hear a studio album first, and I prefer to watch live albums than just listening. Track 6: Other than Track 3, I probably won't playlist any song. Not active music for me. Definitely background though. Track 7: Nevermind, this one also gets playlisted. Track 8: Yup. Good background. Overall: Good background music. Nothing bad. Nothing great. I feel like I like the ability to fully enjoy it. So in my limited capacity, it's okay. 2/5.

It sounded kinda good but a whole album was way too much kinda good.

i didn’t hate it.

oui oui fav track: "les plat pays"

If this were in English, I'm certain I would still hate it.

Eh? As a live album, Olympia 1964 did not wow me, or interest me much at all. The album being in French and capturing popular music of France in the sixties is about the highlight for me. Jacques Brel at least had the decency to make a short album, though the production left a lot to be desired.

I didn't really enjoy this all that much. The genre is called "Chanson", which I had never heard of before. It was kind of like French opera, but not even that fully describes it. Still, it was very lyric-driven. That said, I think opera would have been preferable. The recording for this was pretty crappy too, making for a subpar listening experience.

Interesting once I looked up the artist found how many were influenced by his work. It isn’t something I would choose to listen to but am glad I did.

Ne me quitte pas is an amazing, sad, mournful song. On a different album though. I don't know any French, so the content of the songs here largely passed me by, and the atmosphere was sorrowful throughout. Funereal. Struggled with an entire album of this.

Never heard of this guy, don't really like the style of music, and my french is not good enough to understand the meaning of any of it..... Makes it very difficult to give a fair review of! The live recording sounds terrible too, perhaps unsurprisingly. Not for me, sorry Jacques, which is mainly my problem, not yours. 1.5

Loved the first song. The emotion and style of unguarded singing...very cool. Unfortunately, after that it pretty quickly lost its novelty for me. Glad it's on here, though. Refreshing to get something so different.

It offers very little musically, I don’t really like his voice and while I’m sure the lyrics are probably good if you understand them, I’ve just got to work with what I’ve got which is very limited French and therefore I couldn’t enjoy this one much. 2 stars

You really need to double check here, whether this is by an actual French person, or an incredibly racist impression of a French person. It's the former, but I now know who inspired every terrible accent in 'Allo 'Allo. Anyway, the songs are quite bad, the singing is extremely stupid, but it's short, and sometimes that's enough.

French 🤢

I don’t speak French, so it feels unfair to rate an album that is so heavily lyric based. Best Song: Amsterdam 4/10

Très français. Deux croissants s'il vous plaît.

Well, he's definitely got a lot of passion. This wasn't bad at all but I don't think I'd relisten, so the 2.5 has to get rounded down.

This is something. I don't like live albums, I've said it before. I feel like about 1/10th of this album was applause. That detracts from the album itself. There's some interesting things in this, but it's so short and so full of applause breaks it just felt like a slog. 2/5

Fine but I'm not really the target audience here.

Not gonna lie, this bored me as I found most of the songs sounded the same. Best songs were Amsterdam and Le Pays Plat. 2.5

Not for me.

I would like to say I appreciate this enough to understand why it is on this list, but I just can’t get there.

Ihan ok ei ehkä niin mulle.

No.

Uhm. Mr. Jacques "Strap" Brel has a decent enough voice, but I think this album is just a little bit too froofy-goofy for me. Fave song: - Tango funèbre (only because of those silly ass noises this man is making. What in the French hell)

Worst N64 game ever.

Different, I liked the playfulness and some of the chord progressions were pretty inspiring. But it’s hard to really connect with it when everything is in French.

This is a hard one to rate. It's definitely a unique listening experience, and doesn't overstay its welcome, but did I really like any of it? Not that much. It's good music, still. French is a lovely language and this dude's voice is certainly pleasant, but there's obviously a barrier since I imagine that this music is very lyrically driven!

Aggressively French. This is just very, very stereotypically French. I mean, it's so French. It's fine, but I don't know when I would ever listen to it apart from trying to set an atmosphere over a candlelit dinner.

Not my thing I guess

Maybe fitting for a French themed cooking sesh

Pros: rolling French Rs are never not funny to imitate, album is under half an hour. Clearly a talented chanteur. Cons: not really for me, no thanks.

This is the first Jacques Brel music I’ve listened to, possibly because everything is in French. He gets credit for being passionate about his singing, and he might earn a higher rating if I understood the lyrics. The music is ok, but too theatrical for my taste.

It's so funny how good France is at all culture except for music. Art, philosophy, film, literature, architecture, photography, fashion, food: they're up there with the greats - the course of 20th c culture passes through Paris and its colonies. But Daft Punk/Air aside, they're total duds musically - so much so that their best guy, French Sinatra, is Belgian! Maybe they're too addicted to their own language to really let music do it's thing. That's why Chanson and Hip Hop have been their preferred genres, poems set to music. Anyway, this album is a pretty fun one - a great expressive voice full of drama delivering the verses with full force, accompanied by loungey piano, cafe-ass accordion, some light bass touches. It has a very cartoony animated feel to it contrasting the lyrics' dark take on modern life and love.

Despite being Canadian, my French knowledge isn't great so this review isn't about the lyrics at all. They could be amazing, or they could be terrible...I have no idea. If this album was just "Amsterdam" then it would have been a 5-star album! Amsterdam kicks off the album with a ton of energy...which from there the album can't recover from. The rest of the album (minus the last track) is much slower. I feel like building up and putting Amsterdam at the end would have made this a much more enjoyable experience. 2.5/5

Lyrics gotta lyric and HS French wasn't quite enough

struggled to vibe with this but tbf, i don't speak French

I wanted to like this, but I just didn’t. Maybe I need to sit with it more, but not this time.

"The Elvis Presley of French Pop." Je n'aime pas du tout ça. Le jeu trop emphatique et le manque total de charme ne sont pas mis en valeur par la mauvaise qualité de la production. Le public est enthousiaste, alors peut-être que je passe à côté de quelque chose à cause de la traduction (ou plutôt de l'absence de traduction).

Je ne suis pas qualifié pour noter cela, mais je n'aime pas ça.

Chansons and particularly Brel should be listened to live, so I don't mind this being another live album. This doesn't change the fact that this is still not my music.

Biased because I love David Bowie and he often talks about what a big influence Brel was on him. I haven’t ever actually listened to Brel though I love Bowies covers of Amsterdam and My Death. This album wasn’t a relisten for me but I did like two of the songs a lot

Some good storytelling (well, as far as I can tell with my rusty French skills), and some really intricate arrangements. But some of the lyrics are very "rhyme, or I have ways of making you rhyme", and musically, it's kind of same-y as the lyrics/storytelling takes center stage.

Feels like it’s kind of off limits for a 1 because I don’t speak French But know that I was close

This is a very random album to end up on this very English-biased list. Overall, it didn’t really work for me.

Another one that just isn't really for me. I didn't think it was bad, but I didn't feel like I could appreciate it fully without more info and context. On its own, it was vocal heavy, instrumentation light, and a live performance. The lyrics were in French, so I didn't know much of what was sang. All that added up to me feeling a bit left out. The vocalist was lively, so that was a plus. He was emotive and clear, using emphasis to tell his stories. Even without understanding him, I could feel his passion come through. I'm guessing he put on a bit of a show at the concert performance as well. It felt almost more like listening to a musical soundtrack than a concert. I want to be fair, and I do think it was a decent listen. None of the songs struck me as bad. I just know I am missing out on some of what makes it an addition to this list, and it's not a style I usually seek out. For my experience, I can't say I thought it was more than fine. Overall: 2.25/5

I guess I can see how some people might be into this. It’s more of a vocal performance? I can’t imagine being in this crowd and enjoying it that much. The band is decent, though.

I really expected a lot of this, but I feel underwhelmed at the end? All very samey.

It's something

On one hand this was pleasant enough, on another it wasn’t anything that interesting or worth writing home about, not to mention live albums are not generally my cup of tea, (I also don’t think live albums should be included because there will be glaring omissions but that’s another complaint) I also feel very confident I could’ve died without hearing this and not feel any different

I mean… not good right? It all just blended together. His singing was weird and seemed to not carry a tune. His voice didn’t sound very good. The music was forgettable. I listened to it on a drive and it repeated once it finished and I didn’t notice until halfway through because none of the songs stuck out. Feel free to remove this one off the list

28 min felt like an hour. lyric heavy music over sparse instrumentation when you don't understand a word of french kinda feel like you walked in to the wrong place. it is probably important to french music but it is hard when the music don't really do much and the language barrier makes it pretty inaccessible.

Listened while mowing the lawn. Just not my style but the guy has pipes

Bonjour, it's like deja vu, my chauffeur said it's like belle epoque with Grey poupon in baton rouge. Pairs well with chicken cordon bleu and a baguette. Merci

2/5

#609. Not gonna lie, I only listened to the first song. I'm sure someone that cares that I'm mispronouncing the word croissant could explain why this is important, but honestly I probably wouldn't listen anyway. 2/5: not my jam

Hmm, not sure what to call this, a French crooner? It’s okay, not really my thing. The instrumentation was fairly interesting.

Fun album, I like how hype the crowd is. I do not understand French though

I was hoping to get past the language barrier on this one despite Chanson being a lyrics focused genre. Sadly I was unable to, Jacques gives an emotive performance but the melodies within the songs sadly left me dry. I understand why a figure like Jacques belongs on this list and I can appreciate him from a distance but this album wasn't for me.

Very French. They sound like Tom Leher, a bit, except that I can't understand the jokes. 1.5/5

i wish i knew french

Ive never been a huge fan of this guy. His music isnt for me but he was super influentila to David Bowie who i do like so extra points for that Favourite: None Least Favourite: Le plat pays

Not my cup of tea. 2/5

French. (2)

In one ear and out the other.

hes got a beautiful voice but major snore at times. I don't know if im just not in the place of my musical journey to appreciate this, but after one or two songs I was just like ok i get it. Its FINE.

Meh - could've died without listening. Not even knocking it because it's french - just not that great.

France does not have the right to exist

Sacrebleu! This album has a certain je ne sais quoi but I shan’t spin it again.

10/10 for French learners

I wanted to like this - more because I'm a francophile and than anything else - but meh. Didn't hate it, didn't love it, didn't get the hype?

Jacques … use your inside voice dude

I feel like there’s an insurmountable amount of context necessary for this to have any impact on me.

Umm I guess this good?!? I don’t speak French so I don’t know what this guy is singing. I guess if French lounge music is your thing this album is for you. Correction I understood the word Amsterdam.

That’s my second non-English album. I like French singers but even more so if they are female. This record was not bad or anything but I did not enjoy it either. He did sing his ass off though. One star for the beautiful French, one star for his effort.

French

Sounded like a French crooner. It was okay, not really something I would like even if it was in English. 2.5/5 Probably won’t listen again

Enjoyable French live album, you can tell he was/is loved. I will not rush back to relisten but I appreciated quality songs and quality arrangements. Album includes the track Amsterdam.

Ah, Papa Outai in the flesh. 2.5/5

Definitely not an album I would have ever listened to. I did listen to the album 3 times thru. The last time I listened while reading translations of the lyrics into English. Not an album I would listen to again. Not my style. One of the first things I thought of when I started listening to this was that there was so much art and changes going on in the world in the 60’s and this was definitely not part of the progression.

I always wonder how someone who was clearly not very talented was able to have a successful career in music. This album sounds like a guy just woke up one day, said “I’m making music now,” and did it early enough in history that no one had anything better to compare it to, so they just assumed it must be good.

As far as Chansons go, I'm not a huge Brel guy but solid stuff here. Maybe I'll get more into it another day.

French Pop from the 60s is not at all what I expected to find on this list. Amsterdam is awesome, but the rest of the album can’t quite compare.

French chansons, very impassioned. 60s. Very minimalist, pretty pointless if you don’t understand the lyrics, very text focused.

Why do all these French singers sound like they'd be pedophiles

It was very French.

Musica francesa dos anos 60. Irrelevante pra mim, apenas por questão histórica.

Great singer, did not understand one word so unfortunately it gets a 2. Would be a 3 maybe 4 if I spoke French, thats on me.

Yawn soz

Scary nursey rhymes by Belgium man.

Wi wi

It's short so that is good, but I couldn't understand the majority of it and I'm still not a fan of live albums. If I wanted clapping distorting the music I would do it myself.

Made me feel like I was in Paris. Paris is tops on my list of places I never want to visit, right behind Somalia and Libya.

It was fun for about 1.5 songs. I don’t know anything about this style of music but it seemed solid.

In terms of lyrics, I was lost as I sadly I don’t speak French (yet), but musically and emotionally pretty good although not really my type of music. I can imagine how he was important to French culture. However, it’s another live album. As I’ve said a thousand times, give me a compilation of studio recordings rather than lives. The applause and white noise after each song were very annoying. I had to skip to the next track as soon as it was done. For that I have to give it a 2, although I would give it a 3 generally, I imagine.

I imagine 98% of the audience for this concert were smoking cigarettes while sipping drinks at a round table with two chairs. I bet Jacques Brel was even smoking between songs and the room was hazy with the air of smoke. I can almost smell it. I don't know what he's saying but I could have gone without the bizarre laughing on Track 3. I know this book needed to put older music in because there were notable artists prior to the Beatles.

Hard to rate because I don't even know what you would call this. I'm sure it's supposed to be good for what it is, but I didn't care for it and wouldn't ever listen to it again.

Interesting, and I enjoyed the music, but it’s a tough listen when you don’t speak the language. Also, it appears based on some research that this is clever lyrically - unfortunately, didn’t get to experience that.

2.5, don't know French, but some nice cooking background music

Gee... a live album! in French!! C'est bon... non

De verdad quería que me gustara, pero hay algo en su canto que me disgusta. Eso y el hecho que no entiendo ni mierda lo que está diciendo. Usualmente no es problema con idiomas que no manejo, pero en este caso era necesario ya que al parecer es una de las gracias de Brel.

List: no

Gear: Dunu SA6 Artwork: 📸🧑‍💼👂 Production: 😐🙂👌 Music: 🇧🇪🎤🧟 Rating: 🍟🍟(🍟)/5

live french (or italian) album from the 60's.

Jaques Brel is the king of French chansons. His voice is amazing and this must have been some live show, amazing. This album was all a bit much of the same. He's getting some nostalgia points as really the album is only one star as his voice is not an excuse for a boring album.

2/3

I just relocated after living for 3 years living in a French-speaking territory. Listening to this gave me PTSD.

I did try. I did! But it isn't for me. I couldn't really find many positives either .. maybe it was a bit Gotan-y without a decent beat?

Have to be in the mood for this

2.2 Just really really not my thing - no idea what he's saying - naff genre - 60s fidelity recording - overenthusiastic clapping At least with other 60s recordings on here I've thought that even if the quality is bad, you can tell it would have been class to be there. If I found myself transported to this gig right now I'd make a swift exit to the bar.

This isn't for me. Chason has been long forgotten for a good reason, but... Brel still oozes cool. Supremely talented but too dated for me. 2/5

Overall: 3/10 You can hear the emotion and power in his voice, but this really is not my type of music. Fav Song: Amsterdam Least Fav Song:

French parish crooner. He’s good for what he does. Not my thing. 2.5

Interesting, but I don't understand french.

LETS FUCKING GO ITS NOT DAD ROCK!! wait im a lyricshead and i dont speak any fucking french. shit. uh he said poisson i know that one. and amsterdam. this guy has a major cigarette voice ian was right. i find the like 7 minutes of clapping on every track of a live album really annoying almost all the time ngl (unless its somebody i like then its fine). yeah this is really not doing it for me even at all so much for my dreams of an actually lovable album. nothing actively awful i just cant get into this guy singing he sounds like hes in some movie musical on tango funèbre. sorry bro stromae can sing in french u r not stromae tho. have we had a single artist yet whos not a white european? (googles) oh right. AC/DC are white australians. my bad :/ le dernier repas is a little interesting! the 1st thing so far thats rlly grabbed me boring but i cant understand if hes saying anything misogynistic bc i dont speak french so itll be a 2 from me

was not able to find an english translation for any songs besides the first one (after looking for 30 seconds) which dulled my experience a little bit. the vocals are emotive & the clear focal point here; the way seemingly control the music is neat. the orchestral accompaniment has some neat moments (the theremin bro?) but ultimately takes a backseat. there's a few pleasant songs throughout the very short runtime but regardless of the sophistication level of the frenchman involved this kind of thing goes in one ear & out the other. if it was Tom Waits this would be a different story live show sounds like it would've been a blast though those french people were eating that shit up

Not sure I’m French enough to fully appreciate this, but it was certainly worth listening to.

This is a bit of a stretch, but go with me - I felt the same way about this as I did about Straight Outta Compton. Just like I am not young black man enough to appreciate the context and feeling behind SOC, I am nowhere near enough "elderly Frenchman smoking a Galoise outside a bistro at 11am" to appreciate Jacques Brel. He's clearly got a massive fan base, as the crunchy applause after every song attests, but it's undeniably not my thing. And this tiny, half hour, eight song snippet of the man was not enough to sway me on this. Thanks Jacques, but non merci.

baguette escargot pain au chocolate

Old French songs combine two of my least favourite things

Not being a confident French speaker probably hurts my enjoyment of this. I knew Amsterdam through the Scott Walker version, but everything else is new to me, and it’s … it’s music, I guess. Didn’t hate it, didn’t enjoy it, never listening to it again.

I'm sure this had some significance in 1964, especially to the French, but, at this time, to an American, I found no pleasure in listening to this recording. It isn't terrible music, so I'll give it a 2, but I didn't find it interesting, progressive, or something I feel has any lasting influence on me or most of the music I listen to.

Overrated

I don't like chanson when it's sung in English, so I definitely don't want to hear it in French. Love David Bowie's version of Amsterdam, but that's it for me - no more chanson.

Amsterdam

spoken word is great if you know the language if not then 2/5

Eh.

Mwah

Old french singer. This is a live version of the album. I listened to the whole album. Wasn't that bad, but I don't know what he was singing about.

Minus one for being a live album. Plus one for being short, so that cancels out. 2 stars because every song sounds the same. Fine for background music at a fancy restaurant, I guess.

Not my tempo

It was ok. I just couldn't get into it.

Not really my music

for me to get into a foreign language album, it has to be something really special. and while this is pretty different, i just couldn’t get into it. having said that, the crowd seems REALLY into it.

Live french lounge-esque singing from the sixties. Meh.

I only speak a bit of French so there easily could have been something I missed here. The crowd seemed to enjoy it enough but if I have to listen to a French language album, give me something by Edith Piaf any day of the week

Wasn't for me. Glad it was short (<30 min).

Fine. Nothing remarkable.

Thankfully a short album. I assume this is fine if you're into this sort of thing... I'm not.

Twee old fashioned French. First track is Greensleeves for gods sake

Je m'appelle Laurence. J'aime la musique. Je voudrais des pomme de frites. Je jouer dans la piscine. With such a primary-school level grasp of French, it's perhaps no surprise that this album by Jacques Brel was mostly lost on me. Of all the non-English language recordings on the list, I've found this one has presented the most significant language barrier so far. This is such a moot, annoying criticism, because it's entirely on the listener for not speaking French well. What was Brel supposed to do: overdub a line-by-line translator, or learn a new language simply so lazy Brits could enjoy his music more? My issue is that the Brel songs I've heard are more notable for their lyrical detail, and less so for the music. Going by the English translation, the lyrics of "Les Vieux" are absolutely beautiful, and pure poetry: a haunting and devastating account of people growing old. "Amsterdam" is the same in its iconic gritty rendering of a seedy yet enticing town. The other songs across this album are probably just as powerful, but the trouble is I'd never know this from hearing them alone, and so can't factor that in to "Olympia '64" as a listening experience. The live setting on "Olympia '64" doesn't help, with intrusive crowd noise and a limited, flat production which probably doesn't serve the dramatic arrangements in the best way possible. Brel's vocal quality is very good, being passionate and theatrical throughout. I also must acknowledge that his influence in popular music looms large: tracks on this album alone have been covered most notably by Scott Walker (who released an entire album of Brel covers) and David Bowie ("Amsterdam"), Marc Almond, John Denver… the list goes on. But without further ado, I'm lazily slapping two stars on this album as a reminder to learn a new language and thus gain a greater appreciation of Brel's incredible lyrical gift.

Could barely understand a word this guy was saying. 2/5

French Bing Crosby.

Not particularly interesting, but not actively offensive, either.

ces chansons est comme qqch ma prof de français en annee 10 nous a forcé écouter et puis traduire. je n'ai pas apprécié les flashbacks, à bas les français !

They were performed well but I didn’t like the songs.

I prefer Super Mario 64. "Amsterdam" was jaw-dropping, but then he started baguetting all over the place and I completely lost him.

Live albums are cheating

First listen Saved 2/8 Top track: Amsterdam

Funny

Not my thing. That was some very dramatic vocals. I kind of wish I had been focusing more so I could understand more of what he was singing about.

Not my jam

I truly wish I could speak French or at least understand it. I hear a lot of commitment and passion in his voice, but have no idea what he's saying. "ough, baguette!"

So incredibly French.

Wikipedia tells me this genre is Chanson, which they also tell me is generally any lyric-driven French song. Too bad I don't speak French so the lyrics are lost on me.

Great musician and phenomenal live singer, but I'm unfortunately not fond of this type of old-school, French music. 2 stars

It was ok. Kind of sounded like sad circus music. I like some albums where I don’t know the language, but not this one.

Not terrible, but not for me.

Ça n’est pas si bon.

It sounds good, I'm not really qualified to talk about the contents of it that much. Will I listen to again: %1

Could not be more French Didn't hate it, but wouldn't seek it out 2.5?

2.5? Rounding down because doesn’t inspire me to seek more

Oui oui, hoh hoh hoh. Very French and something different. Probably won't return but I had fun

Sounds like Pepé Le Pew

Interesting

Not for me but what a performance!

not really what I'm looking for

I was hoping for more french lounge like Gainsbourg than musique francophone. It's fine

Not something I'd listen too, but I didn't think it was too bad.

I now know why Bowie covered Amsterdam. As for the rest of album I had to give up, it's hard work listening to a foreign language album.

2 strs

This feels like an 'important' record but I put it on and pretty much forgot it was on until the mass cheering at the end. You probably had to be there. May revisit when I have more time to listen properly.

Qu'est-ce que c'est? Not for me, mate. I lived out my Parisian fantasises for a short while. My own ignorance defeated me.

5.5/10

Failing high school French probably impeded my enjoyment

Not bad but not my jam...

This is too remote for me. I assume it is great storytelling and all that, but musically I find this of no particular interest to me. Ultimately I cannot really judge this.

I usually like the foreign language albums on this list, but I couldn't get into this one.

I guess if I grew up in Vichy France this guy would also blow my mind. Obviously a live album has its limitations in 1964, but this looses a lot of depth. La valse a Mille temps autoplayed after this, and sounds so much more clean and was recorded 5 years prior. Maybe there’s some remastering going on since it was released later but it should’ve been the pick here. You might think Brel is kind of a lifeless singer that came from money. Listen to Mille a temps and you’ll know he’s a decent singer that came from money.

Often say I wish there was more non-Anglo music on the list, I kinda get why there isn’t as much with this song. It is clearly a lyric driven song and I have no idea what he’s saying. The vocals are fine to below average and the backing music is uninteresting. Really just not much to appreciate as a non-French speaker. Also still anti-live album

Итс олрайт, особенно вот Amsterdam, но музыка не моя. Лучшая песня - Amsterdam.

I only got through this once and I’m pretty sure I won’t listen again. Probably mostly stylistically this wasn’t all that interesting to me. As with so many records from the ‘pre-rock’ era that are on this list I am very happy for the one listen.

another lIve album that I could live without... I am probably suffering from not speaking french well enough to understand ...

Not my vibe, also not my language.

Guess it’s for someone. It’s an okay time. Just underwhelming and I don’t speak French and this guys voice is not super pretty and en never stops.

That was the most stereotypically French thing I’ve ever heard. I imagine he did that whole thing while wearing a beret and carrying a baguette. The recording also kinda sucks.

Amsterdam Les Toros Tango Funèbre

Idk what this mf is saying, but the emotion and drama of the music is easily felt. Pleasant arrangements with an orchestra with a sweet accordion. Started cool - Amsterdam is a great track - but I lost interest as it went on. Probably would enjoy more if I understood the language…

Pas mon truc

This was just fine. Operatic, French, I can appreciate that the guy was technically good but every song sounded the same and it’s not a genre I like even in English.

I find it hard to keep a straight face while trying to listen to this... he's so... spirited?

Meh Standout songs: Amsterdam les Jardins du Casino

Rating: 5/10 Meh.

(I'm a native french speaker fyi) Never really listened to Brel before other than maybe at my grandparents house. I don't really like the lyrics even though it's partly what he's known for. What I will admit is that the emotion in his voice is extraordinary, it really draws you in. You can't ignore his immense talent. But yeah it's not really my cup of tea and it kinda makes me feel sad lol