Histoire de Melody Nelson is a 1971 concept album by controversial French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. The Lolita-esque pseudo-autobiographical plot involves the middle-aged Gainsbourg unintentionally colliding his Rolls Royce Silver Ghost into teenage nymphet Melody Nelson's bicycle, and the subsequent seduction and romance that ensues. Histoire de Melody Nelson is considered by many critics and fans to be Gainsbourg's most influential and accomplished album.
At just under twenty-eight minutes, the short running time and the stylistic consistency and similarity throughout the album gives it qualities more in line with an EP or an extended musical piece with a number of movements. Histoire de Melody Nelson‘s mix of freewheeling guitar, funk style bass guitar, near spoken word vocal delivery, and lush, deep orchestrated string and choral arrangements by Jean-Claude Vannier[1] who composed almost the entire music for the album, have proven to be highly influential amongst later francophone and anglophone musical performers including the French band Air, David Holmes, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, Portishead, and Beck, whose 2002 track "Paper Tiger" from Sea Change is extremely close to the distinctive Histoire de Melody Nelson sound.
After the release of the album, a music video was made for each song, and released all together as "Melody" a short musical.
Jean-Claude Vannier performed the album live at London's Barbican on October 21st 2006 with guest vocalists Jarvis Cocker, Badly Drawn Boy, Brigitte Fontaine, The Bad Seeds’ Mick Harvey and lead singer from Super Furry Animals, Gruff Rhys. Vannier performed the album in its entirety alongside his own solo album L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches.
Publicity for the Barbican concert revealed that the musicians used for the album were Dougie Wright, Big Jim Sullivan, Herbie Flowers and Vic Flick who all joined Vannier for the concert. BBC Concert Orchestra, Crouch End Festival Chorus, a children’s string quintet were part of the show
In October 2008 22nd & 23rd Jean-Claude Vannier performed the album live at the Cité de la Musique with guest vocalists Mathieu Amalric, Brigitte Fontaine, Brian Molko (Placebo), Martina Topley Bird, Daniel Darc, Clotilde Hesme, Seaming To. Jean Claude Vannier performed also the L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches. The Lamoureux Orchestra, the Yound Choir of Paris and the children’s string quintet were part of the show.
The second track, "Ballade de Melody Nelson", was covered by Placebo as "The Ballad of Melody Nelson" and released on a bonus disc for their 2003 album "Sleeping With Ghosts". The lyrics were translated into English and in some parts changed altogether.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Serge Gainsbourg and Jean-Claude Vannier.
- "Melody" 7:32
- "Ballade de Melody Nelson" 2:00
- "Valse de Melody" 1:31
- "Ah! Melody" 1:47
- "L'hôtel particulier" 4:05
- "En Melody" 3:25
- "Cargo Culte" 7:37
Personnel
Awards
#21 - Pitchforkmedia: Top 100 Albums of the 1970s
References
External links
