Chasing Gainsbourg through the annals of pop culture references, I became exposed to his influence on underground music long before I ever heard his albums. The name was first introduced to me through the novel "High Fidelity". In this case, two adolescents are chased out of Championship Vinyl after they were caught stealing Gainsbourg albums (actually, to the confusion of the store owner). Subsequently, Radio City Music Hall played this particular album before Morrissey took the stage during his 2004 tour. Now, having heard him in both name and sound, I looked up the lyrics to the tune after the concert and made the initial connection!
As a brief bio, Gainsbourg was a 1960s French pop singer whose accolades included dating Briggite Bardot (for whom the album is dedicated). Feeling himself lesser than the male ideal, Gainsbourg turned his sentiments towards musical expression. To me, this album represents the zenith of his style as a unique frontman, alternating lyrical poetry with brass and string sections alongside vocals from none other than Briggite Bardot herself.
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