Intoxicated Man / Pink Elephants

About

Mick Harvey’s long association with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds as their musical director eventually led to his own solo career, which kickstarted with two of his first three solo albums being tribute albums to French-Belgian legend Serge Gainsbourg. As usual, Harvey was well ahead of his contemporaries. These albums, released in 1995 and 1997, were well-received but still the obvious product of an “underground” artist, whereas in 2014 the idea and execution wouldn’t raise an eyebrow. Singer Anita Lane, who suggested the project, handled the female vocals, while Harvey handled Serge’s parts in English and Alan Chamberlain assisted in the translations to ensure none of the poetry was lost. This 2014 reissue includes two excellent bonus tracks—“Dr. Jeckyll” and “Run from Happiness”—that weren't included on <i>Pink Elephants</i>. That “The Ballad of Melody Nelson” is better known now than it was nearly 20 years ago is merely Harvey and Lane’s instincts catching up with a fanbase that was anxious to learn. While these recordings can’t replace Gainsbourg’s originals, they do an excellent job of bringing them to English-speaking audiences.

via Apple Music