Rating: NN
The people who run Barclay in France must lie awake at night thinking of new ways to make money off Serge Gainsbourg’s legacy. Releasing a compilation of English-language versions of his songs seems like a flawed concept from the start — the clever wordplay is lost along with the salacious charm that only comes with a Gitanes-tempered French accent — and many of the artists chosen for this tribute disc simply don’t have the required life experience to do Gainsbourg’s stuff justice. Marianne Faithfull and Jane Birkin, definitely. Marc Almond, sure. But Cat Power? The Rakes? Brian Molko? Gimme a break. As it turns out, the best of the bunch are Franz Ferdinand’s cranked-up throwdown with Birkin on A Song For Sorry Angel, Portishead’s suitably dark Requiem For Anna and Michael Stipe’s spare beatbox-backed revamp of L’Hotel Particulier. La Feist, however, should stick to ruining Bee Gees tunes.
