Serge Gainsbourg - Initials B.B. (1968)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 4:01 AM

A fantastic Serge Gainsbourg album -- and the BB initials in the title belong to Brigitte Bardot! This rare gem from 1968 is a second set of tracks that Serge cut with Brigitte Bardot -- and it's a doozy! The record repeats a few tracks from their other effort (Bonnie & Clyde) -- but it's also got some incredible cuts that are exclusive to this album, and which have that stone funky groove that makes the best late 60s work of Serge so in-demand these days! The best tracks include "Mustang", "Initials BB", and "Black And White" -- all of which have incredible funky intros that are totally sampleable.
As it was still the case in pre-album era, this is a collection from various sessions in 1965, 1967 and 1968 (in full May Events, Mr. Gainsbourg was recording in London ...). Despite of this, this album is stylistically quite homogeneous.

"Initials B.B." is dedicated to his former lover, Brigitte Bardot. The song is inspired by Edgar Poe's "the Raven", Almeria is the town where B.B. went after seeing Gainsbourg for the last time (to shoot "Shalako"). The music uses a bit of Dvorak's "New World Symphony". Recorded in London in May 1968.

"Comic Strip" was recorded in June 1967. The onomatopoeias are by Bardot. An English version of the song was recorded following the diffusion of an American version of "the Brigitte Bardot Show" by NBC-TV in December 1968.

"Bloody Jack" was recorded in May 1968 in London. Inspired by Jack the Ripper.

"Docteur Jekyll et Monsieur Hyde" pursues on British myths. It was recorded in December ... 1965 !

"Torrey Canyon" refers to the biggest tanker in the world, who sank in 1967. The song was recorded in June 1967.

"Shu ba du ba loo ba" was recorded in December 1965.

"Bonnie and Clyde" was recorded in December 1967, with Bardot, and, as two other songs from this album, appears also in their "Bonnie and Clyde" album (which is also a loose collection from various sessions).

"Black and White" is from the May 1968 session in London.

"Qui est "in" qui est"out"" was from December 1965.

"Hold-up" was recorded in December 1967.

And, finally, "Marilu" is from December 1965. Possibly inspired by Italian actress Marilu Tolo ...
Tracks
Initials B.B. (3:36)
2.Comic Strip (2:13)
3.Bloody Jack (2:07)
4.Docteur Jekyll et Monsieur Hyde (1:59)
5.Torrey Canyon (2:45)
6.Shu Ba du Ba Loo Ba (2:08)
7.Ford Mustang (2:43)
8.Bonnie and Clyde (4:17)
9.Black and White (2:11)
10.Qui Est "In" Qui Est "Out" (2:16)
11.Hold-Up (2:39)
12.Marilu (2:32)
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