While this a list of albums that attempts to cover all genres and present examples from each and every one of them in such a way as to not leave anything out this book still has the power to surprise me. I have been listening to a lot of music that has been listed here since I got the first edition back in 2006, thanks to this little book my musical taste has significantly broadened and I believe has better equipped me to deal with the world in general. While it is true that the majority of the world is not based in music it is thanks to books like this and the associated film book that I am extremely adventurous when it comes to most things in life. Granted I still am tee-total and I refuse to take part in contact-sports, but this is not from want of trying since these are things that have been previously tried and, much like deep-fried Mars bars and the films of Andy Warhol, have been lead to the conclusion that they are just not for me.Anyway, enough about personal growth. I do realise that the opening paragraph might have been a bit dull and sounds more like something I should tell a therapist but there it is. The point that I was trying to drive at is that in a long run of jazz and the emerging of rock n’ roll reaching such an album like Jacques Brel’s Olympia ‘64 is not just a huge curveball but a complete change in direction. This is someone who, having talked to some mates from Europe, I am embarrassed not to have heard of with the resounding chorus of ‘he was kinda big over here’.
So here I am in completely alien territory when it comes to music with the only similar songs coming to mind being some of Ute Lemper’s Punishing Kiss and the remnants of Edith Piaf that come hand in hand with watching La Vie En Rose. The embarrassing thing here too is that I am meant to at least know some rudimentary French and a lot of the lyrics elude me. Not being aware what an artist is saying isn’t usually a worry for me, being a fan of J-Pop, but the slight fragments that I can make out just become a tad irritating. This shouldn’t have a bearing on how this album is viewed due to the superficial nature of the problem but it is something that cannot be helped.
Taking all superficialities into account this is one hell of a good album. To me though there is one song that just surpasses most that I have heard so far in this blog, Amsterdam. This opener to the album left me sat in my chair completely breathless as my arms erupted with goosebumps. The cheer strength and emotion in the voice of Jacques Brel, primarily to the backing of accordions, as he powers his way into a crescendo with layer-upon-layer and instrument-upon-instrument being added until finally at the end you are left sat there waiting there with baited breath to see what is about to happen next. Such a skilful orchestration and performance from Brel himself, which can be said through the whole album, that you forget this is a live album. If it wasn’t for the applause you could be excused into believing that this was the best of many takes done in a studio.
Just when you think you have this album pegged as a series of powerful performances it is revealed that Brel is far to smart to be shackled to just one mood. Throughout the album he experiments with so many different guises where sometimes he is lilting, then in a heartbeat he is fuming and then out of nowhere he becomes a bull (listen to Les Toros to find out what I mean). He can range from the slow ballad to the booming protest song and yet he really doesn’t feel that out of place in any genre.
So what is the minus point here? Why is it that I am giving this an eight? Well with such an opener as Amsterdam the rest of the album fails to live up to the promise made in such a powerhouse opening. On the second listen suddenly all the nuances make themselves clear and I can appreciate this album as a whole and think of it as one of those nights in live music that a time machine will find good use of. There is no doubting though that his presence on this recording, and by extrapolation the stage, is one of a master and one that warrants a lot of research into the back catalogue of. As such I leave the rating as it is, but this may inadvertently be the discovery of a new artist to love and cherish. If that is the case then maybe the rating will have to be revised in the future.
8.0/10
Fab Four:
Amsterdam
Les Jardins Du Casino
Mathilde
Madeleine
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