Gainsbourg in concert, reggae-style

Re-release of the album Live au Palace 1979

Paris 

02/03/2006 - 

Live au Palace 1979, Gainsbourg's first live album, recorded in his Jamaican reggae period, was a landmark moment in his career. Fifteen years after the controversial singer-songwriter's death, the concert recording has now been re-released in a full unabridged version.

The tour that followed the release of Aux Armes etc went down in music history – although it will always be best remembered for the Strasbourg debacle when a militant parachute regiment crashed the gig in a bid to try and stop Gainsbourg singing his literally revolutionary new ganja-style version of La Marseillaise!

The re-release of Live au Palace 1979, neatly timed to coincide with commemorative tributes marking the fifteenth anniversary of Gainsbourg's death, confirms the sheer strength of the repertoire cooked up by the singer and his laidback Rasta backing band. The tour A-team included Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar and all the musicians who had joined the genius from the rue de Verneuil in the studio for Aux Armes etc.

Gainsbourg officially quit performing live in 1965 after a tour supporting French 'chanson' star Barbara. But he went on to make a number of rare appearances, performing with Bijou at Mogador, for instance, where he tapped into his burgeoning popularity and fast-rising cult status amongst the younger generation. Following the success of his Jamaican reggae album Aux Armes etc, Gainsbourg chose to play in the hottest hotspot of the day: Le Palace, a Paris nightclub at the very height of its notoriety. This proved to be the perfect setting for a series of concerts (22 - 31 December 1979), where Gainsbourg laid the foundations for his new career as a star performer of the '80s.

The songs he presented at Le Palace, to a largely teen audience, were mostly reggae anthems taken from the new album Aux Armes etc., but he also reworked a few gems from his back catalogue reggae-style, including Dr Jekyl et Mr Hyde and the legendary Bonnie & Clyde and Harley Davidson (penned for Brigitte Bardot in the '60s). This timely re-release of Live au Palace 1979 is all the more significant as fans are now treated to not one but two CDs, featuring the entire concert Gainsbourg performed on the occasion rather than just highlights. In short, this is a chance to enjoy a genuine slice of music history!

Serge Gainsbourg Gainsbourg... et caetera (Mercury/Universal) 2006

Jean-Eric  Perrin

Translation : Julie  Street