LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Serge Gainsbourg et le Cinéma brings together fifteen recordings from the formative years of Serge Gainsbourg’s work for film. Drawn from four productions created between 1959 and 1963, the collection reveals an early cinematic language shaped by cool jazz, chanson, Latin rhythms, orchestral suspense and the nocturnal atmosphere of Parisian clubs.

The opening three pieces originate from the soundtrack to Jacques Doniol-Valcroze’s 1960 film L’Eau à la bouche. The celebrated title song places Gainsbourg’s restrained vocal delivery over Alain Goraguer’s elegant orchestration, while “Angoisse” and “Black March” explore darker instrumental moods through tense rhythms and sharply defined jazz arrangements.

“Les Loups dans la bergerie (Final)” and “Cha-Cha du loup” come from another 1960 production, Les Loups dans la bergerie. Together they demonstrate Gainsbourg’s ability to move effortlessly between dramatic film scoring and playful dance music, using compact arrangements that immediately establish a scene or character.

The collection then turns to Jacques Poitrenaud’s Strip-Tease. Juliette Gréco delivers the provocative title song, while pieces such as “Some Small Chance,” “Rendez-vous à la Calavados,” “Wake Me at Five” and “Crazy-Horse Swing” evoke smoky nightclubs, backstage tension and after-hours jazz. The combination of piano, brass, reeds and understated percussion captures a stylish yet slightly uneasy vision of early-1960s Paris.

The final four tracks were written for Comment trouvez-vous ma sœur?. The title song returns Gainsbourg’s voice to the foreground, followed by the witty instrumental miniatures “Érotico-Tico,” “No Love for Daddy” and “Rocking Horse.” Together, these recordings document the inventive foundations of a film-music career that would remain an important part of Gainsbourg’s work for decades.

Track listing:

Side A
A1. L’Eau à la bouche – 2:32
A2. Angoisse – 2:39
A3. Black March – 1:37
A4. Les Loups dans la bergerie (Final) – 3:25
A5. Cha-Cha du loup – 1:32
A6. Strip-Tease – 2:12
A7. Some Small Chance – 1:59

Side B
B1. Rendez-vous à la Calavados – 2:59
B2. Wake Me at Five – 2:47
B3. Solitude – 2:07
B4. Crazy-Horse Swing – 2:41
B5. Comment trouvez-vous ma sœur? – 2:07
B6. Érotico-Tico – 1:26
B7. No Love for Daddy – 1:39
B8. Rocking Horse – 2:10