On March 24, Histoire De Melody Nelson, Serge Gainsbourg's classic collaboration with chic lover Jane Birkin and composer Jean-Claude Vannier, will be released in the United States on Light in the Attic, 38 years after it was originally released. Often considered the psychedelic pillow-talker's greatest work and clocking in at a little under 30 minutes, Melody Nelson is a compact, semi-autobiographical, Nabokovian concept album that follows the story of Serge hitting a young nymph named Melody (Birkin) with his car and getting lost in a deeply passionate French love affair with her, much like the love affair (and later marriage) he had with Birkin, 20 years his junior.
The reissue includes deluxe packaging inspired by the original release, as well as extensive liner notes, translations of interviews, and lyric sheets that you'll still be reading long after the needle has started spinning itself in silent circles.
For a preview, I highly recommend checking out Melody, the 1972 musical of the album filmed. In it, you follow Serge driving and hitting Jane; strutting around before rotating red hearts; walking with her in and out of hallways filled with two-dimensional stills of nudes from the 1600s; then minutes of Birkin hypnotizing you with a repetitive hippie-mating-dance movements in white thigh-highs on top of wicked guitar solos. Hot.
Histoire De Melody Nelson tracklisting
1. Melody
2. LA Ballade de Melody Nelson
3. La Valse do Melody
4. Ah! Melody
5. L' Hotel Particulier
6. En Melody
7. Cargo Culte
