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Serge
Gainsbourg - Histoire De Melody Nelson
[Blu-ray
Audio]
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Blu-ray Audio
Reviews/Links:
Review by Daniel Lalla
Producer: Universal
Music Group (Philips / Mercury Records)
Disc:
Region: FREE!
(as verified by the
Oppo Blu-ray player)
Total Music time: 1’ 01” 48s (Main Album 27”56s, Alternate
Album 33”52s)
Disc Size: 9,879,093,248 bytes
Audio:
Main Album: LPCM or DTS-HD 2.0 24/96 or LPCM or DTS-HD 5.1
24/96
Alternate LP: LPCM or DTS-HD 2.0 24/96 only
Chapters: 7 Tracks Main Album + 9 Tracks Alternate Album
Case: Transparent Blu-ray case
Release date: October 30th, 2013
Extras:
A
foldout with photos and lyrics and extensive description of
the recording process of the album. A paper with a code to
access the Blu-ray disc digital downloads online
Digital Download 1.25 GB
Produced By: Jean-Claude Desmarty
Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson Track Listing:
1. Melody
2. Ballade De Melody Nelson
3. Valse De Melody
4. Ah! Melody
5. L'Hotel Particulier
6. En Melody
7. Cargo Culte
8. Melody - Prise Complete
9. Ballade De Melody Nelson - Prise Voix Alternative
10. Valse De Melody - Prise Voix Alternative
11. Ah Melody - Prise Voix Alternative
12. Melody Lit Babar - Version Chantee
13. Melody Lit Babar - Version Instrumentale
14. L'Hotel Particulier - Prise Complete
15. En Melody - Version Solo De Violon Complet
16. Cargo Culte - Version Instrumentale
Comparison material:
1)
Deluxe 40th Box Set (2 LP, 2 CD, 2 DVD)
Awards: The French edition of
Rolling Stone magazine named this album the 4th
greatest French rock album (out of 100)
#21 on - Pitchforkmedia: Top 100 Albums of the 1970s
Interesting trivia : The monkey that the very young-looking
Melody Nelson (Jane Birkin) is holding is a symbol of her
youth and the Lolita like theme that permeates the album.
Jane told… that she placed this monkey in Gainsbourg's
coffin with him when he died. Gainsbourg’s reference to The
Spirit of Ecstasy is the bonnet ornament (or hood ornament
in the US) on Rolls-Royce cars. The track ‘Paper Tiger’ from
Beck’s Sea Change is, essentially, the same music as the
title track to this album and homage to this great work. He
worked extensively with Gainsbourg’s actress/musician
daughter Charlotte. Gainsbourg apparently surreptitiously
recorded Birkin’s laugh with a tape recorder under the bed
while someone tickled her for the track ‘En Melody’
Description: If you want the short vulgar version: Un con is
driving his Rolls through France when he accidentally bumps
in a very young, very sexy girl, falls in love with her,
seduces her and has his way with her, bigtime. Can an album
be sexy and vulgar, almost pornographic musically and be
more than slightly misogynistic, yet still be the coolest
thing you’ve ever heard, while maintaining an element of
romance? That is the Histoire de Melody Nelson.
The album: The album features a very 70s bassline theme that
runs through the entire concept album, which was planned
over a year with arranger / composer Jean-Claude Vannier. It
then builds a lush instrumentation into a funk-orchestral
climax that is breathtaking, like its subject matter. Then a
tender French chanson as he falls in love with her. The
seduction begins with dancing and ends at a particular hotel
with predictable fruits of Gainsbourg’s labour. The track
‘Cargo Culte’ is a bookend that echos the beginning of the
odyssey.
The Blu-ray includes the bonus
tracks featured in the 2 CD deluxe edition but in high
resolution format. That release had the surround 5.1 tracks
and up until now was the only way to get the album in high
resolution format. I had to do a downmix stereo extraction
of the 5.1 audio at that time. Now the
Blu-ray features a
stunningly accurate 24/96 stereo and surround mix. The
alternate album is only available in stereo, but this is no
great loss at all.
Audio: The
Blu-ray includes the bonus tracks featured in the
2 CD deluxe edition but in high resolution format. That
release had the surround 5.1 tracks and up until now was the
only way to get the album in high resolution format. I had
to do a downmix stereo extraction of the 5.1 audio at that
time. Now the
Blu-ray features a stunningly accurate 24/96
stereo and surround mix. The alternate album is only
available in stereo, but this is no great loss at all. As
you see from the curves there is barely any clipping in the
recording mastering process and I can confirm that the audio
is superior to the CD and my stereo downmix of the high
resolution tracks on the 40th anniversary edition.
The other amazing bit of news is that the download is
essentially the same as the stereo track on the
Blu-ray, in
high resolution lossless FLAC files, a total of 1.25 GB,
almost identical file size to the tracks I extracted from
the
Blu-ray for analysis
Analysis: If you see the curves of Track 1, the dynamic
range analysis of the album you will see that they pushed it
right up to maximum, but certainly don’t seem to compress
the album. Pushing the master right up to (with a very very
slight clipping) is the approach that some like prog-rock
fan and god Steven Wilson use in the wonderful remastering
jobs he’s done for King Crimson, ELP, and Yes. Universal
seems to have gotten this one right. The bass strings have a
buzz when plucked, the percussion is sharp and tight.
DR varies from 7-11 reflecting the natural variation in the
types of tracks which are musically varied in style and
‘heaviness’. The music seems to breath and have an airiness
not heard on the CD version from the 40th anniversary
edition and takes on new life. There are limitations
inherent in the recording style from the 70s but it’s part
of the sound of the era and the appeal of the album
My recommendations: This album is 28 minutes of sonic bliss,
and Universal has done it justice. Their inclusion of the
alternate album for the first time at high resolution makes
this a must have. Even if you have that 40th anniversary
deluxe edition box set (which is wonderful by the way), I
STILL recommend this
Blu-ray
for the 1st time there are high
resolution stereo files to go along with the previously
released surround tracks on the DVD.
If you want an idea of what the album is all about, you can
search YouTube for the 28’ video piece that is the companion
to this work. Definitely worth a watch and you’ll see what
all the fuss is about. If you like what you hear, I feel the
Blu-ray
does a wonderful job on the audio. I was not
disappointed in any way
How could it have been better? I am struggling here. Perhaps
they could have included the video that went along with the
album? In regular resolution, it would have been a
negligible file size to have thrown in, but you can find it
easily on YouTube.
Daniel Lalla
April 12th, 2014
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