Histoire De Melody Nelson

Spin (p.95) - "[A] bizarre, beguiling concept album....With progressive composer/arranger Jean-Claude Vannier's cinematically swooning strings, loping bass, and twangy guitars." Q (p.44) - "[N]ow a firm cult favourite, this bonkers slice of Gallic dirty-talk offers a very different kind of French lesson." Uncut (p.100) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "MELODY NELSON is generally regarded as Gainsbourg's career high....Like LOLITA, HISTOIRE DE MELODY NELSON is a kind of oratorio of desire..." Magnet (p.114) - "HISTOIRE DE MELODY NELSON's skeletal, jazz-like structure - with bass frequently playing the role of lead instrument - influenced a generation of indie-rock tastemakers." Blender (Magazine) - "HISTOIRE DE MELODY NELSON is where Gainsbourg's provocateur streak takes on something resembling grand scale. Lush and languorous..." Pitchfork (Website) - "The arrangements seem to respond almost intuitively to the twists in Gainsbourg's language and narrative, to the point where they're carrying as much storytelling weight as the words." Record Collector (magazine) (p.90) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "Hired to backdrop Gainsbourg's spoken delivery, a whole host of British session musicians provided the rock element, while expert string arranger and medium-term collaborator Jean-Claude Vannier provided one of the most inventive, affecting orchestrations of a psych-into-prog era overdosing on them." Record Collector (magazine) (p.90) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "28 minutes of art-house rock that still stands unrivaled in the history of all recorded music." Signal To Noise (p.78) - "[I]ts audacious blend of libidinous slow grooves, distorted rock guitar, and massive orchestration turned it into crate-diggers' gold."