In the 50s: The Birth of Genius

We Say...

Review by Terry Staunton

It's a safe bet that most English language music fans were introduced to Brel’s songs via the obsessions of David Bowie, Marc Almond and especially Scott Walker, all of whom have put their own spin on the Belgian’s bombastic and theatrical ballads of love, loss and regret. While Elvis Presley conquered America and Britain, Brel remained the top dog in France and his homeland, embroidering a more literate and sophisticated version of post-war cabaret.

This compilation brings together his first two album releases, 1954’s Jacques Brel et ses Chansons (all tracks recorded in a single day) and 1957’s Quand on n’a que l’amour, brimming with articulate poetry and layered musical arrangements, mostly the work of Andre Grassi and his orchestra. “La Diable (Ca Va)”, later covered by Almond, updates a folklore tale to a modern urban setting, while “Sur La Place” conjures cinematic images of chain-smoking femmes fatale hiding their heartbreak in the shadows of a rain-soaked boulevard. The second album was collated from a series of disparate recordings to capitalise on growing interest from English-speaking markets, the likes of the jazzy “Pardons” and the epic “J’En Appelle” clearly having a more universal appeal. The latter is certainly not far removed from the towering balladry that would make Billy Fury a household name.

Influence and inspiration can be two-way streets, though, and more than a few of Brel’s 1960s recordings were informed by the Greenwich Village folk scene, but it’s these early cuts that truly define Brel’s defiant Gallic spirit and his idiosyncratic approach to popular song, not least the doomy baritone of “L’Air De La Betise”. For those to whom the singer is little more than a name in the index of another artist’s biography, this collection is an eye-opening and magnificent introduction.