The Genius of Serge Gainsbourg (The Originals).
Singer, songwriter, filmmaker, poet, and provocateur, Serge Gainsbourg was a chain-smoking French icon. Best known only for his heavy-breathing hit, "Je T'Aime, Moi Non Plus" (recorded with his muse, Jane Birkin, who simulated an orgasm on the song), a recent series of "Best of" compilation discs will hopefully give Gainsbourg the worldwide posthumous recognition he always deserved while he was alive. Gainsbourg's music is a fusion of classical, ballads, chanson, jazz, kitsch, mambo, pop (in all its forms), bossa nova, rock, reggae, disco, erotic, downtempo chillout lounge, and hip-hop. His lyrics were clever exercises in Franglais triple-entendres. He lived the life of cigarettes, alcohol, and seduction depicted in his songs. While this thirteen-track 2006 compilation disc attests to Gainsbourg's musical genius, for the Gainsbourg uninitiated, I would also recommend the two-volume compilation release of Love and the Beat, Vol. 1 and Love and the Beat, Vol. 2 to complete any best-of collection. Tracks on this disc include:

1. Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus
2. Je Suis Venu Te Dire Que Je M'En Vais
3. Le Poinçonneur Des Lilas
4. Ces Petits Riens
5. Bonnie And Clyde
6. Ballade De Melody Nelson
7. Requiem Pour Un Con
8. Lola Rastaquouère
9. Good-Bye Emmanuel
10. La Chanson De Slogan
11. L' Hôtel Particulier
12. I'm the Boy
13. Sorry Angel

G. Merritt