Long enough have the people languished, moaning for Mick Harvey’s covers of the songs of Serge Gainsbourg to be released in fancy-fancy packaging. And now, lo, a star has risen in the east and the dragons have reached an alliance and whatever else, because at last, post-punk legend Mick Harvey (Crime & the City Solution, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds) has announced the release of a double CD collecting Intoxicated Man and Pink Elephants, his two albums of Gainsbourg covers. Due May 6 on Mute Records, the two albums (1995 and 1997, respectively) were the first major works translating the French crooner’s work into English. Added to that, the collection includes two unreleased Harvey tracks, “Dr. Jekyll” (listen below) and “Run from Happiness.”
Cool fact: the female vocals originally sung by Gainsbourgian collaborators Jane Birkin, Anna Karina, and Brigitte Bardot are here sung by longtime Bad Seeds collaborator and totally bitchin’ solo artist in her own right Anita Lane. Other guests include Bertrand Burgalat, David McClymont, Warren Ellis, and Nick Cave, natch. Last year Harvey and his band performed the tracks at an ATP Festival curated by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The band is currently booking European dates, with the confirmed stops listed below.
Tour dates:
05.27.14 - London, UK - Union Chapel
05.30.14 - Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound
06.14.14 - Tilburg, Netherlands - Theatres Tilburg
• Mick Harvey: http://www.mickharvey.com
• Mute: http://mute.com
More about: Mick Harvey, Serge Gainsbourg
