Schubert, Quartettsatz - Jimi Hendrix - Eels - Serge Gainsbourg

My "quick & dirty" view on Schubert : he died very young (31 years old), which is sad, because once he has break free from his deference to Beethoven, on the last years, on the very last months, even weeks, of his life, he has composed many truly amazing pieces of music.
In regards to the string quartets, the amazing ones are, no surprise, the last ones, number 12, 13, 14 and 15.

String quartet number 12 "quartettsatz" is one of these.
I'm attracted by this piece, I have possibly listened to all the versions I could.
But I always come back to my favorite one, the one I have grown with : the one performed by the Melos Quartett, in 1992 for the French label Harmonia Mundi.
It's rather fast, which gives a rare intensity, but it's not rushed, it remains fully delicate and emotional, the music is flowing. Refrained tension, immediacy.
And even though since then I have listened to so many other performances of this piece, this is still my very favorite ! Of course, as I am highly objective, my preference for this version is purely based on its artistic qualities, and has nothing to do with being accustomed to it, or with nostalgia 😉
Now that I touch this perfection, listening to other performances is a rather unsatisfying and contorted experience...

Any one has different view on the best version of this piece ? I am very eager to know if there are radically different opinions on such an indisputable matter 😉

Jimi Hendrix is the most inventive, instinctive guitar player ever. Period.
Just like the Beatles have changed the face of music, Jimi Hendrix has changed how to play the guitar.
But nevertheless, no one has ever been able to really play like Jimi Hendrix.
Actually, most Hendrix covers by other artist fall short, they just sound plain flat and uninspiring. Except when the arrangements are radically changed, that's the only way to properly play a Jimi Hendrix song : don't try to play like him 🙂

Notwithstanding posthumous releases, Jimi Hendrix only released 3 studio album.
My personal favorite may not be everyone's favorite, it is the second one, "Axis: Bold As Love".
This is because it's the most sophisticated one, it is less "raw" with slightly less improvisation (well, it's still Jimi Henrix right, so there's more improvisation than in most other records in rock music history 🙂 ), there is more room for complex songwriting and arrangements, and there's a great variety of styles. And it's still psychedelic of course.
So basically it's the most delightful album, where even complex songwriting has an incredible life in the hands of these musicians !

It has many many tracks which are fabulous. Actually most of the album tracks are fabulous ! "Up From the Skies", "Spanish Castle Magic" or "Wait Until Tomorrow" are great. "Castles Made Of Sand" is really really great, being sweet, strong and subtle at the same time. "Little Wing" is the famous killer ballad.
Then, there is "Bold As Love", the last track of the album, which just drives me crazy : just like "Castles Made Of Sand", it is sweet, strong and subtle, at the same time, and very lively, inventive and soulful too as per Hendrix standards. And it's a ballad, a metaphoric song about love. And it's psychedelic. Yeah, it's impossible to describe...
Let's listen to "Bold As Love".

Look, this site is NOT only about oldies, we also talk about music from today.
Here is Eels, with album "Beautiful Freak", from 1996... Ok, not exactly today, but just yesterday 🙂

This is their first album, and it really brings something new and refreshing.
It is very subtle, melodies bring a smile and emotions. You listen to the whole album, there is something haunting growing in you, and you realize the album is already over.

Let's listen to one of the highlight tracks, "Rags to Rags" (other highlights include "Novocaine For The Soul", "Not Ready Yet", "Susan's House").

Serge Gainsbourg has had great success, and it was well-deserved !
He was probably the french artist the most ahead of his time, while also doing many references to the past, to jazz, to litterature, to classical music.
Still today, his songs sound fresh, and so modern...

And... did Serge Gainsbourg actually invent the principle of loop-repeating "samples" in a song ?... 🙂 That's a question one could really ask when listening to "Bonnie and Clyde", a single from 1969.
Let's listen to this highly addictive and incredibly modern song, recorded more than 50 year ago. Dans ce duo mythique avec Brigitte Bardot.

As an introduction to the huge production of Serge Gainsbourg, I suggest that a "best of" is the best place to start, hence the album proposed here. Well, I must say that I'm all against "best of" stuff, because it impairs the essence of the artist's original intents. But I'll do an exception here 🙂 . And, be aware that I have in the pipeline another article on Gainsbourg, about one specific album, this is planned 🙂 , and as a result these two albums (the best of, + the pipelined album) will complement each other very nicely.