Unfortunately, here in America at least all that's available is this compilation and two other compilations that explore his less succesfull flirtations with jazz and I remember not what else. Its easy to see why Gainsbourg would appeal to someone like Mick Harvey. Much like the Bad Seeds Gainsbourg sang and wrote about the seamier and steamier side of things. His songs, to my anglophone ears seem to be about gangsters, crooks, women who want sex, etc. The music is reminiscent of John Cale's 1919.
String arrangements abound.
The songs are the strongest when Gainsbourg's manly voice has one of those beautiful french female voices as its foil. This album is a complete surprise to me. I make no bones about the fact that when it comes to Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy the former is the better songwriter. I don't hide the fact that I feel that Farrar is one of the better american singer-songwriters of the past decade. Furthermore, I have become rather tired of alternative-country artists deciding to broaden their palette and become purely alternative bands.