Aux Armes Et Caetera
The late Serge Gainsbourg, his basso-profundo vocals marinated in cigarette smoke, was the priapic Parisian prince of the put-on, an erotic poet-philosopher who deliberately couched his most outrageous lyrics in syrupy melodies. He first achieved international notoriety with "Je t'aime, Moi Non Plus," wherein he and Jane Birkin simulated coitus, delighting horny adolescents and dirty old men everywhere. Ever the experimenter, he traveled to Jamaica in 1979 and enlisted the services of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, probably the greatest reggae rhythm section of all time, and the I-Threes, Bob Marley's female back-up trio. Gainsbourg thoroughly offended right-wingers by snarling and moaning his way through his country's national anthem, with the non-French-speaking I-Threes piping an offhand "Aux armes--et cetera" at the chorus. This two-CD reissue includes dub B-sides plus fiery new interpretations from King Stitt, Big Youth, and other superstars. But even amongst such august company, Serge rules!--Christina Roden