Serge Gainsbourg-Aux armes et caetera full album 14: Listen to the French icon's most daring work
- stefan-scott1989
- Aug 13, 2023
- 5 min read
Aux Armes et cætera is the thirteenth studio album by Serge Gainsbourg, released in the early spring of 1979. It was recorded in Kingston, Jamaica, with some of the island's best reggae musicians at the time as well as members of the I Threes, Bob Marley's backup chorus which includes Rita Marley. Further expanded by new mixes, dubs and Jamaican versions released in 2003 and 2015, the album is considered by many as being one of his masterpieces. The French edition of Rolling Stone magazine named this album the 50th greatest French rock album (out of 100).[1] The recording marked the first time a white singer had recorded a full reggae-influenced album in Jamaica, following previous single-song recordings from Paul Simon ("Mother and Child Reunion", 1972) and Peter Tosh and Mick Jagger ("(You Gotta Walk And) Don't Look Back", 1978).
Serge Gainsbourg-Aux armes et caetera full album 14
Aux armes et cætera is one of the first appearances of reggae in French music, though Gainsbourg's own "Marilou Reggae" came earlier; it was included on his 1976 album, L'Homme à tête de chou, which had been recorded in London with non-reggae musicians. "Marilou Reggae" is also included in Aux armes et cætera, in a different arrangement with an extra verse, and renamed to "Marilou Reggae Dub".
Some years later in 1981, Gainsbourg purchased the original manuscript of "La Marseillaise" at an auction, which was signed by the composer. He then showed critics that his version was, in fact, closer to the original than any other recorded version as the manuscript clearly shows the words "Aux armes et cætera..." for the chorus as author Rouget de l'Isle did not bother writing the full chorus each time, preferring to shorten it with the word etc..[2]
In June 2015, Aux armes et cætera as well as both other Serge Gainsbourg reggae albums (Mauvaises nouvelles des étoiles and a live album), all featuring The Revolutionaries with Sly & Robbie, were reissued by the Mercury label in a Bruno Blum-produced, triple CD, "Super DeLuxe", 10" book set. The book text was written by Bruno Blum and features original producer Philippe Lerichomme photographs. Called Serge Gainsbourg & the Revolutionaries, it includes several previously unreleased mixes and versions, such as Javanaise Remake with the 1964 original version-styled "sham-dam sham-dam" backing vocals added in 2002. Other previously unreleased versions include Brigade des Stups, as well as alternate vocal takes of Marilou Reggae Dub, Vieille Canaille (Sam Theard's You Rascal You) and an incomplete Lola Rastaquouère. Previously unreleased recordings from the other two albums are also included, making this set the definitive, complete Gainsbourg reggae sessions set.
In June 2015, at the same time as Serge Gainsbourg & the Revolutionaries, 54 fine dubs (all but one were previously unreleased and cannot be found on the 2003 sets) were issued by the Mercury label in a Bruno Blum-produced, triple CD, "Super DeLuxe", 10" book set named Gainsbourg in Dub. All dubs were mixed in Jamaica by Blum and Jamaican dub master Soljie Hamilton, except for seventeen tracks taken from the live album, all of which were mixed by Blum and Marcadet Studio engineer Bryan Pachaud in France. The book text was written by Bruno Blum and features his photographs as well as original producer Philippe Lerichomme's. Nineteen of them are dub mixes of Aux armes et cætera songs.
Edwin C. Hill Jr., Aux armes et caetera! re-covering nation for cultural critique , Volume ! [En ligne], 2 : 2 2003, mis en ligne le 15 octobre 2005, consulté le 08 février 2023. URL : ; DOI :
L'album sort deux mois après l'enregistrement et Gainsbourg commence sa promotion à la télévision[5]. Le scandale causé par la chanson-titre permet à l'album de voir ses ventes décoller en devenant disque d'or l'année de sa sortie, le premier de l'artiste, suivi d'un disque de platine deux ans plus tard. Avec cet album, Gainsbourg a joué un rôle fondateur dans le genre du reggae en France[6] et l'impact d'Aux armes et cætera lui vaut d'être considéré par beaucoup comme l'un de ses chefs-d'œuvre. L'édition française du magazine Rolling Stone a nommé cet album le 50e des 100 plus grand album de rock français. L'enregistrement a marqué la première fois qu'un chanteur blanc a enregistré un album complet influencé par le reggae en Jamaïque, à la suite d'enregistrements précédents d'une seule chanson, que ce soit Paul Simon (Mother and Child Reunion, en 1972) et de Peter Tosh et Mick Jagger ((You Gotta Walk And) Don't Look Back, en 1978). L'énorme succès commercial de l'album incite Gainsbourg à remonter sur scène.
Gainsbourg began performing at the Milord L'Arsouille nightclub on Paris's Left Bank, he where he gained two important supporters: popular singer Michèle Arnaud, who worked two of Gainsbourg's songs into her act, and Boris Vian, a novelist and composer of songs full of biting humor. Word spread about Gainsbourg's talent. He was signed to the Philips record label and recorded the 1958 album "Du Chant à la une!" (Songs on Page One). A mix of jazz and ballads in the French chanson style, the album was filled with lyrics that were cynical and bitter, especially toward women. It did not sell well, but Boris Vian wrote an article praising it, and it won the grand prize of L'Académie Charles Cros, a songwriting award. One song from the album, "Le Poinçonneur des Lilas" (The Ticket-Puncher), about a lonely subway ticket-taker who becomes suicidal, eventually became a classic of French songwriting. The next year, the acclaimed French singer Juliette Gréco released a four-song album of his songs, including one of his first compositions, "Les Amours Perdues" (The Lost Loves). His 1961 album, "L'Étonnant Serge Gainsbourg" (The Astonishing Serge Gainsbourg), made his literary influences clear; one song, "La Chanson De Prévert," paid tribute to French poet Jacques Prévert.
Gainsbourg began performing at the Milord L'Arsouille nightclub on Paris's Left Bank, he where he gained two important supporters: popular singer Michèle Arnaud, who worked two of Gainsbourg's songs into her act, and Boris Vian, a novelist and composer of songs full of biting humor. Word spread about Gainsbourg's talent. He was signed to the Philips record label and recorded the 1958 album "Du Chant à la une!" (Songs on Page One). A mix of jazz and ballads in the French chanson style, the album was filled with lyrics that were cynical and bitter, especially toward women. It did not sell well, but Boris Vian wrote an article praising it, and it won the grand prize of L'Académie Charles Cros, a songwriting award. One song from the album, "Le Poinçonneur des Lilas" (The Ticket-Puncher), about a lonely subway ticket-taker who becomes suicidal, eventually became a classic of French songwriting. The next year, the acclaimed French singer Juliette Gréco released a four-song album of his songs, including one of his first compositions, "Les Amours Perdues" (The Lost Loves). His 1961 album, "L'Étonnant Serge Gainsbourg" (The Astonishing Serge Gainsbourg), made his literary influences clear; one song, "La Chanson De Prévert," paid tribute to French poet Jacques Prévert. 2ff7e9595c
Comments