As of the fall of 2004, the only significant
Jacques Brel title in print in the U.S. was
Verve Records' 16-track 1988 compilation
Master Serie (although, of course, many imports were available to Americans through mail order). That suggested the time was right to bring out a new collection, and
DRG has licensed the 40-track, two-CD 2003
Universal International album
Infiniment ("Infinitely") for domestic release. In France, and among
Brel aficionados, it is the subject of some controversy because of the inclusion of five previously unreleased songs --
"La Cathedrale (The Cathedral)," "L'Amour Est Mort (Love Is Dead)," "Mai 40 (May 1940)," "Avec Elegance (With Elegance)," and
"Sans Exigences (Without Emergencies)." The five were recorded at the sessions for
Brel's final album,
Brel, in September/October 1977, but not included on it.
Eddie Barclayof
Barclay Records was once quoted as saying of them, "
Jacques didn't want them to come out and so they won't be released." Yet, here they are, with an ambiguous disclaimer by
Brel's musical collaborators
Francois Rauber and
Gerard Jouannest: "The following titles ('With Elegance,' 'Without Emergencies,' & 'Love Is Dead') are unfinished songs which
Jacques Brel and we, ourselves, would like to do over. The reason for which has not been divulged." It may be that they mention only those three of the five tracks because the musical backing for them is particularly sparse, usually only a keyboard instrument or two far in the background. For the average American listener who knows
Brel from
"If You Go Away," "Seasons in the Sun," and the musical revue
Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, however, the effect of the inclusion of the unreleased songs may have more to do with sequencing than content. The new material is right up front on the first disc, just after
Brel's version of
"La Quete (The Quest)" (aka
"The Impossible Dream" from
Man of la Mancha), and the effect is to reverse the usual running order of a compilation, beginning with the artist's later material, when his singing is deeper and more mannered, rather than his earlier recordings. Also, it means that an American won't hear a familiar melody until the 12th track of CD one when
"Quand On N'A Que L'Amour" (translated here as "When We Have Only Love," but more commonly known as
"If We Only Have Love"), one of
Brel's biggest hits, begins. After that, as
Thelma Blitz's liner notes put it, the rest of CD one and all of CD two "are a creme de la creme 'best of' covering the span of his career."
DRG has helpfully provided literal translations of the French lyrics, which non-French-speaking Americans familiar only with the
Rod McKuen and
Mort Shuman/
Eric Blau adaptations will find illuminating, since they demonstrate that those English lyrics range from accurate equivalents of
Brel's meaning to fairly broad revisions. Of course,
Brel's own interpretations of his songs remain definitive, and in these sonically improved recordings he comes across with all his dramatic, compelling power intact. ~ William Ruhlmann
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![Road to Perdition [Music from the Motion Picture]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0044001716720_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Road to Perdition [Music from the Motion Picture]")
![Redeemer of Souls [Deluxe Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0888430839625_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Redeemer of Souls [Deluxe Edition]")
