Category Archives: 45rpm

5 Songs That Will Introduce You To The Music Of Jacques Brel

1 – Amsterdam Brel’s gripping depiction of the lives of sailors in the Dutch city is undoubtedly his masterpiece, and most people’s introduction to the music of Jacques Brel. Covered by a diverse list of artists from David Bowie to John Denver, the rich imagery – complete with Brel’s dramatic performance – makes this BrelContinue reading “5 Songs That Will Introduce You To The Music Of Jacques Brel”

Jacques Brel – Les Toros

Overview This 1963 EP was originally intended to contain a different track listing, but was changed at the last minute and ‘J’Aimais’ was replaced with ‘Les Fenetres’. This change was alluded to in the EP’s cover design, which shows the original track listing with a black cross through ‘J’Aimais’ and the replacement track scrawled atContinue reading “Jacques Brel – Les Toros”

Jacques Brel – Les Bigotes

Overview This 1962 EP comes in two distinct variants – one version containing the ‘official’ versions of the songs (the versions that appear on CD and on the subsequent albums), and another version which contains alternative takes of the songs. The two variants have exactly the same cover design – which makes it hard toContinue reading “Jacques Brel – Les Bigotes”

Jacques Brel – No. 11

This 1961 EP is an intriguing mixture of Brel’s classic style of chanson with the Latin-inspired jazz of the song “Clara”, which reflected Brel’s growing popularity in South American countries such as Argentina. “Clara” is an interesting song which revolves around a heartbreak set within the backdrop of Rio’s Carnival, where the narrator laments hisContinue reading “Jacques Brel – No. 11”

Jacques Brel – No. 10

The first track to this 1961 EP was translated (somewhat poorly) as “Seasons in the Sun”. Like most of the translations of Brel’s work, “Seasons in the Sun” takes away Brel’s dark humour and dumbs down the lyrics. The tracks are “The Dying Man (Seasons in the Sun)”, “We Don’t Forget” and “The Drunk”…