Jane Birkin: Best Of [MERCURY]

Why you'll love it

This Mercury LP was pressed in the EU and spans her singing career from 1969 onward. Most of the songs come from her long partnership with Serge Gainsbourg, including "Ballade De Johnny Jane" and "Les Dessous Chics."

This edition

• Pressed in the EU

About the album

Jane Birkin arrived in Paris without a word of French and made the country fall for her accent. A Londoner who had started out in films like Blowup, she met Serge Gainsbourg on the set of Slogan in 1969, sang the theme with him, and stayed. Her English lilt, she said later, gave her a whole different career. She went on to act in La Piscine and Death on the Nile while making records all along.

This set runs from the late '60s to her later records. "Jane B." and "Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus" date from 1969, the year of her first album with Gainsbourg, while "Ballade De Johnny Jane" comes from the film they made together. "Ex-fan Des Sixties" and "Baby Alone In Babylone" find Gainsbourg writing for her voice with real tenderness, and "Quoi" and "Les Dessous Chics" remain two of the loveliest songs in French pop.

She sang with the same breathy, unhurried charm for more than fifty years, and France made her one of its own. She also lent her name to a rather famous handbag, but between us, this is considerably easier to get hold of.

Also at Kops: more Jane Birkin on vinyl · browse World

Tracklist

Listen

On Mercury (cat# 539 271 1), the 2020 compilation.