Brel speaks

Jacques Brel was a live performer, there's no doubt about it. In fact, he wanted to do his studio recordings with the orchestra, to get the feel of a live performance and the interaction of music and himself.

Knokke is the third live album I've got. It has less music than the ones recorded at Olympia in 1961 and 1964, and the songs sound a bit different. The arrangement of 'Madeleine' is very different - and fun - and this version of 'Quand on n'a que l'amour' is less powerful than the one made in 1961, but still good stuff. I was very glad to hear the live versions of 'La Fanette' and 'Mathilde', the latter being very different from the studio version, even a couple of words had been changed. And from the beginning there is a very strong, positive mood - and all through the album this astounding energy and pace. People hardly get to give their applause, when Brel is alredy hurrying to start the next song. I'm glad I've seen the video of Brel's farewell concert, I could almost see his performance of 'Les bigotes' when listening to this record. And you never really understand the greatness of 'Les vieux' until you see him perform it. I didn't. It sounded to me well written but long and sad before I actually saw it.

The real bonus of this record is the interview made in 1971: Brel speaking about his thoughts on variety of things. Brush up your French, I could catch only glimpses of his ideas, but maybe after several listenings I'll get the hang of it. It isn't because of the quality of the recording, it sounds very clear, but he speaks in quite a pace and my French really is poor, sadly... All in all: I liked the music in 1961 live recording more, but this is an interesting addition to a collection.

Knokke - What an album, what a town!

I had this album before, but it got damaged. I searched high and low to find it again. Thank you, Amazon. This album is one of the finest Jacques Brel has ever produced because of the satire he uses in most of the songs. Having grown up in Belgium at the time of Brel's climb to fame, and understanding the climate that prevailed then, I can very easily identify with the songs and their meaning.