Brel

In these early recordings, Brel's lyrics (which are indeed already cynical and full of poetry) deal with his most beloved issues: love, the absurdity of war, the meaning or lack of meaning of man's life, death, religion, and hope). His humour when it comes to arrangements (classical music, waltzes, traditional folklore) matches perfectly the corrosiveness in some of his lyrics. This albuim is of course NOT the one you should get when approaching Brel for the first time, but the songs here are as great as the ones on any of his many compilations. One of my favourites here is "Le diable", in which he begins recitating, as if telling a story, "One day the devil came to Earth..." and arrives to the chorus saying the devil went back to hell happy because "all is well" on Earth. Magnificent. Of course, the drama of "Quand on n'a que l'amour" is liable to draw tears from one's eyes, and the criticism in "Tu n'as rien compris" ("If you think you're deeper just because you suffer more, then you got it all wrong") also have his unmistakeable trademark. Not likely to disappoint ANY Brel fan.

Just a few facts more...

Recently Fondation Brel has released a collection of Brel's works, including the earliest and inedited ones from the end and the very beginning of Brel's career. Listening to them I found that 'Sur la place' in this record is already a 'new' arrangement. Originally Brel sang it with just his guitar as most of his first songs, this is done with Rauber's orchestra. If you get a chance to hear the earliest recordings, this song is a good example, how much it meant for Brel to get rid of the guitar and sing freely with a good arrangement backing him up. But since 1955 'Sur la place' wasn't done again, which is a shame, because with better sound quality it would sound wonderful. As many of these songs.

Not the best Brel but still better than most music

If you love Brel, you'll be delighted to find this. The earliest recordings let you know, that at first his voice wasn't that remarkable (giving little hope for all of us, who love singing...) but Diable, his first success, shows he soon found his voice and style. Right in your face!

Everything is here, his unmistakable sense of humour and unique sense of human nature, the voice, the lyrics - you can even hear, when he found Jouannest and Rauber to work with him in the arrangements. Together they made the most imaginative music ever, marches, waltzes, tangos - and things you cannot even name except describing them as 'Brel'. Some of the songs are still mostly entertaining, easy to listen, typical for their time, but to make an aria...? (L'air de la betise) Who else but Brel and pals? My all time favourite is Sur la place, that never got rearranged and rerecorded, which is a shame, because it is one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs he made and this early recording doesn't do it justice. But check out, how he could already turn things around, even point at himself. It's too easy to protest - but remember, Grand Jacques, that it's too easy to do exactly like all the others...

The sound could maybe be better (in the beginning of the record), but on the other hand, some of the original recordings propably are this poor. This is a find for someone, who thinks he knows Brel's music. But if you're not already a fan, you might wonder a bit. There are better collections to start this obsession with, this is for us connoisseurs.