''You're Under Arrest'' is the sixteenth and final studio album by French singer-songwriter

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

. The album was released in 1987 through

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...

. It was produced by Philippe Lerichomme and the American guitarist Billy Rush, who collaborated with Gainsbourg on his previous album, '' Love on the Beat'' (1984). Retaining the new wave influences found on ''Love on the Beat'', the album consists of "

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

tunes" and introduces

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

elements to Gainsbourg's music, inspired by acts such as

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictionaries classified ...

and

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. The group's members were Grandmaster Flash, Kidd Creole (not to be confused with Kid Creole), Keef Cowboy, ...

. The album also features a cover version of "

Gloomy Sunday "Gloomy Sunday" ( Hungarian: ''Szomorú Vasárnap''), also known as the "Hungarian Suicide Song", is a song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933. The original lyrics were titled "Vége a világnak" (' ...

", a song composed by Hungarian pianist

Rezső Seress Rezső Seress (Hungarian: ''Seress Rezső,'' ; 3 November 1889 – 12 January 1968) was a Hungarian pianist and composer. Some sources give his birth name as Rudolf ("Rudi") Spitzer. Biography Rezső Seress lived most of his life in poverty ...

, and " Mon légionnaire", a French song popularized by

Édith Piaf Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915 – 10 October 1963), known as Édith Piaf (), was a French singer and lyricist best known for performing songs in the cabaret and modern chanson genres. She is widely regarded as France's greatest popu ...

Music and lyrics

The album is a concept album, which describes the story of an unnamed narrator with a very young drug-addicted girl called Samantha. The story is set in New York, and starts with the narrator getting arrested while looking for Samantha in the Bronx, where she is looking for a dealer; he then describes various aspects of their relationship. "Gloomy Sunday" illustrates the state of gloom caused to the narrator by Samantha's drug-induced absences; "Aux enfants de la chance" (whose title comes from the name of a bar in which Gainsbourg's father used to sing) advises young people not to touch drugs. From this point on the relationship degrades, and in "Dispatch Box" the narrator leaves Samantha whose fate is left unknown. As for the narrator, he joins the French Foreign Legion out of despair, but the story ends on an uplifting note as he falls in love with a fellow Légionnaire (although he is also abandoned after one night of love). Musically, the songs on the album were described as "overly slick funk tunes that border on both new wave and rap." The lyrics of the songs are mostly written in French, English, or "

Franglais Franglais () or Frenglish ( ) is a French blend that referred first to the overuse of English words by French speakers and later to diglossia or the macaronic mixture of French () and English (). Etymology The word ''Franglais'' was first ...

". The title track, "You're Under Arrest", features rapped backing vocals and references English synthpop group

Bronski Beat Bronski Beat were a British synth-pop band formed in 1983 in London, England. The initial lineup, which recorded the majority of their hits, consisted of Scottish musicians Jimmy Somerville (vocals) and Steve Bronski (keyboards, percussion) and ...

. The track "Five Easy Pisseuses" thematically deals with sexuality, and features a tenor saxophone solo performed by Stan Harrison. In contrast to the melancholic nature of the original song, Gainsbourg's "

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

-kissed version" of "

" was described as a "

lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge or train lounge (e.g., Amtrak's Acela Lounge), a premium ...

-y love song". The cover version of " Mon légionnaire" also takes inspirations from the

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

genre and features a synthesizer programming work over Gainsbourg's "gravelly" vocal delivery.

Critical reception

Thom Jurek of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

commented, "The album seems to leave the subtle ironies of Gainsbourg's demented lyrics behind – which is too bad because this record is a step up lyrically from ''Love on the Beat''." Nevertheless, he also wrote: "this is a record of solid material that misses (if only just) because of Billy Rush's heavy hand. No matter though, because the Gainsbourg faithful will have to have it anyway."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. Musicians * Serge Gainsbourg – vocals, piano, synthesizers, arranger * Billy Rush – guitar, production * John K. (John Kumnick) – bass guitar * Tony "Thunder" Smith – drums * Brenda White King – backing vocals * Curtis King, Jr. – backing vocals * Gary Georgett – piano, synthesizers * Stan Harrison – saxophone Technical * Philippe Lerichomme – production * Dominique Blanc-Francard – engineering * André Perriat – mastering * Huart/Cholley, Serge Gainsbourg – graphics * Gilles Cappé – photography

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1987 albums Serge Gainsbourg albums Philips Records albums