Customer Reviews
Two-disk definitive introduction to all things Jacques Brel - By: Jonathan James Romley, 27 Feb 2008 
Jacques Brel remains an integral & hugely influential singer/songwriterin the scheme of twentieth-century music; with his gloomy & orchestral tales of whores, sailors, tramps & harlots influencing everyone from Scott Walker, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Shane MacGowan & Nick Cave, to bands like Jack, the Divine Comedy & Pulp. Like those acts, Brel's music is literate & theatrical, unfoldingin a bleak world populated by lost love, loneliness, angst, melancholy & despair, but with the darkness softened by witty arrangements, satirical motifs & moments of dark comedy. The atmosphere of the songs is rich & evocative throughout... so, like the work of his contemporary Serge Gainsbourg; the songs practically reek of cheap booze & cigarette smoke, with the music occupying a special place upon the stage within the low-rent night club scenario that play out inside our minds.
The forty tracks collected here represent Brel at his best, offering a great introduction for those previously unfamiliar with his work. Although it is true that there probably could have been a third disk included, with some of Brel's equally great (but lesser known) songs missing from this collection, the real point of this set is to introduce Brel's music to a new audience, or to act as a definitive collection of hits for those of us who can't afford the epic Jacques Brel box-set released a few years before this. If you're at all interestedin European music, theatrical-decadence, grand orchestration & a genuine outpouring of pure emotion through song, or perhaps if you're already familiar with Brel through the references to him from subsequent artists like Scott Walker, Neil Hannon, Nick Cave & Jarvis Cocker, then this really is a must-have purchase.
Definitely the greatest! - By: Jean-Luc Dancy, 15 Nov 2005 Jacques Brel was most definitely the greatest Chanson singer of all times, & I find it regrettable that his work is so little knownin the English-speaking world.
Of course, many people have heard "Ne me quitte pas" ("If you go away") or "Le Moribond" ("Seasonsin the Sun") sung or played by other musicians, but listening to Jacques Brel can also be a wonderful experience, even for those who do not understand the French language: you can feel the passionin almost every word, & songs like "Amsterdam" or "Quand on n´a que l´Amour" are bound to move you.... Try it!
Jean-Luc Dancy
French singer / songwriter
Pure genius. - By: Sigmund Melberg, 26 Nov 2003 What more is there to say? The Franco-Belgian poet, songwriter & singer Jacques Brel was pure genius. If you didn't know already, this double CD will convince you. It is beautifully remastered - & many of his finest songs are there. There is really only one reason NOT to buy it - that is if you choose to buy his COMPLETE songs instead.
I cannot possibly think of a future where the people of Europe are not moved by the songs of Jacques Brel.
After 25 years - 'new' material from Brel! - By: Merilahti Kristiina, 20 Nov 2003 Ok, this is another collection of Brel's music, on double-CD there are 40 tracks & most of them are very clear choices: 'Ne me quitte pas', 'Jacky', 'Les bonbons' 'Chanson des vieux amants', 'Amsterdam', 'Les bourgeois' & so on. But everything has been remastered for a clearer sound & obviously there is an attempt to cover the whole career, with early songs like 'Le diable' to the last album - & with five songs that were intended "for the next album" as Brel decided - & died before being able to make it. Of these 'L'amour est mort' is the most impressive one, with extremely cold piano sounds & Brel's passionate, coarse voice. The leaflet contains the words for these five songs, others have been published earlierin other collections. Or if you want all the lyrics, try to find 'Tout Brel', everything he wrotein one book.
How necessary is this after all the collections? Very. Not only because of the newly found records but because even the oldest songs sound better than on older CD's. However, I still wonder why 50's songs are so poorly presentedin this & other collections, after all 'Seul', 'La mort', 'La tendresse' & 'La colombe' from the end of the 50's are all powerful songs & bring out Brel's themes clearly, & from the earlier years there are lots of interesting songs, like beautiful 'Sur la place'. All of these are missing from this collection, which follows the very mainstream 'best of Brel'-tradition. Still, Brel family has done a good job, when finally releasing the previously unedited songs, so I simply can't give less than five stars & would like to give more.
