Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg

Je t'aime... moi non plus (Light in the Attic)

By Eleanor Whitney
Published: August 24th, 2010 | 7:00am

Francophiles, Anglophiles, and fans of ‘60s pop can rejoice at the reissue of the quintessential 1969 collaboration between two lovers, the French singer-songwriter, actor, and director Serge Gainsbourg and English chanteuse, model, and actress Jane Birkin. Admirers of the couple’s daughter, actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, can use this release as an opportunity to learn where she got her ethereal nature and down-to-earth charm.

Though Je t’aime… moi non plus (also known simply as Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg) is best known for the steamy title track, the record deserves to be listened to in full. It’s refreshing to hear these songs in the context of an album as opposed to a compilation where they sizzle and smolder with sexual energy. On duets such as “69 année érotique” and “La Chanson de Slogan,” the pairing of Birkin’s soaring vocals and Gainsbourg’s gravely tone seems to hold the key to the couples’ relationship itself.

Gainsbourg’s “Les sucettes,” an innuendo-laden track originally recorded by France Gall—infamous because of the risqué subject matter and 18-year-old Gall’s unawareness of the double-entendre around eating lollipops—may take on a different meaning with him singing it. “Les sucettes” illustrates Gainsbourg’s powerful sway over the female singers he wrote for and is just as evident on this album, as it’s hard to imagine a grown woman willingly singing the disturbingly screwball “Orang-outang,” which Birkin does in a chirping, childlike voice.

While not every song is an instant hit, the album offers a glimpse into one of the hottest couples of the past 50 years, and on the reissue, the production is fresh and its risqué value has not diminished. In addition, it offers a template to contemporary listeners on how to make compelling, catchy, and daring popular music.

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Light in the Attic Records