Amsterdam: The Best of Jacques Brel

Performer: Jacques Brel
Distributor: MSI Music Distribution

Notes: AMSTERDAM - BEST OF features 34 of the biggest hits from French singer Jacques Brel. The songs on this album include "Au Suivant," "Les Bonbons," and "Les Marquises," among many others. This two-CD collection of Jacques Brel's most famous recordings is a wonderful place for beginners to be introduced to the legacy of one of Belgium's most famous and gifted composers. Many of Brel's most famous songs, which have been covered by countless artists in many different languages, are represented, among those "Quand on Na Que L'amour," "Amsterdam," "La Fanette," "La Valse a Mille Temps," "Mathilde," "Jojo," "Le Vieux," "Le Moribond" (which became a number-one hit in America as Terry Jacks' "Seasons in the Sun") and "Ne Me Quitte Pas," arguably one of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching pop songs ever recorded. Unfortunately, however, this beautifully-packaged collection contains no liner notes. For the uninitiated, a single-disc collection of Brel's music is too brief -- this two-CD set, however, provides an excellent (but by no ways complete) overview of some of his finest songs. ~ Jose F. Promis

Artistically active from the 1950s through the '70s, Belgian-born singer-songwriter Jacques Brel is best known in France, but he has also achieved a vast cult fan base in the United States for his poetic cynicism and lyrics, which vary from nihilistic and melancholy to witty and biting. Brel's most popular (and most reinterpreted) song is "Ne Me Quitte Pas (If You Go Away)"; his work is often striking for being romantic without sentimentality. Brel's star remains large thanks in part to the oft-revived Broadway play/revue first staged in 1968, JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS.

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