Mick Harvey featuring Anita Lane - Intoxicated Man (1995)

Mick Harvey is best known as being Nick Cave's right hand man for three decades, and as mainly responsible for the Bad Seeds sound.

This album, a couple of quid in Oxfam, is his first solo album, a collection of English translations and fresh arrangements of Serge Gainsbourg songs.

Very much like Gainsbourg's own work, I'm finding this interesting and enjoyable in small doses. No song is awful, Harvey's musical skills in arranging see to that, but very few leap out as great.

But among those that do are the opener 69 Erotic Year, followed by the almost punk delivery of Anita Lane on Harley Davidson. Intoxicated Man is a laidback tale accompanied by a smooth Hammond organ and a fine bassline, with The Barrel Of My 45 having a similar vibe, but a lot more upbeat. Ford Mustang is perhaps my favourite song on the album, repetitive, but some fine interplay between Harvey and Lane, and for once strings which don't overwhelm.

Towards the end, the tender I Have Come To Tell You I'm Going is a lovely song, and the album ends with Initials BB, Gainsbourg's song about Brigitte Bardot, a fine song. But within these, there's a lot of ordinary, if listenable stuff, which doesn't really make an impression.

Nevertheless, it's an interesting view on the work of Gainsbourg, from a fine musician, too often in the shadows of others.

Link to a selection of songs from the album

3* - certainly worth a listen, with some really interesting songs and arrangements here