Mick Harvey with Anita Lane

February 22 - 29, 1 9 9 6

*** Mick Harvey with Anita Lane

INTOXICATED MAN

(Mute)

With his longtime partner in crime, Nick Cave, immersed in the death and gore of the new Murder Ballads (Mute/Reprise), former Birthday Party guitarist turned Bad Seeds drummer Mick Harvey has devoted himself to a similarly single-minded obsession: reworking the songs of the notorious French pop rogue Serge Gainsbourg. With help from singer Anita Lane (a Bad Seeds associate who has, from time to time, played Nico to Cave's ravaged Lou Reed), sultry string arrangements by Bertrand Burgalat, and James Cruickshank's indispensable expertise on the Hammond organ, Harvey revives the decadent beauty and campy hedonism of 16 Gainsbourg tunes.

A tribute to his impressive stylistic breadth and his multi-instrumental talents, this disc segues from the smooth, jazz-noir of "69 Erotic Year" to the guitar-driven rock of "Harley Davidson," which features a wonderful femme fatale lead vocal by Lane. And "The Barrel of My 45," with its Jimmy Smith-style walking organ, the conga-crazed exotica of "New York USA," and the suave swing of the rakish title track could all qualify as compelling additions to the lounge revival.

-- Matt Ashare