This 20-track collection from PolyGram compiles every one of Jacques Brel's most popular songs, all in their most famous versions. From his first hit "Quand On N'a Que l'Amour" to early peaks like "La Valse à Mille Temps," "Les Vieux," and "Mathilde," Quinze Ans d'Amour picks the best of his early material, with only one song recorded after 1968.© John Bush /TiVo

Everyone knows the tragic context surrounding the making of this album. It is almost more famous than the content of the album itself. Having lived in the Marquesas Islands for years, Brel was already very sick when he started thinking of an opus, which will be conceived as “the last”. Once the text had been written, he took off to Paris where he entrusts the arrangements to his lifetime accomplice, François Rauber. As for rehearsals, they took place on rue de Verneuil at Juliette, Gréco’s home. The singer who wrote Ne me quitte pas knows he’s doomed when he creates Les Marquises, so it’s not really surprising to hear him talk about death and old age, like in the magnificent La Ville s’endormait and Vieillir, an overexcited tango where he hammers that “la mort, cela n’est rien” (Death is nothing). Jojo also reaches new heights of emotion, as a love letter to a deceased friend, in which Brel is only accompanied by a solo guitar. But this morbid context doesn’t make this album a formulaic spiritual quest, or even a succession of bleak tunes. Therefore, Brel puts Man above God in Le bon dieu, a humanist waltz that isn’t 1000-count but, on the contrary, serenely slow and benevolent. Marcel Azzola’s accordion works wonders here. The same serenity is displayed in Les Marquises and in Voir un ami pleurer (which owes a lot to Gérard Jouannest’s sensitive piano). The poet wishes to get away from the morbid fatality that gnaws at him, which can also be felt in the politically engaged texts, such as this hagiography of Jaurès, or Les Flamingants, a violent charge against Flemish nationalism. The testimonial aspect of this album is thus relative, and in that probably lies all of its strength. And of course, Jacques Brel’s biting and legendary humor couldn’t be missing. Let’s cite Les Remparts de Varsovie, an incredibly potent satirical sketch. Despite being sick, Brel hadn’t lost an ounce of his energy or irony, as evidenced by Le Lion, a mad fable which doesn’t know if it’s samba or circus music. Let’s note that the present release contains five bonus titles, among which La Cathédrale, one of the most radiant waltzes composed by Jacques Brel. © Nicolas Magenham/Qobuz

A classical orchestra playing the label’s classic hits. That’s how Pedro Winter, the founder of Ed Banger, chose to celebrate the label’s 15th anniversary. After a unique concert on March 31, 2018 at Le Grand Rex in Paris with the Orchestre Lamoureux, conducted by Thomas Roussel, the 27 tracks on the setlist were re-recorded identically for this anniversary record, which reminds us that the French label has produced a considerable number of hits. First up, we have three funky tracks by Breakbot, where the virtuoso pianist Gaël Rakotondrabe (collaborator of CocoRosie and Woodkid) and the 70 musicians perform the songs with palpable enjoyment – clearly they don’t often get the chance to play disco! Next up is Cassius and his hit I

A jumbled up reissue of the 1968 original J'Arrive, which arrived at a time when Jacques Brel had pretty much receded into the background, having retired in 1967 as a full-time chansonier. But that's not to say that he wasn't writing spectacular songs -- he was. After the smashing successes of the earlier "Ne Me Quitte Pas," "Les Bourgeois," and "Chanson de Jacky," however, these later, less orchestrated compositions have become lost within the canon. With a set split between the two quintessential Brel styles -- peppy chanson and introspective ballad -- there's a little something here for everyone. "Regarde Bien Petit" is stunning, sweeping and delightfully punctuated with Midsummer Night's Dream touches, as is "En Enfant," leaving the upbeat "Vesoul" and "Comment Tuer L'Amant de Sa Femme Quand On Ete Eleve Comme Moi Dans la Tradition" to balance nicely. Fans of Marc Almond's brilliant renditions of Brel's best, meanwhile, will recognize and delight in "J'Arrive" and "L'Eclusier." While bonus tracks have been tacked on to nearly all Brel reissues thus far, the real gems in this incarnation are two cuts from Brel's film work. The first, "L'Enfance," comes from the 1973 film Le Far-West. A French/Belgian production, the film follows Brel in the guise of a cowboy on a journey through modern America's West as he tries and succeeds in building a utopian Old West town. The second bonus track comes from the cast LP of 1968's L'Homme de la Mancha, with Brel's powerful re-tooling of Don Quixote, staged at Paris' Theatre des Champs-Elysees. "La Quete," known to English-speakers as "The Impossible Dream," is by far one of Brel's finest and most stirringly passionate performances ever. Sung solo, the emotion that Brel imparts through this performance would be hard pressed to be duplicated by any one, in any language. © Amy Hanson /TiVo

Although Jacques Brel's modern reputation rests on the seemingly endless stream of future classics he tossed out in his capacity as a songwriter, acclaim during his lifetime was equally granted to his live performances. Onstage, as surviving footage amply shows, he was a dynamo of expression, emotion, and energy, imbibing every lyric with an intensity that such phrases as "body language," "facial expressions," and "stage presence" simply cannot begin to explain. It was a smart move indeed, then, for him to wrap up his Phillips label deal with a live album, recorded at the fabled Paris Olympia in October 1961, with piano accompaniment from arranger Francois Rauber and occasional songwriter Gerard Jouannest, and an orchestra conducted by Daniel Janin. The 15 songs include a number with which the audience might not even have been familiar -- new material scheduled for Brel's next few EPs included "Les Bourgeois," "La Statue," "Zangra," and "Madeleine." All, however, are greeted with enthusiasm -- one of Brel's greatest talents, and the concert environment only amplified it, was his ability to turn total strangers into the closest friends, and friends, of course, into lovers -- an exuberant "Les Flamandes," a jovial "Marieke," a whirling "La Valse a Mille Temps." Effortlessly, Brel holds the audience's emotions in his hand. A playful "Les Paumes Du Petit Matin" is high comedy, as Brel toys with both lyrics and vocal sounds; "Ne Me Quitte Pas," on the other hand, reduces a vast auditorium to the silence of the grave, until even the strings behind it sound like trespassers on the singer's soul. "Le Moribund" jerks the dreamers back to wakefulness, and one cannot help but wonder whether any of the so painfully earnest Anglo-American interpreters of this song could ever even imagine the exuberance with which Brel imbibes it. Joy, fun, seasons in the sun -- as the song speeds toward its conclusion, it almost sounds like Brel has started tap-dancing, so unrestrainedly buoyant is his delivery. The album closes with "Quand on N'a Que L'Amour," of course. It opens slowly, gently, Brel alone with his acoustic guitar and sounding almost uncertain as he stutters out the lyrics. As the band comes in behind him, however, his confidence returns, until the performance explodes with the crowd and, as Brel leaves the stage, the horns play out the refrain. It must have been a marvelous night; it remains a tremendous LP.© Dave Thompson /TiVo

As of the fall of 2004, the only significant Jacques Brel title in print in the U.S. was Verve Records' 16-track 1988 compilation Master Serie (although, of course, many imports were available to Americans through mail order). That suggested the time was right to bring out a new collection, and DRG has licensed the 40-track, two-CD 2003 Universal International album Infiniment ("Infinitely") for domestic release. In France, and among Brel aficionados, it is the subject of some controversy because of the inclusion of five previously unreleased songs -- "La Cathédrale (The Cathedral)," "L'Amour Est Mort (Love Is Dead)," "Mai 40 (May 1940)," "Avec Élégance (With Elegance)," and "Sans Exigences (Without Emergencies)." The five were recorded at the sessions for Brel's final album, Brel, in September/October 1977, but not included on it. Eddie Barclayof Barclay Records was once quoted as saying of them, "Jacques didn't want them to come out and so they won't be released." Yet, here they are, with an ambiguous disclaimer by Brel's musical collaborators François Rauber and Gérard Jouannest: "The following titles ('With Elegance,' 'Without Emergencies,' & 'Love Is Dead') are unfinished songs which Jacques Brel and we, ourselves, would like to do over. The reason for which has not been divulged." It may be that they mention only those three of the five tracks because the musical backing for them is particularly sparse, usually only a keyboard instrument or two far in the background. For the average American listener who knows Brel from "If You Go Away," "Seasons in the Sun," and the musical revue Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, however, the effect of the inclusion of the unreleased songs may have more to do with sequencing than content. The new material is right up front on the first disc, just after Brel's version of "La Quête (The Quest)" (aka "The Impossible Dream" from Man of la Mancha), and the effect is to reverse the usual running order of a compilation, beginning with the artist's later material, when his singing is deeper and more mannered, rather than his earlier recordings. Also, it means that an American won't hear a familiar melody until the 12th track of CD one when "Quand On N'A Que L'Amour" (translated here as "When We Have Only Love," but more commonly known as "If We Only Have Love"), one of Brel's biggest hits, begins. After that, as Thelma Blitz's liner notes put it, the rest of CD one and all of CD two "are a crème de la crème 'best of' covering the span of his career." DRG has helpfully provided literal translations of the French lyrics, which non-French-speaking Americans familiar only with the Rod McKuen and Mort Shuman/Eric Blau adaptations will find illuminating, since they demonstrate that those English lyrics range from accurate equivalents of Brel's meaning to fairly broad revisions. Of course, Brel's own interpretations of his songs remain definitive, and in these sonically improved recordings he comes across with all his dramatic, compelling power intact.© William Ruhlmann /TiVo

Each year, Martha Argerich and her friends gather for the summer festival in Lugano, Switzerland, to perform a variety of chamber and keyboard works that showcase musical talents across generations. Highlights of these performances have been released annually on box sets that are representative of these artists' brilliant virtuosity and fine musicianship. The set for 2013 includes performances of works by Beethoven, Respighi, Liszt, Shostakovich, Ravel, Debussy, Offenbach, and Saint-Saëns, presented with enthusiasm by Argerich and her friends Mischa Maisky, Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Francesco Piemontesi, Alissa Margulis, Jura Margulis, Gabriela Montero, Cristina Marton, and many others, some of whom have become frequent guests at the festival. While most of the performances have an intimate character, as might be expected in the cello sonatas of Beethoven and Shostakovich, and the violin sonatas of Respighi and Ravel, there are larger scale works that frame the package: the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1, which Argerich performs with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, conducted by Hubert Soudant, and the chamber orchestra version of Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals, so there is some variety, though the emphasis is, as in previous years, on chamber music.© TiVo

A major minimalist composer, Philip Glass is perhaps one of the most listened to and most popular of contemporary composers. Written for himself in 1994, these Études are a kind of synthesis of Glass's musical writing; harmonically, melodically, with a repetitive character and recognisable rhythmical figures. Each of the twenty studies has its own character, technical difficulties and rhythmic particularities. As the cycle progresses we discover a very intimate side of the composer where the form becomes more improvised and the lyricism is intensified. One evening in July 2007, during the “Nuits de Fourvière” in Lyon, Philip Glass was fighting the elements to make his playing heard. Despite a noisy and torrential downpour falling on the main stage of the Roman amphitheatre, he performed his recently completed Études for piano thereby offering every one of us in the audience what remains for François Mardirossian one of his greatest musical experiences. Hence this recording. Recorded in HDRS by Jean-Yves Labat de Rossi, Studio Stephen Paulello (Villethierry, France), in Decembre 2021. © AdVitam Records