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5:55 is the second album by French musician and actress Charlotte Gainsbourg. It was also her first album in twenty years. Charlotte collaborated on the album with French duo Air, English musician Jarvis Cocker, Irish singer-songwriter Neil Hannon, and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. “The Songs That We Sing” and “5:55” were released as singles. “The Songs That We Sing” was No. 78 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.
To distance herself from her famous father and mother (Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin), Charlotte sang most of the album in English. In France, the album received critical acclaim. Pitchfork described its erotic lyrical content as reminiscent of Serge Gainsbourg’s, and Charlotte’s vocal approach as similar to that of her mother. Overall, the album received “generally favorable reviews”.
The first single, “The Songs That We Sing” was also included in the soundtrack to the 2009 film The Uninvited.
Even though 5:55 isn’t technically Charlotte Gainsbourg‘s first solo album (that would be Charlotte for Ever, which was released when she was 13), it is her first solo album as an adult and, with the help of a dream team of collaborators, it’s a fittingly sophisticated set that touches on her father Serge‘s brilliantly louche, literate pop without being overshadowed by it. Air‘s Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin (who paid tribute to Serge Gainsbourg particularly well on 10,000 Hz Legend‘s “Wonder Milky Bitch”) wrote 5:55‘s delicate music, while Jarvis Cocker and the Divine Comedy‘s Neil Hannon penned its lyrics.
This mingling of French and English influences is mirrored in Gainsbourg‘s subtly expressive voice and accent, which provides the perfect complement to the album’s lush sounds and vivid imagery. On “AF607105” — the most Air-like song here — she’s a stewardess recounting the most glamorous plane crash ever; she performs an autopsy on a relationship on “The Operation,” finally stating that “the heart was rejected by the host.” As good as the atmospheric heartache of the first half of 5:55 is, it’s on the second half, when Gainsbourg and her crew stretch out a bit, that the album really gets interesting. “Jamais,” a slightly tough, witty cautionary tale about literally acting like you’re in love, is a standout, while the sexy, obsessive “Beauty Mark” and “Everything I Cannot See” would make her father proud.
Track listing
- 5:55 – 4:52
- AF607105 – 4:30
- The Operation – 3:59
- Tel Que Tu Es – 3:09
- The Songs That We Sing – 2:57
- Beauty Mark – 3:06
- Little Monsters – 3:46
- Jamais – 4:37
- Night-Time Intermission – 2:44
- Everything I Cannot See – 5:45
- Morning Song – 3:08
Bonus tracks
- Set Yourself on Fire – 4:10
- Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping – 3:45
Personnel
- Charlotte Gainsbourg – vocals
- Jean-Benoît Dunckel – piano, organ, synthesizer, glockenspiel, vibraphone, backing vocals, synth drums
- Nicolas Godin – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, bass, glockenspiel, synth drums, synthesizer, tambourine, melodica, percussion
- Neil Hannon – acoustic guitar
- Jeremy Stacey – drums
- Tony Allen – drums
- The Millennia Ensemble – strings
- David Richard Campbell – string arrangements, conductor
- Joby Talbot – string arrangements
Technical
- Nigel Godrich – production, mixing
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Dan Grech-Marguerat – engineering
- Darrell Thorp – engineering
- Florian Lagatta – engineering
Notes
Release Date: September 4, 2006
Recording Location: Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA / Gang Studios, Paris, France / Rak Studios, London, England
Genre: Pop/Rock
Styles: French Pop, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock
Duration: 51:53
Label – Because Music, Atlantic, Vice
Record-facts... 