In 1965 Jacques Brel wrote and recorded a fiery three verse chanson exploding with the anxiety, bravado and panic faced by someone stretched to a midpoint across the abyss -- to find oneself suspended between mediocrity and genius, villainy and heroism, doom and eternity, etc. In 1967 the nearly equally inimitable Scott Walker brilliantly re-interpreted Brel's Chanson in English, to equal parts controversy and acclaim in the Anglosphere.
In 2012, both versions of the tune have collided in an Anglo-Franco alliance, revealing perhaps an ever-implicit third dimension. It's a stunt simultaneously ill-advised and absolutely necessary for a band like Secret Chiefs 3: Traditionalists to undertake -- and one that could only be pulled off with someone uniquely qualified to take command of the vocals. Who other than the maestro Mike Patton, in this day and age, to do justice (and then some) without insult to such a preposterously Spartan legacy?
Mike Patton : vocals
Timb Harris : violins, trumpets
Steve Moore : trombones
Josiah Boothby : french horns
William Winant : snare drum, vibes
Adam Stacey : accordion
KT Pierce : backing vocals
Jason Schimmel : acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Trey Spruance : bass, glockenspiel, piano, celesta
Purchase
