Pink Elephants
1997 studio album by Mick Harvey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pink Elephants is the second studio album by Mick Harvey, released on 27 October 1997. The album is Harvey's second in his series of Serge Gainsbourg interpretations/translations, preceded by Intoxicated Man and followed by Delirium Tremens and Intoxicated Women.[4][5][6]
Released27 October 1997
RecordedJanuary 1995–January 1997
StudioSing Sing and Metropolis, Melbourne; Air Motion, Sydney; Townhouse III, London
| Pink Elephants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 October 1997 | |||
| Recorded | January 1995–January 1997 | |||
| Studio | Sing Sing and Metropolis, Melbourne; Air Motion, Sydney; Townhouse III, London | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 46:45 | |||
| Label | Mute[1] | |||
| Producer | Mick Harvey with Victor Van Vugt and Tony Cohen | |||
| Mick Harvey chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[3] |
Reception
Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Harvey’s English versions of Gainsbourg songs maintain the latter’s lounge-lizard perversions, hilarious existential angst, and theatrical grandeur."[3] Trouser Press called "I Love You...Nor Do I", the Anita Lane and Nick Cave duet, "erotic" and "the album’s centerpiece."[7]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Serge Gainsbourg, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Translation | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pink Elephants" | Mick Harvey, Bertrand Burgalat | 2:35 | |
| 2. | "Requiem..." | Gainsbourg, Michel Colombier | Larry Norman, Pierre Gottfried Imhof, & Harvey | 2:35 |
| 3. | "The Javanaise" | Harvey | 2:30 | |
| 4. | "Black Seaweed" | Norman, Imhof, & Harvey) | 2:21 | |
| 5. | "Comic Strip" | Bill Soly | 2:42 | |
| 6. | "The Ticket Puncher" | Harvey & Alain Chamberlain | 2:50 | |
| 7. | "Non Affair" | Norman, Imhof, & Harvey | 2:30 | |
| 8. | "Scenic Railway" | Norman, Imhof, & Harvey | 2:52 | |
| 9. | "To All the Lucky Kids" | Norman, Imhof, & Harvey | 3:53 | |
| 10. | "Anthracite" | Norman, Imhof, & Harvey | 2:20 | |
| 11. | "Manon" | Norman, Imhof, & Harvey | 2:20 | |
| 12. | "I Love You...Nor Do I" | Harvey | 4:38 | |
| 13. | "The Ballad of Melody Nelson" | Gainsbourg, Jean-Claude Vannier | Sarah Owen & Harvey | 1:56 |
| 14. | "Torrey Canyon" | Owen & Harvey | 3:12 | |
| 15. | "Who Is 'In' Who Is 'Out" | Harvey & Chamberlain | 3:14 | |
| 16. | "Hotel Specific" | Gainsbourg, Jean-Claude Vannier | Harvey, Katy Beale, & Chamberlain | 3:42 |
| Total length: | 46:45 | |||
Personnel
- Mick Harvey – vocals, guitar, bass
- Anita Lane – vocals on "I Love You...Nor Do I" and "The Ballad of Melody Nelson"
- Nick Cave – vocals on "I Love You...Nor Do I"
- Chris Hughes – drums
- Nick Burton – violin
- Steve Bentley-Klein – violin
- James Cruickshank – organ, vocals
- David McClymont – bass
- Loene Carmen – backing vocals on "Torrey Canyon" and "Who Is 'In' Who Is 'Out'"
- Monica McMahon – backing vocals on "Torrey Canyon" and "Who Is 'In' Who Is 'Out'"
- Abigail Trundle – cello
- Bertrand Burgalat – string arrangements
- Kiernan Box – accordion on "The Javanaise"
- Eleanor Gilchrist – violin
- Theresa Whipple – viola
- Jeremy Morris – violin
- Sarah Beardsley – guitar
Technical
- P.A. Taylor – sleeve layout
- Katy Beale – photography