Editing Serge Gainsbourg (section)

=== 1971–1977: Concept albums ===

[[File:Serge gainsbourg May 1 1971.png|left|thumb|Gainsbourg in 1971]]

Following the success of "Je t'aime... moi non plus", his record company had expected Gainsbourg to produce another hit. But after having already made a fortune, he was uninterested, deciding to "move onto something serious".{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=62}} The result was his 1971 concept album ''[[Histoire de Melody Nelson]]'', which tells the story of an illicit relationship between the narrator and the teenage Melody Nelson after running her over in his [[Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost]].<ref name="PitchforkMelody">{{cite web |last1=Ewing |first1=Tom |title=''Histoire de Melody Nelson'' |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12852-histoire-de-melody-nelson/ |date=26 March 2009 |website=[[Pitchfork (magazine)|Pitchfork]] |access-date=15 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208114520/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12852-histoire-de-melody-nelson/ |archive-date=8 February 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> The album heavily features Gainsbourg's distinctive half-spoken, half-sung vocal delivery, loose drums, guitar, and bass evoking funk music, and lush string and choral arrangements by [[Jean-Claude Vannier]].<ref name="PitchforkMelody" /> Despite only selling around 15,000 copies upon release, it has become highly influential and is often considered his ''[[magnum opus]]''.<ref name="PitchforkMelody" /> An accompanying television special starring Gainsbourg and Birkin was also broadcast.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=65}}

He suffered a heart attack in May 1973, but refused to cut back on his smoking and drinking.<ref name="Scandals">{{cite web |last1=Gorman |first1=Francine |title=Serge Gainsbourg's 20 most scandalous moments |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/feb/28/serge-gainsbourg-20-scandalous-moments |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=27 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125060411/https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/feb/28/serge-gainsbourg-20-scandalous-moments |archive-date=25 January 2021 |date=28 February 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Gainsbourg's next record ''[[Vu de l'extérieur]]'' (1973) was not strictly a concept album like its predecessor and follow-ups, despite its focus on [[scatology]] throughout. It largely failed to connect with critics and listeners.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=62}}<ref name="Vu de L'exterieur">{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Dave |title=Vu de L'exterieur Review |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/vu-de-lexterieur-mw0000465467 |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209064610/https://www.allmusic.com/album/vu-de-lexterieur-mw0000465467 |archive-date=9 December 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> In that year, Gainsbourg also wrote all of the tracks on Birkin's debut solo album ''[[Di doo dah]]'' and he would continue to write for her until his death.<ref name="BirkinVogue">{{cite web |last1=Ruffner |first1=Zoe |title=Jane Birkin on Her New Album and the Only Three Makeup Products She Uses at 74 |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/jane-birkin-interview-oh-pardon-tu-dormais |website=[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]] |access-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301165058/https://www.vogue.com/article/jane-birkin-interview-oh-pardon-tu-dormais |archive-date=1 March 2022 |date=22 January 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1975, Gainsbourg released the darkly comic album ''[[Rock Around the Bunker]]'', performed in an upbeat 1950s rock and roll style and written on the subject of [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Second World War]], drawing from his experiences as a Jewish child in occupied France.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=75}} The next year saw the release of yet another concept album, ''[[L'Homme à tête de chou]]'' (''The Cabbage Head Man''), a nickname used by Gainsbourg himself in reference to his large ears.<ref name="CabbageHead">{{cite news |last1=Carroll |first1=Jim |title=Serge Gainsbourg |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/serge-gainsbourg-1.313463 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |access-date=8 March 2022 |date=16 June 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308025730/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/serge-gainsbourg-1.313463?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fserge-gainsbourg-1.313463|archive-date=8 March 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> This album marked Gainsbourg's first foray into the Jamaican [[reggae]] genre, a style he would revisit for his next two albums.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=87}}

In 1976, Gainsbourg also made his directorial debut with ''[[Je t'aime moi non plus (film)|Je t'aime moi non plus]]'', an offbeat drama named after his song of the same name. It starred Birkin in the lead role, with American actor [[Joe Dallesandro]] playing the gay man she falls in love with.<ref name="NYTimesReview">{{cite web |last1=Kenny |first1=Glenn |title=Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus' Review: Serge Gainsbourg's Oddball Directorial Debut |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/movies/je-taime-moi-non-plus-review.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024185337/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/movies/je-taime-moi-non-plus-review.html |archive-date=24 October 2021 |date=10 October 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The film received positive critical notices from the French press and acclaimed director [[François Truffaut]].<ref name="NYTimesReview" /> Having previously turned down the offer to score the popular [[softcore pornography]] film ''[[Emmanuelle (1974 film)|Emmanuelle]]'' (1974), he agreed to do so for one of its sequels ''[[Goodbye Emmanuelle]]'' in 1977.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=82}}