Di Doo Dah
There is something about the charm, grace, and style of French women that makes them irresistible to men worldwide. Jane Birkin, despite being born in London, has these qualities, and her appeal is second only to her accomplishments. Birkin began theater studies at the Kensington Academy, with her first stage debut at 18 and a successful film career thereafter, including a brief nude role in the controversial film Blow-Up, which made her semifamous. Birkin’s intensely bohemian spirit was drawn to the arts and the men within them; her first marriage was to composer John Barry, composer for the James Bond series. After their divorce, a trip to France led Birkin to an introduction to iconic musician and her future husband Serge Gainsbourg. It was with him that she discovered her singing voice, lending her imperfectly breathy vocals to the song “Je T’Aime…Moi Non Plus” (“I love you, me neither”).
She continued to push boundaries during her film and musical career, and gave birth to a daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, a musician–actress who possesses her parents’ zesty spirit. Birkin’s debut album, Di Doo Dah, was the album that started it all, introducing a brand of sensual, artsy experimental pop that is still interesting today and is a testament to Gainsbourg’s direction, urging her to push age and gender roles. The album’s title track has all the playfulness that its lyrics imply, but thinly veils a burgeoning sensuality—it’s the musical equivalent of batting lashes.
On “Help Camionneur!” her innocence is even more feigned and theatrical as she plays the damsel in distress, a stranded hitchhiker waiting to be picked up by a trucker. There is an overt sexuality that is empowering to any female listener as Birkin sets the stage for a scene that borders on erotic fantasy, including whispered croonings. All songs on the album were written by Gainsbourg, and arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier, but “C’est la Vie Qui Veut Ça,” benefits from his songwriting as well. There is a depth and lushness present thanks to layers of strings, and acoustic and electronic guitars that skillfully frame and offset the breathy vocals that wend their way into the most intimate recesses of the ear.