A great document of the way that Jane Birkin really flourished in the second half of her musical career, especially in the years after the passing of Serge Gainsbourg – a time when Birkin was emerging to be one of the real giants of French music on her own, as testified to in the power of this series of live performances! The Jane Birkin here is very different than the breathy voice next to Serge on her early recordings – and instead, she commands the stage with the presence of singers like Maria Bethania or Gal Costa – maybe no surprise, as the very generous presentation of these performances will attest. The box brings together live sets from 1987 up to 2023 – albums that include Au Bataclan, Au Casino De Paris, A L'Olympia, En Concert Au Japon, Arabesque, Au Palace, Sings Serge Gainsbourg Via Japan, Le Symphonique Live, and Oh Pardon Tu Dormais. CD

The lovely Jane Birkin is maybe most famous for her late 60s duets with Serge Gainsbourg, but the singer's also got a huge legacy of great music as well – both with Serge and on her own! Author Gary Simons digs deep into the long legacy of Jane Birkin's recordings – from those late 60s/70s moments when Serge was writing a lot of her material and handling production – to that surprisingly long run in later life, when after the passing of Gainsbourg, she turned into a creative force on her own – far more so than anyone might have guessed from her early teen years as an actress. Simons presents Birkin's discography in a very cool way – with full color pages that focus on each album, with images of the album covers and other details – plus other notes on the contents. The book begins with an essay on Jane, then runs through all the records – even up to the recent complete CD box set. The book is relatively slim, but hardcover and well done – full color images throughout! (Books, French) Book