On Sept. 21 DRG Records will release a recording featuring Brel singing his own tunes with the original French lyrics. The two-CD set, entitled "Brel: Infiniment," features 40 songs, including 11 previously unreleased tracks. English translations of all the songs are provided as well as a comprehensive biography of the late composer.
The complete track listing for "Brel: Infiniment" follows:
Disc One:
"La Quête" (The Quest)
"La Cathédrale" (The Cathedral)
"L’Amour Est Mort" (Love Is Dead)
"Mai 40" (May 1940)
"Avec Élégance" (With Elegance)
"Sans Exigences" (Without Emergencies)
"Les Marquises" (The Marquesas Islands)
"Orly" (Orly Airport)
"La Ville S’Endormait" (The City Fell Asleep)
"Jojo" (Jojo)
"J’Arrive" (I Arrive)
"Quand On N’a Que L’Amour" (When We Have Only Love)
"Le Plat Pays" (The Flat Land)
"Mon Enfance" (My Childhood)
"Les Vieux" (The Old People)
"La Chanson De Jacky"
"La Valse À Mille Temps" (The Waltz a Thousand Times As Fast)
"Le Prochain Amour"
"La Chanson Des Vieux Amants" (Song of the Old Lovers)
"Ne Me Quitte Pas" (Don’t Leave Me)
Disc Two:
"Amsterdam"
"La Bière" (Beer)
"Bruxelles" (Brussels)
"Le Diable 'Ça Va'" (The Devil “All Right”)
"Il Nous Faut Regarder" (We Must Look At)
"L’Enfance" (Childhood)
"Ces Gens Là" (Those People There)
"Les Bonbons" (Candies)
"Les Flamandes" (Flemish Women)
"Les Bourgeois" (The Middle Class)
"Jef" (Jef)
"Mathilde" (Mathilde)
"Marieke"
"Madeleine" (Madeleine)
"Les Bigotes" (The Bigoted Church Ladies)
"Vesoul" (Vesoul)
"Le Moribond" (The Dying Man)
"Au Suivant" (Next)
"Le Dernier Repas"
"Je Suis Un Soir D’Eté" (I Am a Summer’s Eve)
Born in Belgium in April 1929, Jacques Brel released his first LP in 1955. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1965, and the New York Times wrote that "it is a joy to know that real talent exists." His works became known to the American public through the revue Jacques Brel Is Alive & Well & Living in Paris, which featured music and lyrics by Brel; and conception, English lyrics and additional material by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman. The original staging of the revue opened in 1968 at The Village Gate in New York City and ran for 1,847 performances. In 1967, Brel's film career began; the composer starred in six motion pictures and co-wrote and produced two additional films. Brel died in Oct. 1978 near Paris.
