TuneSmith

Charlotte Gainsbourg

IRM

When? Your listening experience has to be as boutique as your hotel

Why? Quirky and gorgeous, it’s an intriguing slice of modern cool

As the offspring of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, Charlotte Gainsbourg’s musical pedigree was always going to be in the spotlight. Her third album sees her add further distance between herself and her father. Choosing to sing in English over French, and collaborating with musical maverick Beck already meant that this was going to be anything but Melody Nelson. Yet hooking the album around magnetic resonance imaging could appear somewhat extreme. IRM is the French name for MRI, a process with which Charlotte was familiarised after suffering a brain haemorrhage from a water-skiing accident. Although there are still echoes of her earlier music from 5.55, most of the album flirts between styles as much as any Beck-touched album might. It’s at its most successful in the cover of 'Le Chat du Cafes des Artistes', where her voice and orchestral strings prove irresistible. Though there are plenty of romantic wisps in the air, the album ultimately cold-shoulders Gainsbourg as the chanteuse, and instead points to the creative, mortal, but musically brave being she is.

James Brown

Live at the Apollo (1962)

When? You have the urge to rattle your bones

Why? It captures the power of the Godfather at his towering height

One of the greatest live albums of all time, this was a record that almost never got made. By the early Sixties, James Brown’s performances were becoming legendary. The power of the music, the thrill of his voice, and the physical drill his band were put through were making Brown a star. The demand was so strong he was sliding out on stage more than 300 times a year to audiences who could not get enough. Unable to predict potential sales, the label bosses at King Records rejected his pitch for a live album. Using his own money, Brown recorded it anyway, cleverly staging a show at the musical hub of Harlem. The result was musical dynamite. Driving his band the Famous Flames through hit after hit, from 'Try Me' and 'Think' to the amazing gospel-soaked 'Lost Someone', before arriving at a medley of 'Please, Please, Please' and You Got The Power' – the performance, energy, and overwhelming audience response are devastating to hear. It goes without saying the record instantly sold out almost everywhere, and had gobsmacked radio DJs into playing each side in its entirety. Treat this phenomenal record with care, and be prepared to be blown away. It’s explosive stuff.

Journalist, DJ and music consultant Rob Wood is director of Music Concierge, which provides bespoke music-programming services to hotels. Email him at: rob@musicconcierge.co.uk