It’s almost 5 years since Scott died. He made so much great music, and it was Scott who popularized Brel in the English language, inspiring people from Bowie to Marc Almond to cover Brel’s songs. Wonderful.
what a beautiful voice this man has --i remeber him when i lived in London back in the mid 60s his voice has gotten better. i am now living in peru ..wow! how strange life is. love his wonderful full voice.
Discovered him through Brel. Bowie definitely patterned his early persona with inspiration from this man. Both great artists that pop could not contain…
Hi again Guidofski, this Brel song brings back memories too, of 1967 and Gill and I losing our first born son and the lyrics somehow set the irony of human life and it's drama of emotions first up then low down....how our love survived I don't know...except like Brel wrote, life's theatre lifts us for more nad more......
GREATNESS, THANKS TO SCOTT AND JACQUES, BOTH ARE ALIVE AND KICKING, FOR, EVERMORE, I WILL DO MY BEST, TO KEEP THEM ALIVE, BEYOND MY OWN, DYING BREATH, THEY DESERVE THIS RECOGNITION.
Whenever I feel down & really hacked off with th th world & it's crappola then I play this song AMSTERDAM at ear shredding column & fling myself with wild abandon around my gaff & it's th best upper u can imagine, really truly. U can guffaw at life's put-downs, it's bloody Great, Whoo Hoooo 💥💕
the light that broke through the clouds .......a sun surrounded by gray silver shreds of water vapor....... as a man fished ..... for his supper... only a silver light shown through the sky of gray... is s that how many shades of grey...
The Mort Schuman translations are generally regarded as the most sensitive interpretations of Brel's work, and along with Scott's vocals and stunning musical arrangements, it's a great formula. Interesting that on the "30th Century Man" film, the guy who engineered all of Scott's Philips recordings commented that he couldn't have achieved a better sound today even with modern recording techniques.
The thing is that a lot of the words used in the original french version are very well chosen and their double meaning/connotations don't translate very well in english. That's the main reason in my opinion why the french version is better. As for the Bowie vs Scott, I think it's just a matter of taste, but french people will usually go for Scott because the atmosphere he gives is closer to Brel's one.
i'm a HUGE fan of bowie, but i have to admit that his version of amsterdam is not the best thing that he did...this one of scott much better, and also the marc almond one is good...still the original one frm JB is the best
"Jest port wielki jak świat, co się zwie Amsterdam, marynarze od lat pieśni swe nucą tam. Jest jak świat wielki port, marynarze w nim śpią, jak daleki śpi fiord, zanim świt zbudzi go. Jest port wielki jak świat, marynarze w nim mrą, umierają co świt, pijąc piwo i klnąc... Jest port wielki jak świat, co się zwie Amsterdam, marynarze od lat nowi rodzą się tam. Marynarze od lat złażą tam ze swych łajb, obrus wielki jak świat czeka ich w każdej z knajp, obnażają swe kły, chcące wgryźć się w tę noc, w białe podbrzusza ryb, w spasły księżyc i w los. Do łapczywych ich łap wszystko wpada na żer, tłuszcz skapuje - kap, kap, z rybich wątrób i serc. Potem pijani w sztok w mrok odchodzą spod wiech, a z bebechów ich w krąg płynie czkawka i śmiech. Jest port wielki jak świat, co się zwie Amsterdam, marynarze od lat tańce swe tańczą tam, lubią to bez dwóch zdań, lubią to bez zdań dwóch, gdy o brzuchy swych pań ocierają swój brzuch. Potem buch kogoś w łeb, aż na dwoje mu pękł, bo wybrzydzał się kiep na harmonii mdły jęk. Akordeon też już wydał ostatni dech i znów obrus i tłuszcz, i znów czkawka i śmiech. Jest port wielki jak świat, co się zwie Amsterdam, marynarze od lat zdrowie pań piją tam, pań tych zdrowie co noc piją grudzień czy maj, które za złota trzos otwierają im raj. A dżin, wódka i grog, a grog, wódka i dżin rozpalają im wzrok, skrzydeł przydają im, żeby na skrzydłach tych mogli wzlecieć hen tam, skąd się smarka na świat i na port Amsterdam i na port Amsterdam" "Amsterdam" by Jacques Brel; translated from the French original by Wojciech Młynarski.
I love Bowies version, infact, this is childhood memories for me and for years I thought it was bowie who wrote it. Someone then corrected me and pointed me to the genious jaques brel. I dont understand much french, and only for that reason I wasn't much for his version compared to Bowies. Now i've just discovered this one which is ok, but I still prefer bowies version, probably because its the one Im most familiar with. great song none the less but my thumbs up go to Brel for composing it.
@legios07 Enfin une personne d'accord avec moi. J'ai toujours trouvé la version de Bowie épouvantable. Celle-ci que je viens de découvrir n'est pas mal mais un peu trop orchestrée à mon goût. Sur ma chaîne, il y a celle de John Denver, dans la même optique folk que Bowie mais lui au moins il chante bien.
Brel is better than either, but Bowie is better than Walker. Don't get me wrong, I love Scott and I think I probably got into his Brel-covers (and obvious homages, like The Seventh Seal) before hearing Brel himself. But his interpretation is just too smooth and inoffensive to stand up to the grit and spit of the originals.
Two facts for those who are interested: There is no studio recording of this song by Jacques Brel, he created this song live and never put it on record. Second fact, the music is a rip off from the classical English song Greensleeves.
toward the end of his singing career, Jacques Brel said he was singing "du Brel", which is to say that he could no longer deliver the raw emotion of his earlier performances. Brel then had merely become a Brel imitator, which likely contributed to his leaving the stage for good. The covers by Walker, Bowie, Denver and others are also mere imitations, twice removed from the original because of the translation. These would have been good songs by these singers in their own right if we had never heard the original. However the original exists and to this day, I do not know of any song, in any language that combines as much power with as much raw emotion as the Olympia 1964 version by Brel himself. Incomparable.
My problem with Bowie's version is that it has no momentum. It's so stripped back and lumbering that it fails to capture the emotion that Brel and Walker bring to the song. I will agree that Bowie's version brings out more seediness, but it doesn't bring out as much pain or desperation. Actually, I take that back. He brings it out, but let's it all out at once as opposed to building to it the way Walker and Brel do.
@tanpiltanpil : Bowie's version is atrocious, it just kills a magnificent song. Scott is the only one who could slightly understand what Brel was singing about.
From GOOGLE -Jacques Romain Georges Brel was born on 8 April 1929 in Schaerbeek, Brussels, to Élisabeth Lambertine "Lisette" (née Van Adorp) and Romain Brel. He came from a family of Flemish descent (who had adopted the French language); part of his family originated in Zandvoorde, near Ypres.
I like this song, but Bowie's version is the best. As an ex-sailor that's been to Amserdam, I can tell you that his voice more honestely reflects the seediness of the subject.
That's just utterly false, Bowie reinterpreted it and made the song his own. He proved his artistic talent by not simply recreating the sound, but inducing a new element of dissonance to the song. This is a pleasant recreation with an innovative composition, but the singing is so loyal to the Brel original that it's really just nothing more than recreation of the sound for Anglophonic ears.
Bowie sounds sleazier and therefore more convincing than this or the Brel version. Bowie sounds like he's been there where the other 'artists' would shit their pants if they had met any of the real sailors!!
It’s almost 5 years since Scott died. He made so much great music, and it was Scott who popularized Brel in the English language, inspiring people from Bowie to Marc Almond to cover Brel’s songs.
Wonderful.
There are no artists now that are worthy of kissing this man's boots
No one did Brel as soulfully as Scott Walker. Magical.
(11 years, apologies for the late reply)
Except Jacques Brel.
I prefer David Bowie's version.
Brel, then Walker, Bowie, Almond.
All different in their approach whilst keeping the energy and intensity of the original.
John denver’s version is not so bad
@@MrChcab lucky 5th
One of the greatest voices of the 20th century. Rich with bravado, pain and melancholy.
❤
Jacques Brel version il s still better
I have been dreading this day and now it is here. RIP Scott
Fantastic, no one tops Scott Walker
Jacques Brel
LoL.
One of the best albums ever...?! Heard it first in 1983. It haunts my dreams....
At least we have his masterpieces to listen to. RIP from a devoted fan.
How strange and sad to think he has died, there will only ever be one voice like that x
素晴らしい 若い頃の時間が懐かしく蘇る
A magnificent interpretation of Brel's song.
365 days ago i was in Amsterdam.. simply the best thing that happened in my life !
what a beautiful voice this man has --i remeber him when i lived in London back in the mid 60s his voice has gotten better. i am now living in peru ..wow! how strange life is.
love his wonderful full voice.
to cover Brel is almost impossible|! well done Scott you are a great artist and I enjoy your songs very much!!!
Discovered him through Brel. Bowie definitely patterned his early persona with inspiration from this man. Both great artists that pop could not contain…
I want this exquisite performance of Scott's to be one of the last things I hear before I leave this earth.
Why did you stop singing to us great voice love you Scott come back and sing again.
I love Scott so much he is a true artist. God Bless and send us more artist like him!!!
Unfortunately, there is no God. Sad, but true.
Now this is a masterpiece
wowwwwwwwww never heard this version before brilliant
RESPECT for this one Brel..drink one on this,real...
Admirable!
Hi again Guidofski, this Brel song brings back memories too, of 1967 and Gill and I losing our first born son and the lyrics somehow set the irony of human life and it's drama of emotions first up then low down....how our love survived I don't know...except like Brel wrote, life's theatre lifts us for more nad more......
I love this song! Doesn't matter what version! I love them all! To be honest, my personal fav is the Bowie version.
Check out Fred Holstein’s version.
👏👏👏😍😉 Sublime !
Merci pour cette découverte ! 💜
I'd say Bowie does give it feeling and a sense of reality.
check out Jack Luckman version ...
@@patfake8063 Thanks for the tip. However, I find Luckman's version too...soft? Of all three, I prefer Bowie's version.
QUOI????
@@olivierdastein2604 For me the best version is ua-cam.com/video/V3BSj1cHX-M/v-deo.html
@@MISTERGODOT12 Yes, sure, but that's the original. I was wondering about the best covers.
Tout à fait d'accord avec vous, enfin un commentaire sensé et en particulier concernant la version de Bowie ! Merci
60's songs allways unique and forgotten!
Magnificant
There are no words
Great song.
Love Scott
GREATNESS, THANKS TO SCOTT AND JACQUES, BOTH ARE ALIVE AND KICKING, FOR, EVERMORE, I WILL DO MY BEST, TO KEEP THEM ALIVE, BEYOND MY OWN, DYING BREATH, THEY DESERVE THIS RECOGNITION.
Jacques Brel died in 1978.
Love Bowie's version as well it's a great song
I think Bowie copied most of this album . I love his version of this song also.
I would say that's quite a compliment, coming from Brel's homeland! ;)
Brilliant been a fan since early 80's first time ive heard this tonight
scott and brel rules!
Phil Marcus Esser was the greatest singer of Brel, in Detroit's longest running musical. Also a fine director of the other three in the show.
The Growlers played this song yesterday at Paradiso; Legends★
Thanks for all your comments. It's really good to know so many of you enjoy this.
3 genius's.-scott walker-david bowie-jaques brel-never knew of this version.thankyou
Rest in peace scott
Scott always did great copies of Jaques Brel songs , but the King is still Jaques.
RIP Scott
Whenever I feel down & really hacked off with th th world & it's crappola then I play this song AMSTERDAM at ear shredding column & fling myself with wild abandon around my gaff & it's th best upper u can imagine, really truly. U can guffaw at life's put-downs, it's bloody Great, Whoo Hoooo 💥💕
this is my fav version
THE BEST VERSION OF THIS SONG EVER !!! well that's my opinion.
the light that broke through the clouds .......a sun surrounded by gray silver shreds of water vapor....... as a man fished ..... for his supper... only a silver light shown through the sky of gray... is s that how many shades of grey...
Monsieur Jacques Brel , AMSTERDAM un bijou
LOVE YOU JACQUES, AND LOVE YOU MARC ALMOND, AND LOVE YOU SCOTISH GROUP, GOODBYE MR MCKENZIE.
First one here this month
CAROUSEL
THE BEST IN THE WORLD OF MELODYDRAMATIC PEOPLES WORLDWIDE.
Love it !
Reminds me of smoking hashish at the flying pig in Amsterdam. I had this on my iPod. 🌏
Je suis totalement d'accord avec toi. Merci beaucoup pour ton commentaire, legios07! :)
Try Scott's peerless versions of Brel's other songs: Jackie, Next, Mathilda, Alone, Girls and the Dogs, My Death etc
The Mort Schuman translations are generally regarded as the most sensitive interpretations of Brel's work, and along with Scott's vocals and stunning musical arrangements, it's a great formula. Interesting that on the "30th Century Man" film, the guy who engineered all of Scott's Philips recordings commented that he couldn't have achieved a better sound today even with modern recording techniques.
He had a great vice.
The thing is that a lot of the words used in the original french version are very well chosen and their double meaning/connotations don't translate very well in english. That's the main reason in my opinion why the french version is better.
As for the Bowie vs Scott, I think it's just a matter of taste, but french people will usually go for Scott because the atmosphere he gives is closer to Brel's one.
pretty handsome
Hey never heard this,gonna rip this off & Thanks x
I think this song has to be rough and ready and worn and sad and screaming! bowie! xxx
a great interpretation by scott. comparable to the sensational alex harvey bands cover of 'next'
I find more rage, pain and guts in the original song from Jacques Brel.
Sure, but just because one thing is awesome doesn't mean other things can't be good too. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
So why even come here if the original is so much better? Everyone on the internet thinks their opinion is so goddamn important. Just enjoy the song.
This is like blaming Scott for not being Brel. Scott's intention was to introduce Brel to an English audience and that he did.
Rip
i'm a HUGE fan of bowie, but i have to admit that his version of amsterdam is not the best thing that he did...this one of scott much better, and also the marc almond one is good...still the original one frm JB is the best
walker also does a great version of jacky, as does marc almond- yes marc almond, try it if you don't believe me.
"Jest port wielki jak świat,
co się zwie Amsterdam,
marynarze od lat
pieśni swe nucą tam.
Jest jak świat wielki port,
marynarze w nim śpią,
jak daleki śpi fiord,
zanim świt zbudzi go.
Jest port wielki jak świat,
marynarze w nim mrą,
umierają co świt,
pijąc piwo i klnąc...
Jest port wielki jak świat,
co się zwie Amsterdam,
marynarze od lat
nowi rodzą się tam.
Marynarze od lat
złażą tam ze swych łajb,
obrus wielki jak świat
czeka ich w każdej z knajp,
obnażają swe kły,
chcące wgryźć się w tę noc,
w białe podbrzusza ryb,
w spasły księżyc i w los.
Do łapczywych ich łap
wszystko wpada na żer,
tłuszcz skapuje - kap, kap,
z rybich wątrób i serc.
Potem pijani w sztok
w mrok odchodzą spod wiech,
a z bebechów ich w krąg
płynie czkawka i śmiech.
Jest port wielki jak świat,
co się zwie Amsterdam,
marynarze od lat
tańce swe tańczą tam,
lubią to bez dwóch zdań,
lubią to bez zdań dwóch,
gdy o brzuchy swych pań
ocierają swój brzuch.
Potem buch kogoś w łeb,
aż na dwoje mu pękł,
bo wybrzydzał się kiep
na harmonii mdły jęk.
Akordeon też już
wydał ostatni dech
i znów obrus i tłuszcz,
i znów czkawka i śmiech.
Jest port wielki jak świat,
co się zwie Amsterdam,
marynarze od lat
zdrowie pań piją tam,
pań tych zdrowie co noc
piją grudzień czy maj,
które za złota trzos
otwierają im raj.
A dżin, wódka i grog,
a grog, wódka i dżin
rozpalają im wzrok,
skrzydeł przydają im,
żeby na skrzydłach tych
mogli wzlecieć hen tam,
skąd się smarka na świat
i na port Amsterdam
i na port Amsterdam"
"Amsterdam" by Jacques Brel; translated from the French original by Wojciech Młynarski.
I love Bowies version, infact, this is childhood memories for me and for years I thought it was bowie who wrote it. Someone then corrected me and pointed me to the genious jaques brel. I dont understand much french, and only for that reason I wasn't much for his version compared to Bowies. Now i've just discovered this one which is ok, but I still prefer bowies version, probably because its the one Im most familiar with. great song none the less but my thumbs up go to Brel for composing it.
@DarthFormby there is only one ... Brel !!!
It's all within the individual
THANKS, I FEEL THE SAME.
@legios07 Enfin une personne d'accord avec moi. J'ai toujours trouvé la version de Bowie épouvantable. Celle-ci que je viens de découvrir n'est pas mal mais un peu trop orchestrée à mon goût. Sur ma chaîne, il y a celle de John Denver, dans la même optique folk que Bowie mais lui au moins il chante bien.
@janicead im with you on that one !
Brel is best tkx Scott
And also John Denver sang this...
I love Scott but have to say Brels live version of this is unsurpassed
Testify.
I agree; love Scott's rendition but the raw emotion of Jacques Brel is a force of nature.
Βowie's version is by far better than Scott's, in my opinion. Check this one as well ...... ua-cam.com/video/1581xrCfOPA/v-deo.html
This is, of course, the definitive version. Don't accept any other pale and turgid other efforts.
Bowie really is the ultimate version. Sorry!
Brel is better than either, but Bowie is better than Walker. Don't get me wrong, I love Scott and I think I probably got into his Brel-covers (and obvious homages, like The Seventh Seal) before hearing Brel himself. But his interpretation is just too smooth and inoffensive to stand up to the grit and spit of the originals.
Sorry, I meant he had a great voice.
2019?
@guidofski Agreed!!! :)
SEASONS AND DREAMS BY GRACE SLICK.
Two facts for those who are interested: There is no studio recording of this song by Jacques Brel, he created this song live and never put it on record. Second fact, the music is a rip off from the classical English song Greensleeves.
toward the end of his singing career, Jacques Brel said he was singing "du Brel", which is to say that he could no longer deliver the raw emotion of his earlier performances. Brel then had merely become a Brel imitator, which likely contributed to his leaving the stage for good. The covers by Walker, Bowie, Denver and others are also mere imitations, twice removed from the original because of the translation. These would have been good songs by these singers in their own right if we had never heard the original. However the original exists and to this day, I do not know of any song, in any language that combines as much power with as much raw emotion as the Olympia 1964 version by Brel himself. Incomparable.
My problem with Bowie's version is that it has no momentum. It's so stripped back and lumbering that it fails to capture the emotion that Brel and Walker bring to the song. I will agree that Bowie's version brings out more seediness, but it doesn't bring out as much pain or desperation. Actually, I take that back. He brings it out, but let's it all out at once as opposed to building to it the way Walker and Brel do.
@tanpiltanpil : Bowie's version is atrocious, it just kills a magnificent song. Scott is the only one who could slightly understand what Brel was singing about.
Excellent rendition, however, I think if you will listen to the Flemish /French version, you will agree that Brel is more powerful.
Correction, Belgium. ,
@@barryr9880 Brel was Flemish and Flanders is in Belgium 🇧🇪.
From GOOGLE -Jacques Romain Georges Brel was born on 8 April 1929 in Schaerbeek, Brussels, to Élisabeth Lambertine "Lisette" (née Van Adorp) and Romain Brel. He came from a family of Flemish descent (who had adopted the French language); part of his family originated in Zandvoorde, near Ypres.
he is american but he looks british ...
where do think most Americans come from, the moon?
i agree. too smart for an american.
Max Yakin Bozek does it really depend on nationality?
He became a British citizen a few years ago but still kept his American. National too .
He always had a nice voice but it is STILL not a patch on M. Brel.
IF YOU KNOW BOWIE, HE WOULD NOT LIKE, YOUR COMMENT.
@legios07 bowies version is indeed crap. But bowie's version of La Mort is the best cover ever...
Walker is much better than Bowie but this version isnowhere as gut-churning as Brel's original. See it on UA-cam for comparison.
a truism. nothing is as brutal as Brel!
I like this song, but Bowie's version is the best. As an ex-sailor that's been to Amserdam, I can tell you that his voice more honestely reflects the seediness of the subject.
Répondre à cette vidéo...dsfdsfadsafdf
grat voice but doesnt cut it
@legios07 dsfasdf
That's just utterly false, Bowie reinterpreted it and made the song his own. He proved his artistic talent by not simply recreating the sound, but inducing a new element of dissonance to the song. This is a pleasant recreation with an innovative composition, but the singing is so loyal to the Brel original that it's really just nothing more than recreation of the sound for Anglophonic ears.
the element that he cribbed from Anthony Newley? ;-)
Bowie sounds sleazier and therefore more convincing than this or the Brel version. Bowie sounds like he's been there where the other 'artists' would shit their pants if they had met any of the real sailors!!
Très belle version, même si rien ne vaudra jamais l'originale.
En revanche, la version de David Bowie est une vraie catastrophe.