Recently, the world got a new Mike Patton project—always a goddamn glorious day!—as he collaborated with French composer Jean-Claude Vannier for an album called Corpse Flower. The first released single from the album, “On Top of the World,” was enjoyable (despite Patton’s insistence on singing about bodily fluids), and now it’s time to listen to another song from the album to see how it compares.
FYI, the video below could be considered NSFW because of female nudity.
It’s called “Chansons D’Amour,” translated it means “Love Song,” and it’s the kind of music you don’t hear Patton sing hardly ever. Kind of a classical music vibe with a piano and plenty of pretty strings (it gives off the kind of vibe we heard when Faith No More used to cover Burt Bacharach’s “This Guy’s In Love With You”).
As one YouTube commenter wrote, Patton’s voice on “Chansons D’Amour” also harkens back to the one used in one of my favorite songs off FNM’s 1992 Angel Dust album. As that YouTuber wrote, “When the guy from ‘RV’ song eventually decided to do something with his life.”
As I wrote about last May, Vannier is “a French composer and musician who has a ton of credits that I know absolutely nothing about (mostly because it’s all music from France). Anyway, Patton said the two share a love of Serge Gainsbourg, a French singer, composer and songwriter who (again) I know virtually nothing about. But considering All Music called Gainsbourg “the dirty old man of popular music” who had a “scandalous, taboo-shattering output,” he certainly sounds like a guy Patton would appreciate.”
I haven’t listened to the full Corpse Flower album yet, probably because I haven’t really been in a Mike Patton/Faith No More mood for the last several months (which is also probably why I’ve taken such a long break from the 365 Days of Patton). But as “Chansons D’Amour” demonstrates, each new Patton tune is a gift. And it’s the type of song that reminds me of why I like him so much in the first place.
Previously from Patton/Jean-Claude Vannier:
• “On Top of the World” (Day 53)
To follow along on the 365 days of Patton, click here for a list of each day’s post.
Josh Katzowitz - Sports Writer/Author/Editor 