This compilation, released in 2016 to mark the 25th anniversary of Serge Gainsbourg's death, covers his most prolific and influential period, starting with his first recording session in London in 1963 and progressing up to 1971, the year he released his epochal Histoire de Melody Nelson. The album traces Gainsbourg’s artistic progression throughout the 60s as he worked in two cities: in Paris he was at the centre of the burgeoning yé-yé scene, recording a number of iconic duets with Brigitte Bardot. Tapping into the wealth of talent in the UK at the time, Gainsbourg often travelled to London to work with some of the finest session musicians of the day, epitomizing the swinging '60s scene.

In 1994, arranger, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey issued "Intoxicated Men", his initial tribute to the music of Serge Gainsbourg. He was the first to render authoritative musical translations of the songwriter's notoriously difficult, pun-laden, alliterative lyrics in rhyming English. Harvey followed it three years later with Pink Elephants. The next year, Harvey and musical partner J.P. Shilo dug deeper into Gainsbourg's catalog for the typically excellent Delirium Tremens. Intoxicated Women marks his final volume of Gainsbourg tunes.

Jane Birkin has released an album featuring symphony versions of songs by her late collaborator Serge Gainsbourg. It’s called "Birkin/Gainsbourg: Le Symphonique". Arranged by Japanese composer Nobuyuki Nakajima and recorded by Gainsbourg producer Philippe Lerichomme, the album features new symphonic arrangements performed by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

Serge Gainsbourg's "Aux Armes Et Caetera", his biggest commercial success, was recorded in Jamaica with reggae greats Sly and Robbie and vocalists from the I Threes including Rita Marley. The first of two reggae albums from Gainsbourg, it sold over 400,000 copies within months of its release in March 1979 and yielded several big hits, including the controversial (at the time) title song, a reggae version of the French national anthem "La Marseillaise".

Serge Gainsbourg recorded his first album in 1958. But it was at the end of the 1960s that his short affair with Brigitte Bardot changed his jazzy style towards this suggestive music with sumptuous arrangements. He then met Jane Birkin with whom he recorded the 1969 duet "Je t'aime … Moi Non Plus", a song with scorching lyrics punctuated by gasps and explicit moans. Although it was banned in many countries, this song reached the top of the charts all over Europe. In 1971, he released The Story of Melody Nelson, a cycle of dark songs that mark his growing detachment from modern culture. Drugs, disease, suicide and misanthropy become recurring themes in his work.