No matter what she does with the rest of her life, the winsome Jane Birkin seems destined to be forever remembered for Je T'aime Moi Non Plus, her notoriously erotic duet with Serge Gainsbourg that topped the charts as far back as 1969. Which is more than a little unfair, given that she's also an accomplished actress and chanteuse in her own right. Arabesque is an intriguing addition to her back catalogue, an intimate live album which finds her re-interpreting a selection of Gainsbourg songs by embellishing them with a range of African rhythms and Eastern harmonies. It's an ambitious experiment that could well have gone horribly wrong, given that the old rogue's style is famously individual and difficult to imitate. In fact, however, the results are often sublime - making colourful use of drums, violins and daring arrangements to give the songs a new lease of life. In the process, Birkin shows herself to be not merely a still-vibrant recording artist - she's also a worthy guardian of her old mentor's legacy.

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