Pierre Bachelet & Hervé Roy - "Emmanuelle" OST, CD, Japan, 1974/1990 (Warner Brothers Music)

I bought my CD copy of the OST "Emmanuelle" some years ago in Tokyo.  For whatever reason, it seems to be the perfect city to buy the ultimate Euro soft-porn soundtrack.   The score is by Pierre Bachelet and Hervé Roy, and it reeks of 1970's swingers' scent.   The album is a favorite of mine because it's basically the same melody played in various styles and settings.  Luckily, the melody is pretty and of course, flexible for the needs of the producer(s) of the film "Emmanuelle."  With song titles like "Emmanuelle Song," Emmanuelle in Thailand, "Emmanuelle Swims, " and the controversial "Rape Sequence," mostly due that the composers borrowed from a King Crimson composition. 

An album like this I feel can't be made in the 21st-century, not only for its eros but the focus on one theme as it is played out throughout the album and movie.  One of my (guilty) faves, and a trip back to a world that's different then from now. 

Ennio Morricone - "Le Clan des Siciliens" Vinyl, LP, Album, OST, Reissue, 2010 (Vadim Music)

Listing a favorite Ennio Morricone original soundtrack album is impossible.  His burp is a symphony of brilliance, so to choose the various sounds he made, as the best, is like commenting that a sunny day is sunny.   On the other hand, "Le Clan des Siciliens" is my favorite Morricone, and on a good clear day for my thinking and feelings, the best album of them all.   It's basically one melody that lasts for an album-length, and it's a piece of music that I never tire of. 

For those who love melodies over Morricone's more avant-garde music awakenings will appreciate "Le Clan des Siciliens" for its lushness and very sad, yet distantly romantic yearning.  Which comes to mind is that I actually met Morricone.  I was working in a bookstore in West Hollywood, and he came in to shop before his appearance at the Academy Awards later that evening.  He was going to be rewarded for a lifetime Oscar for his music.   For one, I couldn't believe I was in the same room as Morricone.  One of the fellow employees, knowing that I was a huge fan, came up to me and dragged me to meet him.  Knowing that he spoke very little English, I decided to say something grand but true to my feelings. I told him that when I die, I want the music at my funeral to be the main melody of "Le Clan des Siciliens."  He looked at me slowly and with no expression on his face said "You don't have to die."  He then whistled the entire theme of "Le Clan des Siciliens" which took about a minute or so, I think, because time stood still.  After he finished, he reached out to my hand to shake it and said: "see you don't have to die."   I look at this brief meeting as fate.  

Michel Legrand/Jacques Demy - "Le Cinéma en Chanté" CD, Compilation, 2009, France (Universal)

There was once a better place in the world, and Jacques Demy films represented that world.   To go to a movie theater and to be transported into a landscape that makes happiness.  The sadness is when one leaves the theater and realize that the world hasn't changed outside the theater.  To prolong the mood, it's best to have this compilation of music by Michel Legrand, composer for Demy's classic films.  

At heart, Legrand is a jazz guy, and his music has a swing to it, but it also expresses a happy-go-lucky attitude even when love turns sour.  The sadness in his music is just another layer of clothing that embraces the characters in the Demy narratives.  This CD is a great compilation, and therefore a magnificent introduction to the aural world of Demy and Legrand.  It is not complete, but it does feature the central music for all of the Demy/Legrand film projects.  For my listening taste, I love "Lola" and the Jean Cocteau like (a tribute?) "Peau D' Ane."   It reflects the romance of the films or the haunting qualities of the characters.   Overall there is no such thing as a bad Legrand piece of music.  

Serge Gainsbourg ' "Le Cinéma de Serge Gainsbourg" Vinyl, Compilation, LP, 2015 (Decca)

This is volume one of a two-volume set of the vinyl release of Serge Gainsbourg's soundtrack work for French films.    It's an excellent compilation for those who want to put their toe in before putting their entire body into the bath water that is Serge Gainsbourg and his music making for films.  For me, it's impossible to have the name Serge Gainsbourg on a disc or CD label that it's essential for one to buy and enjoy.  But in real life, there is, of course, better compilations or albums out there than "Le Cinéma de Serge Gainsbourg."  For instance the CD box set "Le Cinéma de Serge Gainsbourg 

Musiques De Films 1959-1990."

For those who are not fussy with formats of vinyl or CD, the box set is the completist choice where one has all the Gainsbourg film music in one container (three CDs in the box set).  For the nerd, such as yours truly, I need the vinyl edition as well.  Don't ask why.  It's a collector's illness if anything else.  But to focus on this particular vinyl compilation, it's a gem.   Throughout his career, Gainsbourg worked with three great arrangers: Alain Goraguer, Michel Colombier, and Jean-Claude Vannier.  All three are represented in the vinyl edition of "Le Cinéma..."  

This is not a greatest hits collection of songs, but a thoughtful approach to his soundtrack work - which at times he co-wrote with his arrangers.   The one thing that never changes is the lyrics - which belongs entirely to Gainsbourg.   It's a solid and delightful collection of music.  If you are like me, this is a springboard or entrance to the Gainsbourg world.  Enter, and for sure you will be spending more money and time locating the actual soundtrack albums or EP's. 

Serge Gainsbourg & Michel Colombier - "Le Pacha" Vinyl, LP, Album, OST, 2018/1968 (Wewantsounds)

This newly released album is the original soundtrack of the film "Le Pacha," composed and made by Serge Gainsbourg and Michel Colombier.  The critical song here is Requiem Pour Un Con, which is one of the classic Gainsbourg pieces.  Easily my top three for four (or five) Serge recordings.  The relentless rhythm is brilliant, and the minimal guitars, with Gainsbourg's unique and unusual voice over the track, is essential listening.   One of the great dance pieces as well.  Nevertheless, the genius of Gainsbourg, besides his literary talents, is his ability to work with arrangers who contribute significantly to his recordings.  Michel Colombier is one of three significant arrangers who worked with Serge, to make fantastic music.  Colombier's talents were used for the late 1960s recordings. 

This release is the first time where all the music used in the film is on vinyl.  The theme of Requiem Pour Un Con runs through the album, and it's fascinating to see how they play with this remarkable melody.  Included in this package are two songs from "Mr. Freedom," a film by William Klein, which one can get through Criterion.   Funky soul, but French style.  Another win-win from the Gainsbourg/Colombier team.  Serge made numerous great OST albums or EP's and "La Pacha" is very much an essential Gainsbourg purchase and listen. 

Serge Gainsbourg & Jean-Claude Vannier - "Les Chemins de Katmandou" Vinyl, LP, Album, OST, 1969/2017 (Finders Keepers)

It has been described as the lost soundtrack, due to the belief that the master tapes were burned in a fire, but alas, not the case. Just misplaced.   Finders Keepers, the great reissue label, have just put out this great gem of the Serge Gainsbourg world.  I suspect that the album is more Jean-Claude Vannier than Gainsbourg, but nevertheless, it has the traces of Serge's greatness and sleaziness as well since this is a soundtrack to a grade-Z film about French youth in Katmandou, and all the fun that goes with that journey.  

The album is very much in the same mode as the Gainsbourg/Vannier soundtracks of this period.  Funky workouts with traces of exotic percussion and of course, the sitar here and there.  The listener can hear the sounds that made up "Melody Nelson" as well as Vannier's great solo work "L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches." The beauty of the album is very much under the arrangement skills of Vannier, who is superb.  One is never sure what is going to be around the corner with respect to his arrangements.   He and Gainsbourg were a fantastic team, and this lost (but now found) soundtrack is essential to both fans of Serge's soundtrack work as well as with those who love Vannier's experimentation and sense of aural adventure.   Vannier to me is the French Jack Nitzsche.  Both were in tuned to their subject matter, whatever it was a film soundtrack, or arranging the instrumentation behind a singer - it's a classic mode of music-making, and one that I personally miss in contemporary music in 2017.   

Franck Barcellini & Alain Romans - "Bande Originale du film de Jacques Tati "Mon Oncle"" Vinyl, 7" EP, France, 1958 (Fontana)

It took me forever but I eventually found a copy of this French EP in Shinjuku Tokyo.  And in good shape!  I already have the music on a long player vinyl that focuses on all of Jacques Tati's soundtracks.  But this one is special, and not only due to the great front cover to this 7".   Boris Vian wrote the liner notes when he was working for the record label.  I never had it translated it into English, but since I'm a Vian freak, I just had to have this copy in my collection. 

The music, of course, is light. It fits in perfectly with the world of Tati and the planet that he lived on which I think is Tati-Land.  Or that should be the name of this planet Earth.  Tati had the ability to understand the nature of the industrial overtures in Europe, especially in France, and his witty commentary on modernism is both profound and of course, hysterical.  But if you dig deeper you can tell Tati had a real hatred or at the very least, a deep suspicion of the modern world.  

I know nothing of the two composers who wrote the soundtrack and researching them online in English comes with very little information.  Nevertheless, once you hear the music, it becomes the natural (almost organic) sounds of Tati and of course, Tati-Land. 

Scott Walker "Pola X" CD, Album, Soundtrack, 1999 (Barclay)

Scott Walker's film score to Leos Carax's "Pola X" is pretty magnificent.  For one, it's music of great taste.  Walker uses other artists on this score, and his choices such as Sonic Youth and Smog are excellent.  In fact, it's because of this album that I became aware of Smog.  Beyond that, the one cut "Light" may be the most beautiful piece of music from the 20th-century.  The melody is haunted, sad, and perfect for anyone in the loser mode at 3:00 AM.  My urge is to play this song over and over for 24 hours.  Which is not long enough.  

This is an excellent Scott Walker.  It's hard to find, and it really needs to be released.  From industrial to noise to 'that' beautiful work - it's Scott not singing, but clearly his instrumental work is equally as important as his singing or vocal work.   A great album. 

Various - "La Musique dans Le Film D' Alain Resnais" Vinyl, LP, 2017 (Doxy)

Alain Resnais and Alain Robbe-Grillet's film La Valse De Marienbad (Last Year at Marienbad) is a masterpiece that is not to everyone's liking.  The ultimate chic arty film of all time.  The score to that movie is the hit off this album of Resnais' soundtrack music to his films made in the 1960s.   All of side one is devoted to Marienbad, and it's written and performed on organ by Francis Seyrig, whose sister is the star of the film, Delphine Seyrig.  It seems he did this score and he also made the music for Robert Bresson's "Procès De Jeanne D'Arc"  -  so his career may have been short, but was clearly talented and in the right place at the right time.  The Marienbad soundtrack is just an organ.  I'm presuming a large pipe organ.  Incredible sound.  And very dark goth sounding that I think would have made a great piece of music before the band Bauhaus came on the stage.   When you see the film, you can't imagine another score attach to it.  The music represents the imagery which is beautiful, sexual, and a sense of regret or at the very least, a bad mood.   A very precise and pointed music.  The music was originally released as a 7" EP single.   I can't imagine how great that must have sound - just having that powerful organ coming from a speaker in the early 1960s. 

"Hiroshima, Mon Amour (Suite)" is by Georges Delerue and famed Italian film composer Giovanni Fusco.   It reminds me of early Stravinsky.  The film "Hiroshima, Mon Amour" is a doomed romance between a French woman and a Japanese man.  Like Marienbad, it deals with memory or how one perceives things in contemporary life.  Another excellent package from the mysterious Doxy Records. 

Georges Delerue / Piero Piccioni - "Le Mépris, The Complete Original Soundtrack" 2 x Vinyl, LP, 2014 (Doxy)

The Georges Delerue score for "Contempt" (Le Mépris) is perfect. A haunting theme that expresses the down mood of the Jean-Luc Godard film.  I have so many versions of this particular soundtrack - mostly all on CD, except for this vinyl set.  The unusual aspect of this package is that it has the obscure and Italian soundtrack to the film by Piero Piccioni.  How did that happen?  That, I don't know.   I think the nature of the cinema movie world at the time of the 1960s were complicated, and for whatever reason, the Italian distributor decided on the Piccioni score for its Italian release. 

I prefer the Delerue music, just because it has been a consistent reminder of this cinematic masterpiece as well as being a great piece of music, with or without the images attached to the work.  The Piccioni score is a good listening experience, but nowhere near the genius French take on the soundtrack.  

Doxy is an excellent and a very mysterious label.  It's a borderline bootleg record company that seems to make use of the copyright laws in Europe.  Saying that I find the recordings themselves pretty great, and their packaging, although often vague, is superb.  The vagueness comes to solid information, for instance,  where did they get their sound resource?  From the original tapes, or is it from a digital resource?  I don't know.   On the other hand, they either take the original packing of albums or do their own take on whatever the album is.  I have at least a dozen titles from Doxy, and I'm happy with all of their albums in my collection.  Also, they are very much a curated company that they only release albums and artists that are truly great - and, or, very hard to find as an original (official) release.  So they're serving a purpose to the vinyl fan, and "Le Mépris" is a fantastic and fascinating double album.  To get both recordings in one package is pretty amazing. 

André Popp - "If You Go Away"

André Popp - If You Go Away

Vinyl LP, UK, 1972

Circle of Sound (Download)

Probably the worst album in my collection that is still, somewhat interesting due to the fact that he knew Boris Vian.  André Popp was one of the key arrangers during the post-war years in France.  Worked with Bardot and Gréco on their recordings and also with Boris Vian, right before he passed away.   Popp in the Fifties made almost experimental ‘lounge’ music, especially for the hi-fi market that was a big thing at the time.  Vian, without a doubt, being an mechanical engineer, had an interest in new recording equipment and developments in that world.  Would he liked the CD format?  Nevertheless this is not an important album to own. In fact it is on my computer, so it is almost not really here in physical space. 

Brigitte Bardot - "La Madrague" CD, Compilation

Brigitte Bardot - La Madrague

CD, Compilation, France, 1991

Philips

One can criticize Brigitte Bardot, but it won’t be from me.  For one, she was the first movie star I have ever seen on a big screen.  I may have been in a movie theater before, but seeing Roger Vadim’s “A God Created Woman” was my first experience, and in a sense Bardot was my first woman, besides my Mom, in acknowledging a female presence in my life.  A lot of women are beautiful, but Bardot somehow went even beyond that.  

This collection of Bardot’s hits are a part of an interesting series that France Philips put together called ‘Actrices.’   A collection of releases by iconic actresses who happened to make music, and it looks like every major French female movie star made a recording of some sort.  Most of them were lucky enough to have the talents or arrangers Alain Goraguer, Andre Popp and the writing talents of Serge Gainsbourg.  Bardot had them all, well at least musically.  

Still, this is not a great collection, because they left out major Bardot recordings like “Contact” and avoided some of her more ‘odd’ recordings.  But all have the Bardot personality stamped on the grooves, and she doesn’t disappoint as a vocalist.  A limited vocalist yes, but her personality and sexuality comes through as if it was transparent paper.   Her work with Gainsbourg are noting but masterpieces.  Her version with Serge of the classic erotica Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus is a must and worth the price of this CD/Vinyl.  Much more lush than the Birkin version, this is one of the key songs by Serge, and Bardot adds an equal amount of sexuality on this record.  Essential.  Not an easy find anymore, but there are better Bardot collections out there, but still it does have Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus, the original version.  

André Popp & His Orchestra - "Delirium In Hi-Fi" CD Album

André Popp & His Orchestra – Delirium In Hi-Fi

CD Album, Reissue, Remastered, Netherlands, 1997 (Originally 1957, France)

Basta

I bought this album to be a completest with respect to my collection that includes anything to do with Boris Vian. Which over time, leads one to strange places and times. André Popp is for sure in the strange category. Delirium In Hi-Fi is one of the many albums released in the late 1950's dealing with the wonderful world of home Hi-Fi. On one level it is used to test the sound of your new system at home, and on another level it is total perverse French pop music. Like the brilliant Alain Goraguer, who was around the same time and a buddy of Vian's, Popp was in the same line of business. Backing various French stars of the 50's and 60's – for instance Brigitte Bardot, among others. Compared to Goraguer, Popp is more commercial minded and more easy-listening. Except this album is border-line experimental with speeded up vocals and instrumentation. It is sort of like an over-sized or aged child playing in the recording studio. No wonder Boris Vian worked and liked him! The very devil even wrote the liner notes to this album!

But beyond Popp's trash sensibility, lurks a man who loves sound. One often thinks of Eno as a sound-breaker, but it is actually people like Joe Meek and Popp, and in a certain way Andre Hodeir were pioneers in the recording studio and how sound can be reproduced or thinking of recordings as a sepearate medium than live sound. Kitsch as hell, but fascinating as well.

Benjamin Biolay - "A L'Origine" CD Album France

Benjamin Biolay – A L'Origine

CD Album, France, 2005

Virgin

He doesn't have the scope of Serge Gainsbourg (who does?) but Benjamin Biolay's music has been seductive, beautiful, tuneful, and grown-up sounding. Odd enough I don't speak or read French, which is weird because I have spent my adult life publishing French literature translated into English, but Biolay's music conveys the 1:00 AM essence of soul searching.

What I like about French pop music in general is their tradition of well-arranged recordings. Biolay is the real deal because his orchestrations are classy that serves the melody. His whispering vocals float over the music backing and he's not afraid of the brash guitar, which I think he plays. The slickness of the production doesn't cheapen the music, but it does convey an ideal environment.

Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers - "Des Femmes Disparaissent & Les Tricheurs" CD Compliation

Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers – Des Femmes Disparaissent & Les Tricheurs

CD Compliation, 1988

Fontana

It starts off with the Blakey drums, dark, mysterious, and that goes into another world. Then the brass comes in and it welcomes the listener to something wonderful.  Jazz to me is a tremendous aspect of film soundtracks -that is not used anymore. Jazz conveys a mood and it seems the Europeans had a natural relationship with the (mostly) American sound which goes with whatever is up on the screen. Also TV shows from the 50's and early 60's had nice Jazz music for instance “Peter Gunn” written by Mancini, that's marvellous. This album is two soundtracks combined, one is the music to the 1959 French film Des Femmes Disparaissent starring Boris Vian's friend Magali Noel and the great French singer Philippe Clay.  The other is Les Tricheurs.

I never seen the films, but listening to this soundtrack I get images in my head, which is the best for me. I love soundtrack albums, but it doesn't necessary mean I would like the film or even how the music is used in that movie. No, I like it because it's abstract to me, it stands by itself and this album reeks of mood, that's smokey and obviously in the middle-of-the-night feeling. If one is to make choices in life, a soundtrack can supply the right melody with the right mood – and therefore its a life worth living. 

Antoine Duhamel - "Pierrot Le Fou" / "Week-End" (Banes Originales Des Films de Jean-Luc Godard

Antoine Duhamel – Pierrot Le Fou / Week-End (Banes Originales Des Films De Jean-Luc Godard)

CD Album, France, 2001

Universal Music

There are no such thing as a bad Jean-Luc Godard soundtrack. Antoine Duhamel's haunting score for Godard's great Pierrot Le Fou is something to hear with and without the film. The orchestration and melody gives me chills as I listen to it now. There is always a sense of sadness in Godard's work, and that sadness is conveyed in the various soundtracks by a series of composers and performers. But Pierrot Le Fou conveys a sense of regret of not wasted moments, but the sadness that's life itself. History turned sour and slowly realizing that the world you are in is not one of your making or worst yet, you are part of that world. Also the piece very much reminds me of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, which I am not sure if it is an influence or not – but it carries the weight of the world on its melancholy melody. Even the Jazz here has dark overtures.

Week-End doesn't hint despair, it is despair. With some funny moments, but never the less the score to this mid-'60s Godard is full of nervous tension, and one can gather a traffic jam due to a fatal accident, as strings hum over the desolute landscape of abandoned cars and people.