One of the greatest soundtracks ever – an archetypal album from French composer Francis Lai, and a record that set the tone for countless other imitations to come – yet which is still the best! The groove here is really unique – a spare blend of bossa influences, jazzy organ lines, and wordless vocals that are sung beautifully by French singers Nicole Croisille and Pierre Barouh – and although a mainstream success, the record was the initial force behind the legendary Saravah imprint that Barouh would form later, to record a wide range of groundbreaking work in a variety of genres. But history aside, the music here is plenty – and from the very first note the whole soundtrack grabs you with a sense of warmth and sentiment that defy description – modes never heard before in the soundtrack world, and which really broke the mold from Hollywood conventions! Titles include the seminal bossa number "Samba Saravah", plus "A Man & A Woman", "Today It's You", "In Our Shadow", "At 200 MPH", and "Stronger Than Us". CD

One of the richest 70s soundtracks ever penned by Piero Piccioni – a score for a film that was part action, part comedy – and which really shows the presence of both in the music! The film stars the great Alberto Sordi, but is set in New York – and Piccioni brings in all these American funk and jazz elements to the music – sometimes electric grooves that fit the 70s mode, sometimes older jazz styles that evoke an older generation of New York – blended with other tracks that have more conventional soundtrack strings and orchestrations! Piccioni himself handles the piano on the recording, I Cantori Moderni make an appearance, and titles include "Surprise Pastorale", "New York New York", "The American Dream", "Gunz Concerto", "Little Italy", "Love In Brooklyn", "Swingin' At Savoy", "Anastasia Mio Fratello", and "New York By Night". 2CD edition adds in 24 more bonus tracks on CD2 – a total of 37 titles in all! CD

The lost early work of composer David Shire – a talent maybe best known for some of his bigger 70s soundtracks, but one who's equally great here in the 60s – but in a very different way! Much of the music here has kind of a jazz plus sort of approach – larger orchestrations, but with some key jazz elements – including some funky electric moments that preface Shire's famous work to come! There's some echoes of the styles Kenyon Hopkins was using at the time, mixed with some more conventional scoring too – but all handled with that freshness that always sets David Shire apart from the rest. There's some really great tracks from the soulful Sadbird score, including two sung by a young Melba Moore – and the jazzier elements of Secrets and Runaway are both great, next to tracks from other scores that include The Final War Of Olly Winter, Appalachian Autumn, and The Experiment. 29 tracks in all – most appearing here for the first time! CD