... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of work by Francis Lai – the great French soundtrack composer who's best known for his magical work with Claude Lelouch on films like A Man & A Woman and Live For Life! The set features tracks from films that stretch back to 1966 and up into current years – and together, they offer a picture of Lai that shows a more serious, almost orchestral approach to his music – with plenty of darker themes that still contain the charm of early years, but which show a more traditional sense of soundtrack scoring. Still, there's plenty of nicely warm and romantic tracks – which are always his strongest suit – like "Live For Life", "Theme To Catherine", "Zoom", "A Man & A Woman", "Stronger Than Us", "Today It's You" and "124 Miles An Hour". LP, Vinyl record album

A sleazy film, but one with some really great music from Francis Lai – the composer better known for his mainstream contributions to classics like A Man & A Woman and Live For Life! In any setting, Lai displays an amazing genius for spare tunes that hit a lyrical chord and a warmly sentimental mode – never one that's sleepy or drippy, but just the right balance of sounds and rhythms to convey a tremendous amount with very little. Lai plays a fair bit of keyboards here, lightly electric, and relatively spare – but not as much so as on some of his other 70s soundtracks. Titles include "Une Soiree Orientale", "La Vierge Anna Marie", "Emmanuelle Au Hong Kong", "Le Theme D'Emmanuelle", and "La Maison De Rendez-Vous". LP, Vinyl record album

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". LP, Vinyl record album

(Funky 45's, Soundtracks) 7-inch, Vinyl record

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". LP, Vinyl record album

Genius work from French composer Francis Lai – one of his greatest soundtracks ever, and done during the same period as Live For Life and A Man & A Woman! The feel here is very similar to the work of those films – and was also done for a project directed by Claude Lelouch – and as on A Man & A Woman, both Pierre Barouh and Nicole Croisille sing vocals on the session, bringing a really groovy vocal touch to the set! The tunes range from broadly sweeping and soaring numbers, to others that have a bouncy French pop feel – and Lai really comes through with some beautiful instrumentation for the set, especially on a few of the tracks that feature organ! There's three versions of the great track "Killy", an anthemic ditty that's sung by Nicole Croisille, and played again on solo organ – and other tracks include "Descente", "Peggy", and "13 Jours En France". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little soundtrack that's got some really wonderful go-go tunes that have that hip 60s "jerk" style that was so big in French pop! Served up here in a rare Japanese vinyl pressing, too! LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning soundtrack from the legendary Francis Lai – a record that got a fair bit of circulation at the time, as it was a follow up to his huge global hit, A Man & A Woman (aka Un Homme Et Une Femme)! The style here is equally great – a groovy sound that completely changed the way soundtrack music was used in the 60s – airy, jazzy, and with the same mix of bossa and mod styles that you might find in some of your favorite Italian soundtracks of the time – although at a global scale, we always think that Francis really set the tune for others to follow! There's some nice organ, great use of trumpet, and the record even has some groovy vocals at points from the wonderful Nicole Croisille – who'd sung on the Man & A Woman soundtrack, and also worked with Lai on other Saravah Records albums too. And in a way, since Pierre Barouh had a hand in some of these tunes, the whole thing is almost a precursor to Saravah – certainly, like A Man & A Woman, where Barouh had some help in raising the funds for that project. Titles include "Theme To Candice", "Theme To Catherine", "Theme To Robert", "All At Once It's Love", "Zoom", and a few versions of the title cut! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic soundtrack from the great Francis Lai! The record is one of his most unusual – and features a number of short songs that focus on spare keyboard work, either on organ, piano, or electric piano, and with some cool groovy instrumentation, and a bit of light strings and woodwinds. The slow sensuous themes are among some of the best Lai instrumental work we've ever heard – and the soundtrack is a real gem from one of the best points in his career. The set kicks off with the vocal number "Le Passager De La Pluie", sung by the lovely Severine, and includes the cuts "Theme Des Voitures", "L'Arrestation", "Theme Dobbs", "Souvenir De Melancolie", "Le Viol", and "Theme Bestial". Wonderful stuff! LP, Vinyl record album

A sleazy film, but one with some really great music from Francis Lai – the composer better known for his mainstream contributions to classics like A Man & A Woman and Live For Life! In any setting, Lai displays an amazing genius for spare tunes that hit a lyrical chord and a warmly sentimental mode – never one that's sleepy or drippy, but just the right balance of sounds and rhythms to convey a tremendous amount with very little. Lai plays a fair bit of keyboards here, lightly electric, and relatively spare – but not as much so as on some of his other 70s soundtracks – and titles include "Emmanuelle 2", LA Seduction De L'Ile De Bali", "Emmanuelle Au Hong Kong", "Le Plaisir D'Amour", "La Maison De Rendez-Vous", and "L'Amour D'Aimer" – which has vocals from Sylvia Kristel. LP, Vinyl record album

One of Francis Lai's more successful soundtracks, written shortly after his legendary work on Un Homme et Une Femme and Vivre Pour Vivre. The theme of the film is one of Lai's most instantly recognized ones, and it's served up here in a number of different versions with spare haunting keyboards. The rest of the score's a mix of spare moody electric tracks and sweeping orchestral ones with a great rush of emotion. Titles include "Un Homme Qui Me Plait", "Concerto Pour La Fin D'Un Amour", "Las Vegas Circus Ballet", and "Les Filles En Cage". LP, Vinyl record album

A really lovely soundtrack from Forever Pavot – contemporary, but with some of the best touches of our favorite French film scores of the late 60s – a blend of sentiment and subtle instrumentation, light melody and occasional groove – all handled with excellent keyboards, flutes, and other sweet touches throughout! Pavot often has the sense of space and tune of Francis Lai – which makes the record a great hit in our book – and the organ, piano, and harpsichord moments are especially great – on titles that include "Au Chalet 2", "La Ballade De Poulenc", "Dans L'Aquarium", "Generique Debut", "En Voiture", "Les Amants", and "Marche Dans La Niege". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare EP for the film L'Homme Presse – music that has this open, floating sort of vibe – light strings, and isolated piano lines – almost at a level that's like some of our favorite French composers from the early 70s. There's some lightly classical touches, but the sound is quite contemporary overall – with a moody vibe that reminds us of some of the darker moments from Francis Lai. (Funky 45's, Soundtracks) 7-inch, Vinyl record

2 of the greatest soundtracks ever from Francois De Roubaix – both recorded in that magical year of 1967! First up on the set is Les Adventuriers – a mindblowingly wonderful score for a Robert Enrico film, and one that offers a unique blend of jazzy rhythms, western themes, and more – all tied together by an extremely haunting theme! Some tunes have spaghetti western-esque acoustic guitar and whistling, while others have a more Frenchy isolated piano, played with a slightly watery feel – and some others take on a much more driving, almost Francis Lai-like approach. De Roubaix score for Jean Pierre Melville's classic Le Samourai follows in a much darker mode – as moody and solitary as the film's main character, but graced with some warmer touches on piano, flute, and even a bit of organ – none of which are especially jazzy, but which color in the music with extremely evocative tones. Titles include "Laetitia Par Alain Delon", "Journal De Bord", "Enterrement Sous-Marin", "Acrobaties Aeriennes", "Hotel Sandwich", "Martey's", "Valerie", "Le Samourai", and "Le Destin De Costello". CD

Incredible soundtrack work! You may know nothing about Francois De Roubaix, and the films these tracks are from are even more obscure – but trust us, this is a great set of tracks! De Roubaix follows in a tradition of strange baroque arrangements that's vaguely similar to early work by Michel Colombier, with touches of romanticism from Francis Lai – but it's got a strange twist that's all its own. These tracks feature odd bits of electronics, weird guitar parts, haunting woodwind passages, jaunty rhythms, strange vocals – and almost always, a commitment to keen melody and inventive instrumentation. A few cuts are a bit cheesy, but others are jaw-droppingly fresh – and are some of the best soundtrack work we've been exposed to in a long time. LP, Vinyl record album

A contemporary record, but one that really owes a lot to the classic soundtrack modes of the Italian and French scene at the end of the 60s – done with all sorts of wonderful instrumentation that mixes keyboard lines with cool production that makes things sound all sort of moody and beautiful! There's plenty of warmth in the music – maybe in the territory of some of our favorites by Francis Lai from the early 70s – and there's also a strong sense of spaciousness, ala Stelvio Cipriani – which makes even the slightest cool touches even more wonderful! Heck, even the titles continue that vibe – and include "Jardin", "Dans La Piscine", "Du Suspense", "Generique Debut", "Roller", "Best Seller", and "Ambiance Restaurant". LP, Vinyl record album