The French Connection

Don Ellis & Brad Fiedel - The French Connection Collection (2016) {2CD La-La Land LLLCD1408 Limited Collector's Edition rec 1971, 1975}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 766 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 354 Mb
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© 1971, 1975, 2016 La-La Land Records | LLLCD 1408 | Limited Collector's Edition of 2000 units
Jazz / Stage & Screen / Soundtrack / Avant-Garde Jazz

Great thriller soundtracks back to back on one CD – the soundtracks for both French Connection films, both handled by funky jazzman Don Ellis – plus the even rarer score for the later Popeye Doyle film, by Brad Fiedel – packaged here with other rare bonus tracks too! The music by Don Ellis is really incredible – a real cut above other 70s cop and action soundtracks, with a dark edge that shows that Ellis had been listening to some of the hipper European soundtrack composers of the time, but was still also cool enough to kick in with a badass kind of groove whenever he could! The instrumentation on the tunes is very odd – familiar, yet askew – as trumpet, guitar, and keyboard bits come off with some very weird effects. The sound of Popeye Doyle is a bit different – given that the film was an 80s TV addition to the French Connection narrative – with Ed O'Neil in the lead role that was previously handled by Gene Hackman. But Brad Fiedel's score is still pretty nice – definitely more 80s in its instrumentation, but handled with a mode that echoes the Ellis years, with the flavor of a decade later. This 2CD package has way more material than the previous issue – with a total of 48 tracks from the first two films – and 29 more from Popeye Doyle – a whopping 77 tracks in all, with some great notes too!

French Connection is a French-language greatest hits album by Belgian singer Kate Ryan released under ARS Entertainment. This compilation includes all of her French greatest hits, as well as covers (both previously released and unreleased), French singles, French versions of some of her English-language songs, and some new versions of her first hits. Kate's trademark is to remake big French hits from the past. Many of her versions even became bigger hits than the original. French Connection includes the floorfilling "Kate Ryan-treatments" of Voyage, Voyage, Desenchantee and Libertine, but also the worldwide hitsingle Ella Elle L'a and Babacar. The album also features remakes of other well known French tracks such as Les Divas Du Dancing, Sage Comme une Image, Toute Premiere Fois and Kate's breathtaking version of Evidemment.

The repertoire for violin and piano is among the richest in the panorama of classical chamber music. History of this repertoire dates back to the origins of the piano in the eighteenth century with its features evolving in parallel with instrumental modifications and aesthetic taste.