Frankenstein Created Woman Soundtrack

The first presentation of A Man and a Woman on CD in stereo – from the original album masters housed in the MGM vaults, in both French and English versions. One of the finest soundtrack albums of the 1960s came in 1966, when Francis Lai composed much of the music for Claude Lelouch's French film A Man and a Woman (Un Homme et une Femme in French). Most European films enjoy very little publicity in the U.S., but A Man and a Woman was an exception because the soundtrack was so superb. With this classic LP, Lai and his allies (who include arrangers Maurice Vander and Ivan Julien) brought together French pop, jazz, and the Brazilian bossa nova (which Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stan Getz, and João Gilberto had popularized in the early 1960s). The bossa nova was as hot in Europe as it was in North America, and France's interest in Brazilian music is underscored by sensuous, caressing Lai offerings like "Aujourd'hui C'est Toi" and the famous title song – all of which feature French vocalists Nicole Croisille and/or Pierre Barouh. While Lai composed most of the melodies, Barouh provided the French lyrics – including some lyrics that he wrote for Brazilian composer Baden Powell's "Samba Saravah." Barouh has a soft, gentle quality to his voice, and he frequently brings to mind another gentle singer: João Gilberto. A five-star collection of mood music, this soundtrack has held up extremely well over the years.

Stevie Wonder's career in the 1980s was a source of frustration to the fans he had earned in the '60s and '70s. In 1982, there were a few new songs on a greatest-hits album and a duet with Paul McCartney. Then came this soundtrack to a Gene Wilder comedy that was simultaneously more of a pop vocal album than most soundtracks and yet less than a full-fledged Wonder record…

A film involving a violently loud, retired, and suicidal blind man (played by Al Pacino) could have been stricken with a motion picture score to match the surface mood. Thomas Newman's score for Scent of a Woman delves beneath the surface, and what is found is a set that sounds not only classical but classy. There is a chilling calm in the music, a dreamlike state, that draws energy from the colors and feelings of autumn in New York City. Just as one track settles into a peaceful sleep, the stings and violins and drums come marching in, often too briefly, and fade away.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the original soundtrack album to the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, an adaptation of the musical The Rocky Horror Show that had opened in 1973. The soundtrack was released as an album in 1975 by Ode Records, produced by Richard Hartley. The album peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard 200 in 1978. It reached No. 40 on the Australian albums chart and No. 11 on the New Zealand albums chart. Following its initial release, the album was not successful, and was deleted everywhere but in Canada. Marty Scott, co-founder of Jem Records, obtained a licensing agreement from Ode Records owner Lou Adler, which enabled the album to be imported to the United States. Scott also obtained a production and distribution license from Adler, which resulted in renewed interest in the album.