k Pop Love Story

L’une des figures les plus populaires de la musique rock et pop américaine, Paul Simon a connu la gloire dans les années 60 au sein du duo Simon & Garfunkel puis à travers une brillante carrière solo. Indéniablement l’un des songwriters les plus doués de sa génération, Paul Simon est à l’origine de quelques-uns des plus grands succès de la culture pop et rock.
Né en 1941 dans le New Jersey de deux parents professeurs, Paul Simon déménage rapidement avec sa famille dans le quartier du Queens, à New York. D’abord passionné par la musique jazz et folk, le jeune Simon tombe ensuite sous le charme du R&B et du rockabilly grâce à des artistes comme Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis et Carl Perkins.

Best-known internationally for her poised, belting rendition of the theme to Goldfinger, the 1964 entry in the James Bond series (as well as 1971's Diamonds Are Forever and 1979's Moonraker), Shirley Bassey became one of the most enduringly popular vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century. Known as "Bassey the Belter" and also the "Tigress of Tiger Bay," her early career in touring shows and cabaret brought her a recording contract with Philips by the late 1950s. After reaching the top of the British charts in 1959 with "As I Love You" and later "Reach for the Stars/Climb Every Mountain," Bassey was tapped to sing the theme song to the third James Bond vehicle.

Spring 2016 will be the 50th anniversary of the music for A Man and a Woman, Francis Lai's birth-certificate as a film-music composer. To commemorate the event, Play-Time is proud to present this 7CD boxed set entitled Francis Lai Anthology, a collection whose simple aim is to present the (very) original soundtracks composed by the great Lai, now carefully restored for the occasion. Each album in the set has its own concept: Lelouch-Belmondo for example, with the music from Itinerary of a Spoiled Child and Love is a Funny Thing, or Lelouch-Hallyday, notably for the electrifying score from L'Aventure, c'est l'aventure (Money Money Money), a pop tsunami that was never published after the film's release… until now. The set also includes the CD Double polars (from the films Body of my Enemy and The Crook), the iconic original score of Bilitis, here for the first time in its splendid unabbreviated version, and also a CD devoted to the productive association between Francis Lai and René Clément (with the music from their films And Hope to Die and The Baby sitter). Along the way, the contents reveal previously unreleased music and other rarities: the complete signature-tunes that Lai composed for FR3 Television; pieces written for short films (notably works directed by Claude Pinoteau); and an iconoclastic reading of Les Etoiles du Cinéma, specially recorded by the brilliant pianist and composer Jean-Michel Bernard in tribute to his master.

This expansive Box Set contains all 63 of Tony Bennett’s albums in separate facsimile LP jackets, three DVDs, six volumes of Bennett’s non-album singles, a previously unreleased CD of his Las Vegas debut from 1964, and two discs of rarities, including Bennett’s first recording, an Army V-Disc of “St. James Infirmary Blues,” making it an absolute treasure trove for Bennett fans and collectors.