FRANCIS LAI - CINEMA

He's got shaggy long hair on the cover, but we still love him anyway – and honestly, Francis Lai may well be one of our favorite soundtrack composers ever! Sure, the guy hit early fame for his soundtrack to A Man & A Woman, but as this big box set will attest, he had a genius career that lasted years – scoring films famously for French director Claude Lelouch, as well as a host of other screen efforts that are showcased here! The box includes many great recordings never issued on CD before – and is a great companion to other Lelouch-heavy collections of Lai's work showing his ability to go beyond famous themes, and hit a rich array of great sounds through the 70s and early 80s.

In addition to two CDs of instrumental music, mostly from the three decades of Lai's career, the package also features one more CD of vocal numbers by Nicole Croisille – the singer who really made some of his best themes shine. Includes work from the films The Games, Hannibal Brooks, L'Odeur Des Fauves, Le Petit Matin, Un Amour De Pluie, Le Cinema De Minuit, Le Petit Poucet, Le Bon Et Les Mechants, Child Under A Leaf, Bilitis, Bonjour La Trois, Madame Claude 2, Les Yeux Noirs, Bernadette, Le Passager De La Pluie, and many more. Croisille sings versions of "Le Passager De La Pluie", "Images", "Un Deuxieme Amour", "Vivre Pour Vivre", "Il Y Avait", and "Avant Toi". ~ Dusty Groove