PAUL MAURIAT - FILM THEMES II

back 1984


Paul Mauriat - Film Themes Volume II

818 970-2, Philips, Germany/Hong Kong/Malaysia/Singapore. CD.

 
  1. Endless Love (Theme From 'Endless Love') (3:42)
  2. Your Eyes (Theme From 'La Boum 2') (3:05)
  3. What A Feeling... Flashdance (Theme From 'Flashdance') (3:44)
  4. Up Where We Belong (Theme From 'An Officer And A Gentleman') (3:37)
  5. Love Story (Theme From 'Love Story') (3:00)
  6. Don't Cry For Me Argentina (Theme From 'Evita') (3:27)
  7. How Deep Is Your Love (Theme From 'Saturday Night Fever') (2:58)
  8. Melody Fair (Theme From 'Melody Fair) (2:48)
  9. Bilitis (Theme From 'Bilitis') (2:28)
  10. The Summer Knows (Theme From 'Summer Of '42') (3:14)
  11. Maybe Someday (Theme From 'King Kong') (2:36)
  12. You're The One That I Want (Theme From 'Grease') (2:45)
  13. I Don't Know How To Love Him (Theme From 'Jesus Christ Superstar') (2:55)
  14. A Man And A Woman (Theme From 'Un Homme Et Une Femme') (2:20)
  15. Nobody Does It Better (Theme From 'The Spy Who Loved Me') (2:52)







Review
Made in West Germany by PHILIPS, but marketed as an exclusive Hong Kong/Malaysia/Singapore edition in 1984. Catalogue no. 818 970-2. This rare CD features the maestro playing mostly 1970s film themes with a sprinkling of movie songs from the early 1980s thrown in. Mauriat seems to handle the 1970s with the trumpet, harpsichord and piano playing slightly slower romantic passages; while at the same time, trying to capture the Disco beat for the faster-paced numbers.

There is the theme from Love Story; The Summer Knows; How Deep is Your Love from Saturday Night Fever; the Theme from Melody Fair which leads with a suitably melodic trumpet stamping Mauriat's signature before the main melody kicks in; and a surprise ballad – Maybe Someday – from the 1970s version of the story of King Kong. Nobody Does it better is as much a tribute to the Bond movies as a piece made for Mauriat with its large dramatic trumpet-friendly passages. You're the One that I Want is disco a la Mauriat and one for the dance floor!

By the early 1980s, he had already woven mild synthesizer arrangements in between the strings resulting in an even more contemporary sound with a heavy drum section. The theme from Flashdance, Your Eyes and Up Where we Belong (rock flavours juxtaposed with an expressive piano lead) exhibit the style typical of the early 1980s pop fashion. Endless Love is however a surprise with its beautiful harpsichord introduction and string-laden main notes in the mid-sections with the trumpet pleasantly taking up the dual choral segments in the original song sung by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross. For those of you nostalgic for the 60s, there's the bossa nova-like A Man and a Woman – an odd number for this set but no one's complaining when the whole compilation sounds soooo good. Definitely one for your collection!

- ALAN CHONG