When ‘La Piscine’ was was released in France in 1969, it created a stir and became an instant classic. Starring the sexy duet of Alain Delon and Romy Schneider, it had all the ingredient for a smash hit: stunning actors, a great story of jealousy and sexual tension and the magical sun-drenched setting of the French Riviera. All you needed was a soundtrack to match and Deray turned to Michel Legrand who had struck gold with “The Umbrella Of Cherbourg” and “The Thomas Crown Affair”.
For “La Piscine”, Legrand came up with the same magic: a great theme which he declined in several jazzy and groovy variations to match the moods and tensions of the film. For the “Main Theme” and “De Souvenirs En Regrets” Legrand invited his sister Christiane, also a gifted singer, to scat with him and mirror the Delon-Schneider couple on screen. Also invited was French violin ace Stephane Grappelli who play on several queues. To spice up the score and reflect the party mood of late 60s Cote D’Azur, Legrand added a pinch of groove with “Dans La Soiree” and two funky pop songs penned by Marilyn and Alan Bergman, the jerky “Run, Brother Rabbit, Run” sung by Delaney Bramlett (who was starting Delaney & Bonnie) and the superb mid-tempo “Ask Yourself Why” sung by Sally Stevens.
This reissue of “La Piscine” is accompanied by three bonus tracks, the original queue for the opening credit plus two superb variations in the form of “Chassé Croisé” featuring Eddy Louiss’ Hammond Organ and the languid “Une Enquete” featuring Grappelli. For RSD the release is augmented with the super rare and funky 7″ of another Legrand-Deray collaboration from 1972 for the film “Un Homme Est Mort.” The soundtrack only came out in France as a single at the time which has become a highly sought-after nugget on the jazz funk digging scene and is reissued here in its original artwork. All in all, this is pure undiluted Michel Legrand from his best period which Wewantsounds is happy to present with remastered audio and deluxe presentation.
