I’m one happy bargain-hunter! Yesterday I popped into HMV to seek out the La Vie En Rose film soundtrack and to my shock found it priced at £16… But before I left (to ask my friend Mr Ebay) stopped at the counter to buy a very cheap DVD. I mentioned the price of the soundtrack to the guy behind the counter which he checked. I then mentioned that I had seen for sale a special limited edition on Ebay of the La Vie En Rose DVD which included the soundtrack CD. ‘Hang on a second, I think I’ve seen that…’ at which point he went over to a shop shelf and gleefully handed me the special edition box set, including the CD I wanted. It was £30 reduced to £18 and also included the special edition double DVD and lavish 40-page booklet!

My reason for wanting the soundtrack CD was to enjoy the vastly upgraded movie sound quality of Piaf singing her best songs. In addition, I wanted to hear the original orchestral music which ran through the film. The CD is split into three segments: the first is Piaf singing eleven of her best and most moving songs. The second segment includes nine orchestral incidental pieces, while the third includes seven additional songs sung by various artists including the excellent French singer Jil Aigrot.

The only word that can describe the album is ‘stunning.’ I have never before heard Piaf with such clarity, vibrancy and emotion. The re-mastering process for film deserves special mention and, for me, has thrown new light on the talent of one of music’s true greats. The first song, ‘Heaven Have Mercy’, with its explosive opening orchestral flourish, knocked me back in my seat, followed by Piaf’s extraordinary English-speaking vocal. Piaf’s superb phrasing and the emotional delivery are an object lesson to anyone wishing to carve a career from the art. Other songs include the theatrical ‘Milord’, light and breezy ‘Rien De Rien’, ‘La Foule’, ‘Cri Du Coeur’, ‘La Vie En Rose’ (English version), ‘Padam Padam’ (with Piaf introducing the song in English), the epic and heart-stopping ‘Mon Deu’, deeply contemplative, moving and utterly beautiful ‘L’Hymne A L’Amour’ (which in the film follows the death of her boxer husband in a plane crash). The first segment finishes with the wistful ‘Mon Menege A Moi’ and show-stopper ‘Non Je Me Regrette Rien. The second segment’s original film music is some of the best I have heard and follows in acute detail every twist and turn of Piaf’s extraordinary and all-too-short life.

Whether you’re a Piaf fan or not, you will be overwhelmed with the quality and emotional pull of this record. And if you have yet to se the film and Marion Cotillard’s classic, Oscar-winning performance, what are you waiting for…? The double DVD is currently on sale in HMV for just £7!

5/5