Title - The French Dispatch [Original Soundtrack] [x2 LP]
Artist - Alexandre Desplat
For those unaware, ABKCO Records recently released the original soundtrack to The French Dispatch, the new Wes Anderson film with an ensemble cast that includes Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Christoph Waltz, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman, and Anjelica Huston.
With an original score by Academy Award™ winning composer Alexandre Desplat, the film’s original soundtrack was released on CD and all digital platforms in conjunction with the Searchlight Pictures theatrical release of the film this past October 22nd, 2021, but this quite wondrous 2xLP vinyl edition was just released March 11th, 2022.
Entwinned within the original score by Desplat, the Franco-centric soundtrack also features music from Georges Delerue, Grace Jones andCharles Aznavour, and a new version of the French pop hit Aline recorded by Jarvis Cocker.
Side A:
1. Obituary - Alexandre Desplat
2. After You’ve Gone (from Sadie McKee)- Gene Austin with Candy and Coco
3. Simone, Naked, Cell Block J. Hobby Room - Alexandre Desplat
4. Fiasco - Gus Viseur
5. Moses Rosenthaler – Alexandre Desplat
Side B:
6. I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango) - Grace Jones
7. Mouthwash de Menthe – Alexandre Desplat
8. Sonata For Mandolin and Guitar A-Dur, K. 331 Andante Grazioso con Variation VI. Variation 5 - Adagio – Boris Björn Bagger and Detlef Tewes
9. Cadazio Uncles and Nephew Gallery – Alexandre Desplat
10. Inseguimento al Taxi (The Chase) (from Scent of Mystery) – Mario Nascimbene
11. The Berensen Lectures at the Clampette Collection – Alexandre Desplat
Side C:
12. L’Ultima Volta (from I Malamondo) – Ennio Morricone
13. Tu m’as trop menti – Chantal Goya
14. J’en déduis que je t’aime - Charles Aznavour
15. Fugue No.2 in C minor (The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, BWV 871) - The Swingle Singers
16. Adagio (from Comptes à rebours) – Georges Delerue
Side D:
17. Police Cooking – Alexandre Desplat
18. The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner – Alexandre Desplat
19. Kidnappers Lair – Alexandre Desplat
20. A Multi-Pronged Battle Plan – Alexandre Desplat
21. Blackbird Pie – Alexandre Desplat
22. Commandos, Guerillas, Snipers, Climbers and the Jeroboam – Alexandre Desplat
23. Animated Car Chase – Alexandre Desplat
24. Lt. Nescaffier (Seeking Something Missing...) – Alexandre Desplat
25. Aline – Jarvis Cocker
The soundtrack to this film, which revolves around a fictitious newspaper based in a fictional French city of Ennui-sur-Blase, opens on the playfully dainty candor of Obituary (Desplat) and the old-timey 1918 track After You’ve Gone (from Sadie McKee) by Gene Austin with Candy and Coco and follows those up with the ornate key strokes of Simone, Naked, Cell Block J. Hobby Room (Desplat), the 1946 accordion-imbed work of Fiasco (Gus Viseur), and then Side A rounds out on some more key gossamer from Desplat on Moses Rosenthaler.
Next up is Grace Jones’ reworking of Astor Piazzolla’s Libertango from 1981 and Desplat brings us another two minutes of piano brilliance before one of my own personal favorites is brought forth in the shape of the beautifully sculptured, classical elegance of Sonata For Mandolin And Guitar A-Dur K.331, Adagio (Boris Björn Bagger and Detlef Tewes).
Along next is Desplat’s stalkingly dulcet Cadazio Uncles and Nephew Gallery Mario Nascimbene’s stirringly atmospheric Inseguimento al Taxi (The Chase) (from Scent of Mystery) and they are in turn backed by a sterner Desplat piece in the form of The Berensen Lectures at the Clampette Collection.
The rambunctious L’Ultima Volta (from I Malamondo) by Ennio Morricone opens up Side C and is neatly followed the French-sung exciting wonderment of Tu m’as trop menti (aka You Lied Too Much To Me) from Chantal Goya and the laid back, late summer evening ambiance of Charles Aznavour’s cinematic J’en déduis que je t’aime.
This quite wondrously invigorating soundtrack then continues onward with the uplifting, holiday-inspired Fugue No.2 in C minor (The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, BWV 871) from The Swingle Singers and the gentle dancefloor twirl of Adagio (from Comptes à rebours) by Georges Delerue rounding out this side.
They are all then followed seamlessly by a selection of Alexandre Desplat
compositions that run the album out (save for the very last track) and which begin with the gentle rhythmic bounce of both Police Cooking (Desplat) and The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner and continue onward with, well, in truth, much of the same musical fare throughout: Kidnappers Lair, A Multi-Pronged Battle Plan, Blackbird Pie, Commandos, Guerillas, Snipers, Climbers and the Jeroboam, and Animated Car Chase, stopping only for the stillness of Lt. Nescaffier (Seeking Something Missing...), closing on the Jarvis Cocker’s tantalizingly majestical, lavishly bombastic Aline.
The French Dispatch revolves around a fictitious expatriate magazine that tells three stories published in this legendary journal. It celebrates writers and the thrill of great storytelling. Music plays a key and distinct role in each of the “chapters” of the film. Renown pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet is featured in the film’s score and contributes a series of stunning solos on the recordings.
ABKCO will offer a Super Deluxe Set containing the Double-LP of The French Dispatch (Original Soundtrack), a Limited Edition set of The French Dispatch Art Cards, a double-sided poster and for the first fans to order, a printed copy of The French Dispatch Magazine.
Official ABKCO Purchase Link
Official Purchase Links for French Dispatch
Official Listen and Purchase Links for Aline
Official Listen and Purchase Links for Animated Car Chase
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