Customer Reviews

La Vie en Rose [Original Soundtrack]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been a fan of Piaf since I was a child in France. I have multiple LPs and CDs. I saw and loved the movie "La Vie En Rose" and had to have the soundtrack. The Piaf songs are wonderful, so clear and crisp you can hear the nuances of her voice. The "original music" was okay. But, no one should try to "interpret" Piaf's songs on the same CD with her, as those singers of the "additional songs" did. It was truly a mistake.
This CD could have been filled with so many of her wonderful songs; les 3 cloches, les amants de Paris, mon legionnaire, le vieux piano, sous le ciel de Paris, etc, etc. To say the least, I am disappointed. There was not even a rendition of the La Vie en Rose in French!

By placing a passel of Piaf's originals at the beginning of this excellent three-act soundtrack, inevitably anything that follows her set will have a hard time holding up. But the score for this beautiful movie can stand on its own, and fulfills the promise, so often abused, that film offers the last great hope for orchestral music. This short set tastefully reflects on moments of melancholy and transcendence and is, occasionally, breathtaking.

The other amazing thing about this soundtrack that makes it worth having, even alongside one or two other Piaf collections you may already own, is the rich re-mastering of many of Piaf's signature tracks. I never knew it could be done with such technical proficiency while retaining the general tone and atmosphere of the recordings that, along with Piaf's timeless singing, makes them immortal.

If only her original French "La Vie en Rose" and a few others had also been remastered and included as well, but that was clearly outside the scope of this project. What's here is wonderful, even among the (quite understandably) weaker "third act" interpretations.

Those who have seen Marion Cotillard's Oscar caliber performance in "La Vie En Rose" will love this disk for the eleven songs she lip-synched so brilliantly in the film--10 of them by Piaf. The old recordings were enhanced with modern technology to sound great. The soundtrack's underscoring tracks and other filler could easily have been deleted. Only the Piaf tracks found their way to my iPod.

The soundtrack to the movie by the same title is excellent. The restoration was superb. The voice of Edith Piaf is masterful.

As wonderful as this CD is, especially the extraordinary remastering of old Piaf recordings, I was most disappointed that the captivating a capella performance of the Marseillaise (sung by Jil Aigrot?)by the child Edith on the street with her father, was not included. That was the first time in the film that the audience heard that wonderful, clear, melodious and powerful voice, and it was most believably the young Piaf. The film created such excellent voice and music continuity, that it deserves a traditional chronological sound track with proper notes and credits for each track. If the imported version is done in that way, it would be well worth pursuing.

The most affecting music on the album are (surprise) by Piaf. Most have been gleaned from "Eternelle Edith Piaf," perhaps the best one-CD collection of Piaf's output in French. The original score, in Section II is quite good and beautifully recorded. The 3rd section, "Original Songs," consists of modern performances of Piaf's output that were too poorly preserved to record in their existing state. My question is: "So why bother?"

I would have preferred either expanded soundtrack excerpts or more Piaf in any language. But it's downright weird that the title cut is reproduced in English. Is the listening audience that averse to French? I doubt it.

In general, a first class album, well-worth buying for fans of popular song, world music and European cabaret. The score would satisfy a discriminating collector, too.

A pity there are virtally no notes whatsoever. And what would that have cost EMI, Hmmmm?

Having seen the movie La Vien Rose, I knew I had to get the CD. Both are terrific. If you haven't listened to or seen the movie I suggest you do both. Excellent music/performances. Bill

I was disappointed in as much as one of the best songs from the movie was left off the sound track "La Vie En Rose". This was the song by the child actress who played Edith as a child and sang the French national anthem. I have all the other music by Edith Piaf and only ordered the movie sound track to have that particular song. The sound track was excellent in every other way. I just don't understand why this particular song was left off it.

WHY????

How can a CD called La Vie en Rose and that is for a film about Edith Piaf not have a copy of the original version of this song, in French?????

The lyrics for this song, La Vie En Rose, were written by Piaf Piaf herself, in 1946. Those French words are not in that song. Even those who do not understand French should be able to see something missing and hear some difference.

Piaf unwillingly sang in English, after repeatedly failing to break into the US market, with her French songs. While that achieved the intended purpose, the English version of this song is a poor version of the original.

This is the signature song. The is the title of the movie too. This is, along with Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, the most important song in the whole disc, in the movie, in her life and also for all Edith and French song lovers. Go figure.

Apart from how they sound, there is a huge difference in the translated lyrics, something that cannot be interpreted in English, due to the different meanings and nuances, e.g. even from the first (French) words in the intro of the song,

Des yeux qui font baisser les miens, can mean

Eyes that make me lower mine, or a pentrating or deep gaze, one that make me avoid his or feel shy...

Un rire qui se perds sur sa bouche, can mean

A smile that is disappearing on his lips, or a faint or fading or just detectable smile.

And that is how he looks.... and I wouldn't bother translating "la vie en rose", which is (from the French song lyrics) what she sees when he holds her in his arms and speaks softly to her, about simple everyday things, Something happend inside to me.... It describes how she feels and then how her heart beats...

Compare such romantic tender and subtle (French) words about love with the English version,

"Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose
When you kiss me, Heaven sighs ... ...

Even with a perfect translation, which is impossible, a song with meaningful words sung with a funny foreign accent is not so great no matter who sings it. Edith singing in English is not good, even though she is an absolutely great singer. Charles Aznavour singing Yesterday When I was Young (Hier Encore) in English is not good. There is so much more in the French version and a funny accent on top of a less perfect translation kills it. This is the same reason why numerous great divas, who are really the best singers, could not sing La Vie En Rose in French well, due to their language problem, even if they have the same power in their voice, e.g. Shirley Bassey or Lisa Minnelli. It is in fact cruel and it makes one cringe hearing such truly great singers attempting to sing in a language they have not mastered.

This CD is unbelievably beautiful. It brings back all my memories of the blessed Edith Piaf. I shall cherish this super upgraded album for many years to come.