Paul Mauriat

When I was an irresponsible youngster in the 70s, Paul Mauriat was, together with James Last, the arch-enemy. He was a drab symbol of the establishment, the grown-up, well-dressed world of schmaltzy string orchestras, boring old farts. We wanted noise, fuzz, thunder, action and forbidden things! Ballroom blitz and killer queens! Not romantic walks by the Seine, or tearful melancholy and lost l'amours. So what happened? How come that I, some 45 years later, am able to enjoy much of monsieur Mauriat's grand orchestra music? Have I grown up, finally? Not exactly. I think harpsichord is the key word here. Mauriat had a penchant for the harpsichord – it was a trademark of his sound. He also used the piano, grand piano and other keyboard instruments, but the harpsichord was always with him. I have loved the sound of that instrument as long as I can remember. The sentimental and hauntingly sad harpsichord melody on Mauriat's most famous hit, "Love Is Blue", has stayed with me ever since I heard it on the radio when it came out. A few years ago – after I'd been bitten by the library music bug and thereby gained the ability to enjoy and appreciate great and complex orchestral arrangements – I discovered that the British record company Vocalion/Dutton was re-issuing a whole slew of old Paul Mauriat albums on CD, remastered by the masterful remastermind Michael J. Dutton himself. I started buying some of them. I liked much of what I heard. Soon I had bought almost all of them. It was a 2-for-1 project, always 2 albums on 1 CD. So now I have 56 albums by Paul Mauriat and his orchestra on 28 CDs. When I started the Sound Library series I didn't intend to include much mainstream easy listening. But I realized that Mauriat would be an exception. He just had to be included. It took me weeks and months to listen to all the Vocalion CDs and pick out the good stuff. This is the first compilation I do from that roster of nice tunes.

Mauriat's best period was in my opinion from the late 60's, let's say 1967, to the early 70's, let's say 1973. His 80's stuff is generally too synthetic and machine-like, and not to mention the 90's. Still, there are great tunes to be found on almost all his albums, also the later ones. But the sound of those from the second part of his "first" period is the most captivating and lively.

The comp became a mix of some of Mauriat's own compositions, some well-known classics, (like "Pomme, pomme, pomme", a song from the Eurovision Song Contest 1971), and tunes that I have no recollection of having heard before. They might have been hits in different countries on the Continent.

So why isn't the smash hit "Love Is Blue" on this comp? Because I've already included it, on vol. 93. And another of my all-time Mauriat faves, "Silver Fingertips", will soon be found on vol. 11, "Scarlatti Fever", a celebration of the harpsichord.

Ah, this felt good. I feel relieved. I have confessed publicly. I like Paul Mauriat.