THE FRENCH CONNECTION / FRENCH CONNECTION II SOUNDTRACKS
(FSM Vol. 4 No. 6 © 1971, 1975, 2001)

TRACK LISTING
Main Title • Charnier • Copstail • The Old Fort • Staking Out Sal • The Car • Popeye Blues • Bugging Sal and Angie • Hotel Chase • Subway • The Shot • This Is It • Lincoln Blues • Rocker Panels • Au Revoir • The Last Roundup • Frog One Is In That Room • End Title

Main Title/Waterfront • Boat Ride • Popeye's Montage • Volleyball • Hit • Heroin • O.D. • Pain • Rehabilitation • Revenge • Boat Bottom/Drydock • Stalking/Here Come the Cops • Big Chase • Exhaustion • End Title

PERSONNEL
Don Ellis
    trumpet, electric trumpet

complete personnel not given, but its most likely the Tears of Joy or Connection band augmented (according to the liner notes) with a few session players.

REVIEW
FINALLY! Don's score for both of the French Connection films released for the first time EVER. This collection, since it was scored for a movie, is basically just cues and brief bits, but I recommend it to any Ellis fan or film score buff. Film Score Monthly did a fantastic job restoring Don's complete score, and it sounds great considering the music has been sitting in the vaults for decades.

"Subway" is better known as "Theme from The French Connection," and here we have a much different version than the one Don recorded on the Connection album…mostly strings, plus a solo by Don. In fact, Don gets in a few solos on the first half of the disc, including a brief bit with the echoplex on "Copstail." You may also recognize the "Charnier" theme as "Nicole" from the Soaring album. Lots of dissonance and tension throughout, nicely echoing the topics of the movies. Ironically, the majority of this music didn't even make it into the final cut of the film (including "Copstail" and "Charnier"), making this reissue that much more valuable. It is also of historical interest because the French Connection sequel score is the only recording work Don did in 1975 (that I am aware of, anyway). Too bad Don didn't stick around to do more film scoring.

Special thanks to Shaun for clueing me in that this CD even existed.