Michel Legrand was only 22 when he created this best-selling theme album, a selection of Paris-centered standards from both sides of the Atlantic, scored for his own slightly jazzy orchestral ensemble. It's probably one of the few easy listening records (or any album until much later) where the work was meant to be listened to as a whole:
Legrand blends 16 songs together into a sort of suite, beginning with church bells chiming in the square, then taking off on a musical journey around the city. The arrangements are heavy on the strings and accordion and not, as the label now touts,
Miles Davis, who is not very discernible -- if there at all. (
Davis certainly took part later in "Legrand Jazz"). Considering that the young
Legrand cut this album as a quick way to make money, the resulting success (and the doors that it opened for him) are remarkable.