Fans of Raymond Lefevre enjoyed a special treat when Taiwan-based Rock Records, licensed Lefevre’s music and compiled them in 1996 into eight volumes of themed selections.
Volume 1: La Reine de Saba
Volume 2: Yesterday Once More
Volume 3: A Time for Us
Volume 4: French Chanson Best Collection
Volume 5: From Italy with Love
Volume 6: European Famous Screen Themes
Volume 7: Special Dedication to THE BEATLES
Volume 8: The Magic of Broadway Musicals
Plus the rare collaboration between Lefevre and Richard Clayderman playing traditional Japanese romantic songs in a collection titled ‘Autumnal Prayer’.
Here are a few which I have personally owned or sold on eBay:
FULL TITLE: Raymond Lefevre Greatest Hits 2 / Yesterday Once More. Made in Taiwan by Rock Records under license from Raymond Lefevre Productions, Paris. Released simultaneously Asia-wide in 1996 reg. no. ROCK RLD-0002. A rare item from an out-of-print Taiwan-issued CD series of commemorative compilations of Monsieur Lefevre’s recordings. As the title of this collection suggests, this compilation revisits the romantic and nostalgic from Lefevre’s trove of recordings from the late 1960s and 1970s. The Lefevre trademark of lush sighing strings is evident on virtually every track, and the compiler has thoughtfully selected ‘La Maison Est En Ruine’ with its very tender oboe-and-violin arrangements to open the collection with an evocative musical scenery set in a French chateau while ending the musical journey in glamorous Italy with the appropriately titled ‘La Dolce’ with an unforgettable accompanying female wordless chorus. Masterly arrangements from a popular interpreter of French Chanson. Some personal favourites include: My Way, Angie [it is amazing what Lefevre’s strings can do with the lower registers here], Mourir D’aimer, Un Belle Histoire, Il Neige sur Yesterday, Yesterday Once More, She, Que Je T’aime, Les Vieux Maries, Nous Irons A Veron, and Aria [it is almost breathtaking to hear how a grand orchestra blends with the sounds of a moog synthesizer – an instrument popular in the late 1960s & 1970s – the result is almost magical]. What’s more, this special edition comes with a commemorative cardboard sleeve for the jewel case, liner notes in both English and Chinese and a B4 paper size poster depicting the rest of the content of this special series on Lefevre – exactly as shown in the photograph below.
TRACK LISTING:
1. LA MAISON EST EN RUINE
2. MY WAY
3. ANGIE
4. L'AIGLE NOIR DÉDIÉ À LAURENCE
5. MOURIR D'AIMER
6. WE SHALL DANCE
7. UNE BELLE HISTOIRE
8. IL NEIGE SUR YESTERDAY
9. JE VAIS T'AIMER
10. YESTERDAY ONCE MORE
11. MAMY BLUE
12. SHE
13. QUE JE T'AIME
14. LES VIEUX MARIÉS
15. ARIA
16. 13 JOURS EN FRANCE
17. NOUS IRONS A VERON
18. LA DOLCE
Raymond Lefevre Greatest Hits 3 / A Time for Us. Made in Taiwan by Rock Records under license from Raymond Lefevre Productions, Paris. Released simultaneously Asia-wide in 1996 reg. no. ROCK RLD-0003. A rare item from an out-of-print Taiwan-issued CD series of commemorative compilations of Monsieur Lefevre’s recordings. As the title of this collection suggests, this compilation revisits a romantic repertoire from Lefevre’s trove of recordings from the late 1960s and 1970s. The Lefevre trademark of lush sighing strings is evident on virtually every track, and the compiler has thoughtfully selected picked a mix of Lefevre’s less well known arrangements of French chanson to showcase the music of love. Some personal highlights include the Paul McCartney hit ‘My Love’ [the trumpet lead on the main melody makes it stand out], the title track ‘A Time for Us’ [this lends itself to the Lefevre treatment because of its deep emotional notes in the original film score], and ‘Donne Tonne Coeur, Donne Ta Vie’ and ‘Sur le Bords de la Tendresse’.
TRACK LISTING::
1.Sans Toi Je Suis Seul.
2.Apres Toi.
3. My Love.
4. Une Simple Melodie.
5. Loin des Yeux, Loin de Coeur.
6. Lady D’arbanville.
7. Donne Tonne Coeur, Donne Ta Vie.
8.La Bal des Laze.
9.Pour Un Flirt.
10. A Time for Us [From ‘Romeo and Juliet].
11. Mille Colombe.
12.100,000 Chansons.
13. Et Bonjour A Toi L’artiste.
14. Le Sud.
15. Fio Maravilha.
16. Belle.
17. Sur les Bords de la Tendresse.
18. Let Me Try Again…
FULL TITLE: AUTUMNAL PRAYER. RICHARD MEETS RAYMOND. Co-Released in Japan/Taiwan and Southeast Asia by Victor Japan and Rock Records Taiwan in 1995 under catalogue number DED2008. Although the liner notes inside are in Chinese, the back cover states that piano and rhythm tracks were arranged by Gerard Salesses, Mark Minier, Herve Roy and Olivier Toussaint at Delphine Studios, Paris. Orchestral tracks arranged by Jean-Michel Lefevre except for the medley, which was personally arranged by Raymond Lefevre himself at Guillaume Tell Studio in Suresnes, France. The entire Raymond Lefevre Orchestra was conducted by the maestro himself. This line up alone makes this CD a rarity – making it almost one of Lefevre’s last major recordings, and what is more, in collaboration with piano great Richard Clayderman. In fact, based on what is known from Clayderman’s UK-based online fan-site, this same album was released in Japan as 'Japon mon amour'. The titles shown below are, as far as I know, accurate translations of the ones in Chinese shown at the back of this disc. This translated track listing was made available on the same Clayderman UK fan-site. As the titles suggest, they are evocative of a lush moonlit dreamy landscape – a series of gallery portraits, if you prefer – collecting vistas of a romantic journey across time in Japan or anywhere in Korea and China. The arrangements are more typically Lefevre than Clayderman in the sense that they deliver a very clever blend of aural sweep through the sheer majesty of their interplay. If you are a fan of either instrumentalist, you will not be disappointed.
TRACK LISTING:
1. Moon from a ruined castle
2. Melody of love on Aoba castle
3. Memories of Summer
4. Medley:
(a) The way to myself
(b) Pechika
(c) The red dragonfly
(d) Lullaby Japan
5. A song of a beach
6. A night in Kitagami
7. My home town
8. Lullaby Takeda
9. Early in Spring
10. Melody of a sakura shell
11. Flower heart.
12. Think of a trip to Chitoko
13. Sakura
Updated 12 June 2012
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