Recordstoreday | Sans Mobile Apparent (OST)

RSD 2022

1x LP

ENNIO MORRICONE’S SUPERB 1971 SOUNDTRACK FOR FRENCH CRIME THRILLER DIRECTED BY PHILIPPE LABRO WIDELY AVAILABLE ON VINYL UNDER ITS ORIGINAL TITLE FOR THE FIRST TIME. RELEASED IN COLLABORATION WITH PHILIPPE LABRO HIMSELF, WITH REMASTERED AUDIO AND DELUXE GATEFOLD ARTWORK

Wewantsounds is delighted to present one of Ennio Morricone’s best and least known soundtracks for the 1971 cult French crime film ‘Sans Mobile Apparent’ directed

by Philippe Labro. This superb soundtrack featuring Morricone’s classic sound has never been widely available on vinyl save for a small limited edition. The set has been carefully remastered from the original tapes with lacquer cut by Frederic Alstadt (Mont Analogue) and gatefold sleeve designed by Eric Adrian Lee. Last but not least, Philippe Labro himself has shared his experience in an exclusive interview with Jeremy Allen, discussing the making of the film, working with the Maestro (at only 34 years old) and his amazing career crossing path with Jean Luc Godard, Serge Gainsbourg and Jean-Pierre Melville.

Philippe Labro is an icon in France: One of the country’s most famous writers and journalists, he’s been at the forefront of France’s cultural life since the 60s: he’s rubbed shoulders with Jean Luc Godard (he plays himself as a Europe 1 journalist giving a lift to Anna Karina in “Made In USA”), Jean Pierre Melville (his mentor who died of a heart attack in front of him in 1973) and Serge Gainsbourg with whom he wrote a whole album for Jane Birkin in 1975, “Lolita Go Home”.

In this maelstrom of activity, Labro took the time to direct a few cult movies, including his masterpiece “L’Heritier” from 1973. Starting in 1969 with the new-wave influenced “Tout Peut Arriver,” produced by Mag Bodard (who’d launched Jacques Demy’s career), he switched to genre film two years later with producer Jacques-Eric Strauss to direct the crime film “Sans Mobile Apparent,” adapted from an Ed McBain novel, “Ten Plus One.”

Strauss who had hit the jackpot in 1969 producing The Sicilian Clan starring Jean Gabin and Alain Delon, was aquainted to Ennio Morricone who had composed the soundtrack for the film. He

suggested the idea to Philippe Labro and the young director jumped on the opportunity to work with the Maestro. The collaboration was swiftly sealed and Morricone then composed one of his most beautiful scores, featuring all of his trademark ingredients: a catchy theme, Alessandro Alessandroni’s unmistakable whistle, lush and dissonant orchestral arrangements plus an enormous groove which will please DJs and diggers alike.

The film, featuring Jean Louis Trintignant and Dominique Sanda (fresh from Bertolucci’s The Conformist), was shot by Labro under the guidance of Jean-Pierre Melville who would give useful pieces of advice to him every night over the phone. A slick, cool thriller set in sunny Nice, the film pays hommage to American genre films in a similar way Dario Argento’s gialli films were, around the same time.

The film has slowly become a cult classic with French film lovers and, according to Labro, has aged well certainly in great part thanks to the formidable music composed by Morricone, giving the film its unique pace. Although the composer was at his peak at the time (Once Upon A Time In The West had only been composed three years earlier), the soundtrack only came out as a single in France at the time. Wewantsounds is happy to release Sans Mobile Apparent on vinyl in its full glory, making this edition the first widely available vinyl edition, with new artwork by Eric Adrian Lee and remastered audio – for the pleasure of all Morricone lovers.

Tracklist: