Michel Magne - Les Tontons Flingueurs

Cat. no: PCR035
Format: LP
Barcode: 7640186551564
Release Date: 19th March 2021
Genre: Soundtrack

The music from Les Tontons Flingueurs (aka Crooks in Clover aka Monsieur Gangster) by French composer Michel Magne is as instantaneously recognisable as the James Bond theme, thanks to a short and recurring melodic motif that can still stick in the heads of 21st century kids.

Monothematism is a word used by musicologists to refer to the use of stylistic variations based on a single musical theme as can be heard in the Tontons : on the banjo, during the nose punch sequences, and played jazz, or blues, or Hully Gally style.

Though the Tontons music may on first listen sound nothing different than a straightforward yet catchy soundtrack, it turns out to be a real exercise in style. When reading Michel Magne’s autobiography “L’amour de vivre” it clearly appears that mixing folk music and sound experiments was a purposeful artistic choice.

Tracks: Route de Nuit / Tamour / Slow des Tontons / Tamour Hully Gully / Tontons Swing Final / Final