Ajda Pekkan "Combien Je T'Aime'' (produced by Alec Costantinos)

[Marcio**]

ajda Videos depuis Youtube(c)





From 1978

[STEPHEN L FREEMAN]

Ajda Pekkan's version has always struck me as how "You're The Most Precious Thing..." should have sounded, in the first place. The piano, strings and requisite love & kisses harp runs sound nowhere near as forced as they do in the English version. And if you listen to the bv's, towards the end of Ajda's version, you'll hear Alec's wonderful voice riding atop the rest of the singers. (I'm not terribly partial to Male vocals, overall, but I LOVE Alec's voice!)

Knowing how rushed the recordings were, for most of the TGIF soundtrack, I'd always felt that "You're The Most Precious Thing In My Life" sounded even more contractual than "You Must Be Love", in regards to Alec coming-up with a standard-formula "love & kisses" song.

And the extended mix of it (along with TGIF) was far removed from the detailed precision that we'd come to expect after all the previous mix/engineer work from Peter Kelsey and Stephen Short. Though, that could be because the tracks were mixed by someone else, as a result of the time-crunch Neil Bogart imposed on the soundtrack's creative element, by having the songs written & recorded for each scene, after the filming of the particular scene was completed.

Also, there's no studio credits to be found on either of love & kisses' studio recordings for the TGIF soundtrack. But I'd bet good money that they were not mixed by Peter Kelsey, or Stephen Short. Whomever did mix them was none too familiar with working with Alec's productions. They're just a tad too sloppy. And those breaks in the 12" versions???:icon_eek: I'll never understand what was going on there!

Another perfect example of the same situation would be the LP & 12" mixes of Donna's "Last Dance". You'd never realize that was a Bob Esty production, by listening to those mixes. Just way too muddy and lacking the track-separation you'd expect from Esty's work. The "Greatest Hits" version of "Last Dance" is an infinitely cleaner, brighter, tighter mix. With each track having a clear & defined position within the mix.

Ajda Pekkan's version, also, has eluded me for all these many years.:icon_confused: But I will not give-up the search. I WILL find a copy of her LP, with "Combien Je T'Aime".:icon_mrgreen:

As a post-script: in 2001, "Combien Je T'Aime'' was also recorded by (a very handsome) Benoit Brisson, for his LP "Le Dernier Rire"

[Dr. Disco]

(I'm not terribly partial to Male vocals, overall, but I LOVE Alec's voice!)

Knowing how rushed the recordings were, for most of the TGIF soundtrack, I'd always felt that "You're The Most Precious Thing In My Life" sounded even more contractual than "You Must Be Love", in regards to Alec coming-up with a standard-formula "love & kisses" song.

Also, there's no studio credits to be found on either of love & kisses' studio recordings for the TGIF soundtrack.

On the topic of Alec's vocals and the TGIF soundtrack, I was wondering who the male vocal is on Donna Summer's "Je t'Aime (Moi Non Plus)"? Is that by chance Alec R. Costandinos?

(Sorry for taking only snippets of your post, Stephen. I wanted to keep my question somewhat on topic.)

[STEPHEN L FREEMAN]

On the topic of Alec's vocals and the TGIF soundtrack, I was wondering who the male vocal is on Donna Summer's "Je t'Aime (Moi Non Plus)"? Is that by chance Alec R. Costandinos?

There's an ancient rumor that it's Alec's voice. But from a "time and place" viewpoint, that's a bit of a streeetch of the imagination. Donna's "Je Taime" was in pre-production by Spring of '77. Which is before Alec had even recorded the first 'love & kisses' LP. And even longer before it was picked-up by Casablanca.

As well, Alec recorded (at that time) exclusively in Paris, or London. While Giorgio had his own studios, Musicland, in Germany. I don't see any professional connection there, at that time, at all.

My money is on Giorgio, as the male vocalist on Donna's "Je Taime". If nothing else, compare it to his vocals on the b-side of "Knights In White Satin". To my ears, anyway, it's the same voice.

(Although... I personally maintain that "Love In C-Minor" was wholly inspired by "I Wanna Funk With You Tonight". Same pretense... Same style of arrangement, albeit stretched-out to twice the length... Same vocalists... And LICM was recorded at the time IWFWYT was riding the charts...)

(Sorry for taking only snippets of your post, Stephen. I wanted to keep my question somewhat on topic.)

Not to worry... As you can see, I have trouble coloring within the lines, myself.:icon_lol:

[Voyage]

I personally liked Adja's version of this song and I must say her LP with this song is one that's worth listening to. It has "Pour Lui" which is a cover of "Maybe", and "Je Danse", great songs too.