This set is beyond awesome and sounds truly incredible. If you think about it, it's also really a wonderful bargain because it is essentially four TV score albums in one, plus exciting bonus themes. The two disc set is so packed that each of the main shows gets 31-39 minutes of music, even with the space taken by the bonuses! Many labels have put out standalone albums of around that length, for $20. Getting four of them for only $5 more is a total steal...and the music itself is overall excellent!
Any fan of Goldsmith, Broughton, Grusin, or Schifrin *needs* to pick this up, as they are all honestly at the top of their game, here. (I haven't listened to the Parker yet, but I'm also not particularly familiar with his music.) Since I am a fan of Patrick Williams, I will express some brief disappointment that he has only a theme represented here, when the musician credits in the back make it clear that he composed an entire pilot score. As noted in the other thread on this release, however, David Shire fans needn't fret because the cool main and end titles for Tales of the Unexpected, included here, are all he wrote...he scored no episode proper.
I knew I loved the Goldsmith Barnaby Jones pilot score already of course, but I was shocked at just how much I loved 70s Bruce Broughton, particularly track 18. I would LOVE for Barnaby Jones to get a follow up stand alone 2 CD release of additional scores from this series, like Intrada did for Then Came Bronson after FSM put out a full disc of Duning and Melle in their TV Omnibus. That was a single season show whereas Barnaby Jones was so popular it lasted for EIGHT seasons (the most popular Quinn Martin production perhaps, by that measure), so maybe LLL (or even Intrada?) would consider it after all three Quinn Martin Collections have come out and been wildly successful...(I hope?)
Aside from one other Bruce Broughton score, other exciting composers who scored at least one episode of the series include: Laurence Rosenthal, Tom "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" Scott, Jeff "Support Your Local Sheriff!" Alexander, oh and two episode scores by the legend Hugo FREAKIN' Friedhofer! There are also a bunch of familiar TV composer names in the mix like Tatro, Markowitz, Riddle, Drasnin, Parker, Rubin, Kane, Romanis, and others. Plenty of material worthy of a follow up release, IMO.
My only immediate wish regarding this set though is for nice individual covers, if anyone is up for making them. I've split all of these up into their own albums in iTunes (yes, even the theme-only things) and it would be fantastic if I could get custom album art to go with them! I know my buddy Brad Wills has already done some neat custom art for Barnaby Jones ages ago, but that could use a slight re-do in light of this new release not being Goldsmith only.
Yavar
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