John Barry - We Have All The Time In The World (Sung By Louis Armstrong) [again]

ORIGINATION On Her Majesty's Secret Service LP
RECORDED IN 1969
LAST LISTENED TO last night
RATING ★★★★★

I had this one a few weeks ago.

John Barry - We Have All The Time In The World (Sung By Louis Armstrong)

ORIGINATION On Her Majesty's Secret Service LP
RECORDED IN 1969
LAST LISTENED TO last night
RATING ★★★★★

This is a smooth, gentle and lovely, lovely song. The contrast of the sweet strings and the warmth of Louis' rough old voice is so prefectly balanced that. rounded out by the gentle trumpet tones he produces, makes it feel like slipping into a warm bath. For three minutes and eleven seconds all your worries will just slip away.

[repetition]

Whip crack away, whip crack away, whip crack awaaaaaay!

Doris Day - The Deadwood Stage

ORIGINATION The Best of Doris Day CD
LAST LISTENED TO yesterday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT hilarious
RATING ★★★★★

If this doesn't make you smile, you probably shouldn't be here. Whip crack away!

John Barry

The first alarm call of the morning was a brief interlude of a radio presenter saying something about James Bond scores. The third call was during a news break, where the reader mentioned something close to "he won five Academy Awards". I woke up then, realising that another musical legend was gone. If there was any morning song in my head, it was washed away in a tide of Barry goodness. Here are just two of my favourites.

Angelo Badalamenti - Freshly Squeezed

ORIGINATION Twin Peaks
LAST LISTENED TO every day for a week
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT astronomic
RATING ★★★★★

When Twin Peaks hit the nation's television screens at the start of the last decade of the twentieth century, I was just a little young to fully appreciate the leap forward in programme making that it represented. Nonetheless I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Film director David Lynch was one of the driving forces behind the show and of all the cinematic elements he introduced, for me it was the soundtrack that made the strongest impression. Strongly jazz-influenced and scored by long-time Lynch associate Angelo Badalamenti, it was and is almost unique in its filmic approach to television. It contains several leitmotifs, not least of which is the cyclic, strolling bass line that features prominently in Freshly Squeezed.

The piece was first introduced onscreen when FBI Agent Dale Cooper, who is having breakfast at his hotel, is approached by coquettish teenager Audrey Horne. Something of the multi-level nature of that encounter is carried in the music, which is playful yet holds the sexual undertones.

The two most important elements of the piece, however, are the cycling bass and the vibraphone. The bass is the very epitome of cool, which oozed from many of the show's characters and in particular Agent Cooper. Good or bad, the inhabitants of Twin Peaks were almost all very cool and the bass line, repeated with variations across several parts of the score, reinforces that impression. In contrast, the ethereal modulation of the vibraphone represents the show's dream world, again most commonly shown in Agent Cooper. In the combination of these two sounds, Freshly Squeezed has become for me the part that most represents the whole.

Jet Set Willy / Fiddler On The Roof

If you have no idea what the above title means, then i'm afraid that i'm not going to be the one to enlighten you. It's the kind of thing you're better off not knowing. This happened because yesterday there was a short conversation about old games platforms and my old 48k came into it.

Ennio Morricone - Farewell To Cheyenne

ORIGINATION Once Upon A Time In The West
LAST LISTENED TO yesterday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT mucho high
RATING

It's back again. It can be found here.

Quiller - General Direction

ORIGINATION 7"
LAST LISTENED TO last night
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT mighty high
RATING

This one appeared way back in January.

Ennio Morricone - Farewell To Cheyenne

ORIGINATION Once Upon A Time In The West
LAST LISTENED TO yesterday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT high
RATING

Thanks and respect must be paid to the Ennio Morricone Experience, who are performing at this year's Edinburgh Fringe as the Spaghetti Western Orchestra. Their great performance has filled my head with Morricone for over a week now. If you get a chance you really ought to go see them.

Farewell To Cheyenne (a part of their show that can be see here) is quite a slow tune, whose rhythm is the simple clip-clop of a tired old horse combined with the homely sound of a strummed ukelele.

The main theme is played by a variety of instruments and runs through the whole piece. A piano and some kind of string instrument (the Ennios used a box, stick and string affair) come first, separated into either channel. There's a real jangly, old western saloon sound to the piano, whilst the string sounds twangy and oddly flat. It makes for a light-hearted tune that may not be what you'd expect if you're only familiar with the Dollars 'trilogy' music. However, a change of key and a whistler taking over from the string soon reminds you that it's still Morricone.

Of all his western music, this is probably the closest he ever came to sounding like western music. Or, at least, the music associated with western films before he redefined the whole genre. It's simplicity and air serve to show the range and skill of this prolific composer.

Goldfingers

This morning found me waking to a combination of several versions of John Barry's main theme from the film Goldfinger. So, in roughly the order that they appeared in:

Jimmy Smith - Goldfinger (Part I)
ORIGINATION Monster
LAST LISTENED TO last night
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT good, but
RATING

There are two things that make this my favourite version of the Goldfinger theme. Firstly, of course, is the fabulous Mr. Smith and his mighty organ. It is a fact that no one beats Jimmy Smith for organ satisfaction, even here where he hardly appears, that is still the case.

The tune has a long introduction, making for a great, teasing beginning to the Monster album. A third of the way in, Jimmy plays some melody and vocal lines, forming the middle section. He only begins to solo in the last 45 seconds and it's a typically great Jimmy Smith solo, coming in on the high notes and working it's way down, repeating phrases all the way. Blue and soulful.

The secondly reason for my love of this version is Oliver Nelson's arrangement, which brings in further elements of the Goldfinger score. In particularly, the first minute is largely taken from Dawn Raid Over Fort Knox, which is the dramatic highlight of the original Goldfinger soundtrack.


John Barry - Goldfinger (Instrumental Version)
ORIGINATION Goldfinger OST
LAST LISTENED TO November
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT good, by association
RATING

Not the best known version on the original album, but for me the better of the two. It is more forceful, with a greater variety in textures and features a Beat-sounding guitar part instead of the vocals, which hints at Barry's earlier work. This version also throws in elements from other parts of the score, in manner that clearly inspired Nelson's arrangement for Jimmy Smith.

John Barry - Main Title: Goldfinger (Sung By Shirley Bassey)
ORIGINATION Goldfinger OST
LAST LISTENED TO November
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT good, by association
RATING

The famous one. It's a great moment in pop history and, whilst it's not a song that i'd ever write anything bad about, it's doesn't have Jimmy Smith on it. It does, however, have a great crescendo and some lovely little Bond-theme moments.

Ray Barretto - Goldfinger
ORIGINATION Señor 007
LAST LISTENED TO January
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT good, by association
RATING

Take a top latin-percussionist, add a whole load of Bond tunes and shake (not stir) well. Viola, a great party album. The version of Goldfinger is sadly not the best thing on this album, but it's great fun and more parpy than any other version of the tune. The atmosphere is also really quite different.

And finally…
There were sadly a couple of version of Goldfinger that didn't make it into my head this morning, but i feel deserve an honourable mention. Firstly, there are several more by Jimmy Smith, starting with the Part II Version from Monster, which sounds similar to Part I, only a good bit faster and with much more of Jimmy soloing. There are also two live versions, which may be in fact one version edited differently. Next comes Beatle-fave Billy Preston's, which has something of a Booker T. & The MG's feel. Unfortunately, he set his organ for a very rinky-dink sound, which is a fairly pants organ sound. Lastly comes Count Basie and HIs Orchestra, giving it a smooth, bit band setting. This is from his album Basie Meets Bond, which is well worth tracking down.

The Addams Family Theme

ORIGINATION duh
LAST LISTENED TO not really ever
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT i'm beginning to notice that mostly unexpected tunes are showing up these days, which does kinda make a mokery of my 'not a chance' type rating
RATING

WTF? Where the hell did this come from? Can i please have it removed now? Jeez.

Bernard Herrmann - Main Title From Cape Fear

ORIGINATION Cape Fear
LAST LISTENED TO years ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT are low
RATING

Chances are you'll know something of Bernard Herrmann's work, although you may not know it was is. He was one of the most respected composers to work in film during the 20th century and as such scored nearly a hundred films during his lifetime. His best known work is probably the scores he did for Hitchcock, including such films as North By Northwest, Vertigo and Psycho. Other well known work of his includes Citizen Kane (his film score debut), The Day The Earth Stood Still (wherein he pioneered the use of the theremin in film) and Cape Fear (where his score was used in both versions). The last piece score was for Taxi Driver and he was to die mere hours after recording it.

The Main Title From Cape Fear is up there with his strongest themes. It opens on a descending brass piece, which is followed by a very sinister string part that makes for a frank warning of descent into fear and madness that is to follow in the film. The brass part is particularly effective and, indeed, it is one of the main leitmotifs throughout the film. It drops in out of both this piece and the film, often following on from a quiet tense string section. In the Main Title he uses this device several times, whilst each time increasing the tension in the strings to an almost unbearable level. It ends without reaching resolution as, of course the film is about to begin, where the audience will begin their descent into fear.

In recent years this music has been somewhat co-opted by The Simpsons. They used it in their Cape Fear episode, which was a parody of the film that featured Sideshow Bob (voiced by Kelsey Grammer, best known as Frasier) and contained the famous rake scene. Ever since it has become something of a theme for Sideshow Bob and has no doubt subsequently reached a bigger audience than probably both films put together.

You can find more info about Bernard Herrmann on imdb.

Gene Kelly - Singing In The Rain

ORIGINATION some easy comp
LAST LISTENED TO don't remember
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT really low
RATING

Do be do doo do be
Do be do do be do be
Do be do doo do be
Do be do do be do be

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'm…

…just slightly confused as to why i ended up with this this morning. Not that i mind, indeed, it could be so much worse (and has been recently).