Intrada Soundtrack Forum

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

So...I've finished listening to the entire set now and I'm curious how other folks might rate their favorites...here's my ranking:

1. Barnaby Jones -- any surprise that the lone Goldsmith item is at the top of my list? It's just a superb score, and if you love the theme it gets a LOT of fantastic workout and variation throughout. This is not Winter Kill where the great theme largely gets forgotten about in the score proper. And the early Broughton score is really excellent, too! I reiterate my wish for more of this series' scoring to be released. It was the longest lived (and therefore probably most popular) Quinn Martin production, so I really hope that after these three Quinn Martin volumes come out, the powers that be consider a standalone 2 disc set of additional Barnaby Jones scoring from the likes of Laurence Rosenthal, Jeff Alexander, and Hugo Friedhofer! (And of course that other Broughton score, to boot.) Something along the lines of Intrada's superb 2 disc Then Came Bronson follow up to the TV Omnibus compilation.

2. Bert D'Angelo, Superstar -- this is just a theme by Patrick Williams, but WHAT a badass theme! So addictive I put it on repeat and it sticks in my head for hours afterwards. This is also my #1 disappointment about this set, because if you look at the back of the booklet the musican credits make it clear that Patrick Williams composed a whole pilot score which I would have loved to hear more of...I'm not saying it had to be released complete but that theme just made me hungry to hear MORE (like some development of it!) Totally unexpected since I'd never heard of the show (and the title makes it sounds stupid, to be frank) but definitely my second favorite thing on the set.

3. Dan August -- this is my favorite kind of Dave Grusin...so energetic and engaging. The second score I think I like even better than the first. Really exciting stuff. Not quite on the level of his Assignment: Vienna from the TV Omnibus for me, but then I'm a total sucker for the cimbalom which is used prominently throughout that, making it in fact my #1 favorite Dave Grusin work!

4. Most Wanted -- this isn't *quite* Mission: Impossible, but it is still prime, feature-quality Lalo Schifrin work that will delight even his casual fans!

5. Tales of the Unexpected -- while this is a very cool and catchy David Shire theme, it doesn't have the listen-to-it-on-repeat-and-never-tire-of-it value that the Patrick Williams theme for Bert D'Angelo does. Very glad it was included though, as apparently it was Shire's only work for Quinn Martin.

6. Caribe -- this Nelson Riddle main title was maybe the most...different(?) thing on the set. It took me by surprise and I kinda like it.

7. Cannon -- I listened to this last of all, because I found John Parker's work on the two Assignment: Vienna scores he wrote to pale in comparison to the much more stylish, energetic, and unique work on that series by Dave Grusin. What he wrote wasn't bad, but it was more serviceable that memorable and striking. Well...Cannon is a bit more memorable because of the tuba use I guess, but I'm still not wild about it. There *are* occasional highlight cues throughout both of his scores on this set, but personally I think a 12 minute selection of highlights from both scores would have been sufficient to cover his contribution, and I would have much preferred that space get used up by the Patrick Williams pilot score mentioned above.

8. The Manhunter -- This Duane Tatro main title was fine but I didn't find it memorable. I'm rating it last because at least the highlights of Parker's Cannon work stood out a bit more to me.

In conclusion: BUY THIS SET, people!

Yavar

I'm so glad that LLL released this collection, I'm looking forward to the next volume.


After listening to this release several times, here is my humble opinion.


1. Barnaby Jones
2. Dan August
3. Cannon
4. Most Wanted

The Extra's:
1. Caribe
2. Bert D'Angelo. Superstar
3. Tales of the Unexpected
4. The Manhunter


Someday I hope someone releases music from the cop show "Ironside" (Love that theme)

Hopefully, future releases will include The Invaders and The Streets of San Francisco.

...yeeeeaaaahhhhh... but how 'bout a little enthusiasm for THIS release first?

Yavar

I suppose one major thing that hinders these types of sets is sound quality. The signature sounds of these composers are well represented in many other score releases that have nearly pristine detail.

As for the music itself, you sometimes get the idea that the composers are just writing based on a simple idea of the content because television often required quick work with little prep. I remember an interview with Goldsmith when he responded to a question about his thought process of scoring for an early television series, and his response was something along the line of "I didn't even see the damn thing." Composers seemed to have been left to go wild, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

But I'm with John in wanting The Streets of San Francisco, even with below average sound quality.