TV Radio Mirror (Jan - Jun 1963)

ON THE RECORD Vou# Monthly M RECORD Guide POPULAR: INSTRUMENTAL **** The Versatile Martin Denny (Liberty) — Martin Denny continues to amaze me with his constantly strong efforts to single-handedly corner the "instrumental" market — and with albums like this he may do it! This album is his first effort with a group other than combo-size. Some cuts are performed solely by his combo; others find his piano ramblings cloaked by a rich body of strings. (One track, the theme from "Mondo Cane," also has a voice singing obbligato style.) The tunes are all choice. Hits like "Sukiyaki," "End of the 20 World" and "Little Bird" are among the tunes Denny easily dances his fingers through. He also reactivates his hit rendition of "Quiet Village" and refreshes it by doing it Bossa Nova style. New things like "Scarlet Mist" and "Strawberry Tree" meet the high level of the hits. Beautifully performed vignettes is what they are. Denny's small group, when it is following a jazz course, is faintly reminiscent of Dave Brubeck's first trio, which also attempted the marriage of vibes and piano. Denny always comes up with a package worth while buying. His key to success is in the precision of his tightly organized group sound. He knows how to pace his two-fisted chordal style of melody-playing with a single-note jazz solo style. It is not in itself unique, but Denny somehow seems to make more out of it than other play ers who've bee ntrying the same tack. Other than "End of the World," which is a bit prosaic in its pseudoclassical trappings, the album is A-one from top to bottom. I'd call it a buy! POPULAR: MOVIE THEMES -jfc"fc**Film Spectacular, Stanley Black cond. the London Festival Orch. (London, stereo) — This is without question the best movie-theme album this reviewer has received to date. It competes easily with the original soundtrack recordings. Some of the music appears to have been arranged by Mr. Black, while some of it is performed in its original form. The most striking piece on the album is the almost-never heard "Battle Music" from the exquisite English movie of Shakespeare's "Henry V." Written by Sir William Walton, the celebrated composer, it is perfect in intent and detail. Deeply moving music which conjures up Henry's conquering army marching across Aquitaine. The use of sound effects on this cut is within the bounds of good taste. You even hear a chorus of longbows being fired off. For stereo bugs, it moves from one speaker to the other, to heighten the effect. The orchestra, under Mr. Black's sensitive direction, is fantastic. Victor Young's theme from "Samson and Delilah" is also done magnificently. Again, the sensitive use of dynamics changes what might have been a simple, melancholy theme into a dramatic experience capable of making you relive Samson's agonizing love and ruin. Another Victor Young piece present is a potpourri of themes from "Around the World in 80 Days." Along with the title song are some shorter-lived themes which could have been made more of in the original soundtrack, as they're delightfully picturesque. The dazzling trip of "Mr. Fogg" is here, all the way from "Paree" to the American West, where, if you remember the film, he was attacked by hostile Indians. The closing music returns us to jolly old England and success for Fogg. The orchestra's performing cannot be applauded enough. Stanley Black's arrangement is pointedly storybook-style. It most appropriately fits Young's light-hearted and fantasy-like melodies. Ernest Gold's "Exodus" theme is done with voices and orchestra projecting broad and sweeping strokes of sound, which so meaningfully tell of the political birth of a new state which has, figuratively, existed since time began. This version of the theme is not commercially directed. Rather, it states the theme in deep, dark, epic tones. The voices, as in "Henry V," heighten the finale. Again, Black outdoes himself in the arranging dept. Also included are the themes from "Big Country," "The Longest Day" (the weakest melodically), and two beautiful collections of themes from "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "West Side Story." These last two would require another review! The stereo sound is impressively full. The breadth of sound is all on the recording. I do hope that London Records will turn Mr. Black and the London Festival Orchestra loose again and again, so we may have many more albums like this one. This album is a buy. Don't miss it! POPULAR: VOCAL ***Hawaii's Calling Me, Marty Robbins (Columbia) — When I first looked at this album cover, it seemed a rather strange venture for a countryand-Western singer, but after the first couple of tunes I changed my mind. I saw how adaptable Marty really is! He takes a back seat to no one in this rather stylized area of Hawaiian singing. He's got it right down to the