Various Artists - The Avengers & Other Top Sixties TV Themes (@320)

 

Various Artists - The Avengers & Other Top Sixties TV Themes

The Avengers & Other Top Sixties TV Themes Review by Bruce Eder.

This double-CD set contains 60 television themes, at least a dozen of which will be familiar to many over the age of 40 or so -- The Avengers, The Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Dr. Who, Fireball XL5, The Saint, The Champions and The Naked City are just a few of those programs whose title themes are featured here. There are a few drawbacks, however -- for starters, Sequel is a British label, its orientation is British television, and it is drawing the contents of these two CDs almost entirely from the vaults of the British Pye label, so there are at least 40 programs here that never (or barely) aired in the United States. Additionally, a significant number of the themes here are not from the original programs' opening credits but are studio re-recordings. Several of these are quite good -- Eric Winstone and His Orchestra, for example, do quite nicely by the Dr. Who theme music with a conventional orchestra. And, in many instances, the re-recordings are done by the composer (Tony Hatch is very well represented, since he was also a staff producer at Pye), though unfortunately even they falter sometimes. Much of what's here would fit into the category of "bachelor's den" repertory, with its sharp stereo separation and strings in front of electric instruments, but some is forgettable dance music -- and then there are the rock oddities. The Pentangle show up doing their "Light Flight," the theme from Take Three Girls, an exquisitely delicate acoustic piece with Jacqui McShee's soaring vocals out front; the Flee-Rekkers' (a Joe Meek act) rendition of the theme from Fireball XL5 doesn't resemble the program's version at all, but is great fun anyway. Jazz buffs will appreciate the presence of Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen and Bob Wallis and the Storyville Jazzmen on disc two, though the latter is also weighted down by some wimpy British pop-band renderings of American television themes. The sound is crisp, the notes are thorough and the artwork, made of choice memorabilia, is a delight. (British import)

Tracklist:

CD1:

01.Theme From The Avengers - Laurie Johnson             

02.Thunderbirds - Barry Gray    

03.Doctor Who - Orchestra       

04.Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Mr. Hitler? - Bud Flanagan         

05.Theme From Z-Cars - Johnny Keating              

06.The Saint - The Eliminators  

07.Theme From Department S - Cyril Stapleton           

08.Crossroads - Tony Hatch       

09.Lucky Stars - Peter Knight And The Nightriders        

10.Light Flight (Take Three Girls Theme) - Pentangle          

11.Stingray - Gary Miller             

12.High Wire (Danger Man Theme) - Bob Leaper 

13.Theme From The Champions - Tony Hatch   

14.The Forsyte Saga - Cyril Stapleton     

15.March From A Little Suite (Dr. Finlay's Casebook Theme) - Les Reed     

16.Fireball XL5 - The Fabulous Fleerekkers       

17.The Maigret Theme - The Eagles       

18.No Hiding Place - Laurie Johnson      

19.Theme From The Fugitive - John Schroeder         

20.W. Somerset Maugham - Cyril Stapleton           

 

CD2:

              

01.How Soon - Jackie Trent        

02.Mr. Rose - Roy Budd

03.The Doctors - Tony Hatch     

04.Sam Benedict - Johnny Keating          

05.Ben Casey - Tony Hatch         

06.Sir Francis Drake - The Piccadilly Strings 

07.Perry Mason - Tony Hatch    

08.Our House - The Piccadilly Strings     

09.Latin Quarter - Laurie Johnson           

10.Ghost Squad - Tony Hatch    

11.Our Love Story - Sounds Orchestral  

12.The Naked City - Tony Hatch

13.Top Secret (Sucu Sucu) - Laurie Johnson             

14.Casablanca - Kenny Ball        

15.Carlos' Theme - Johnny Keating         

16.Theme From The Deputy - Laurie Johnson

17.Man Alive - Tony Hatch         

18.Memories of Summer(Love Story Theme) - Tony Hatch    

19.That's Me Over Here - Cyril Stapleton

20.Peyton Place - Jack Dorsey   

****