Josh500 1,615 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Well? What's your opinion on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incanus 5,713 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 4 stars. Perhaps the best of JW's 1960's comedy scores. A breezy, varied and fun romp. Naïve Old Fart and Josh500 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,478 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Yes, solid 4 stars. Not my favourite of his 60s efforts as far as album experiences are concerned (nothing matches NOT WITH MY WIFE YOU DON'T and THE REIVERS, IMO), but it's pretty damn good. And it's a historical cornerstone since it's his first major A list picture in his most busy year ever. It's both energetic like that of a 34-year-old, but also surprisingly sophisticated like that of an experienced composer who's been doing this professionally for 10 years. Josh500 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Sounds really old-fashioned, even for the mid-60's. Long ago i decided that i need virtually nothing of Williams' work prior to 'The Reivers', though i make an exception for those two delightful droll marches from 'Fitzwilly'. Josh500 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,478 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 I don't think it sounds oldfashioned for the period at all. It's smack in the middle contemporary, with some of Williams' most overt Mancini references of the time. Now I PASSED FOR WHITE, on the other hand, sounds incredibly oldfashioned. Even Golden Age at times, like something from a completely different composer. Like David Raksin or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,033 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 1 hour ago, publicist said: Sounds really old-fashioned, even for the mid-60's. Long ago i decided that i need virtually nothing of Williams' work prior to 'The Reivers', though i make an exception for those two delightful droll marches from 'Fitzwilly'. Spot on. Fitzwilly is the one 60s soundtrack I care about - and mainly for the marches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Before Williams started to go all bluesy/jazzy in the late 60's/early 70's i found most of his commercial stuff pretty insufferable - the comedies being mediocre Mancini impersonations for frothy studio comedies (the more baroque parts of 'Fitzwilly' notwithstanding). I think the first one that catched my ear when all this stuff ran on tv was 'Daddy's Gone A-Hunting' which had a cool main theme. Later came 'Images', 'Paper Chase', 'Cinderella Liberty' and that's when Williams started to exist for me (sadly i never had the chance to see 'Jane Eyre' because that's pretty much my earliest favourite, with 'Reivers' coming in second). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,478 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Personally, I absolutely adore Williams' "commercial stuff" in the 60s. I've been kinda obsessing over this period in his career over the last decade or so, more than the later classical stuff that has been talked to death. It's not all comedies, of course, but they're almost all damn entertaining albums. Very much of the era, and done with extreme sophistication. Or just 'cute' pop music approximations like the "Not With My Wife You Don't", "Penelope" and "Guide for the Married Man" title songs. What's not to like? Anyone is free to prefer or just listen to particular periods in his career, but to me it's the whole shabang that's fascinating -- all the different genres and styles throughout 60+ years. Josh500 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 To me all those comedies (HTSM, Penelope etc.) sound like a less talented Montenegro or Neal Hefti...these guys put out really cool scores (or pop recordings) in that vein that still sparkle. Be that as it may, from the 60's i vastly prefer british MOD stuff, anyway (Dankworth, Barry & Co.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,507 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 THE PROWLER, and MARCH TO THE MUSEUM, are very prescient pieces of work. All in all, I'd say that HTSAM was his first "grown up" score. A solid "3" for a score that I've quadruple-dipped for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,478 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 4 minutes ago, Richard said: THE PROWLER, and MARCH TO THE MUSEUM, are very prescient pieces of work. All in all, I'd say that HTSAM was his first "grown up" score. A solid "3" for a score that I've quadruple-dipped for. Not sure about that. He churned out a pretty solid, "grown up" thriller score with THE SECRET WAYS already in 1961. I'd say the first score that was "Williams as we know him today" -- the more neo-romantic and lush side -- is HEIDI. At least as a whole, consistent piece. There are bits and pieces of this before as well. SteveMc and Naïve Old Fart 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,507 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Agreed, but I still maintain that it's a prescient score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,478 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Just now, Richard said: Agreed, but I still maintain that it's a prescient score. Sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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