I'm a big John Williams and symphonic film score fan. But lately I've really gotten into Johnny Williams' comedy scores from the 60s and I am really digging Not With My Wife You Don't, Guide for the Married Man and (because it shares disc space with NWMWYD) Any Wednesday.
Can you guys recommend me other film scores (by any composer) in the same style as these? The only other stuff I know like this is Henry Mancini. I'm familiar with Mancini's famous tunes, I'm looking for lesser known gems along the lines of NWMWYD, very melodic and catchy.
Tobias, what other scores from Isham would you suggest? Also, I listened to the End Credits of Public Eye on Youtube and it was very dramatic music, does the rest of the soundtrack have jazzy music on it? I noticed Isham scored the recent "42" movie. How is that one?
Can you guys recommend me other film scores (by any composer) in the same style as these?
Same style as mid-1960s jazzy comedies?
There were quite a number of LP soundtracks from that time period which came from zany or 'with it' comedies.
Just about anything by Neal Hefti probably satisfies in this area, but I'm not a Neal Hefti fan so I'll leave this niche to other FSM members with which to make recommendations. (same goes with Vic Mizzy, if you can get any of his titles on the Percepto label)
I think you should try FSM's CD of KALEIDOSCOPE by Stanley Myers.
I'm glad you are liking George Duning. You may also wish to sample Duning's DEAR BRIGITTE on Kritzerland. Duning's HOUSEBOAT (on a Harkit CD) might also appeal. But I think the most enjoyable Duning title is BELL, BOOK & CANDLE.
I listened to the End Credits of Public Eye on Youtube and it was very dramatic music, does the rest of the soundtrack have jazzy music on it? I noticed Isham scored the recent "42" movie. How is that one?
it's not a comedy, if that's what you're looking for. His score is relatively short, just a couple of cues which alternate with source cues of the 1930-40s. A more upbeat, sensual and somewhat jazzy score is "The Cooler," but again, not a comedy. Those are the only two Ishams I'm familiar with.
Well obviously PENELOPE, FITZWILLY, JOHN GOLDFARB PLEASE COME HOME, HOW TO STEAL A MILLION, BACHELOR FLAT and any Neal Hefti comedy score you can find.
Bananas (Marvin Hamlisch) fits the bill completely.
And it works perfectly in the film, actually making some amusing scenes even funnier. To his everlasting credit, Bruce Kimmel finally put this one out on CD in 2009, though it's out of print now.
James Newton Howard's "Dave" is great, as is Dave Grusin's playful "Heaven Can Wait." Also playful is John Williams' "The Witches of Eastwick." And Mancini's "The Great Race" is fun, and "Irma La Douce," which I hate to attribute to Andre Previn since he took so many of his principal themes from Marguerite Monnot's music written for the stage version! And Mancini's "Two For The Road" is also a lot of fun.
So "Any Wednesday" is available on CD? Had missed that, and have always wanted to replace my LP of it, which I've not played in several decades. (I just went to Amazon and bought it.) Thanks. (I just posted the following elsewhere: I received the "Any Wednesday" soundtrack CD on Saturday, 2 days after ordering it, and I'm embarrassed that I have to include it in the "You can't go home" category of soundtracks I loved in my youth but bored me to distraction when I bought them many years later, which isn't the first time this has happened to me.)
As for jazzy soundtracks, 2 favorites are "Body Heat" by John Barry and Dave Grusin's "The Firm" (among others).
One more thing: How do you feel about comedy albums? I transferred Fanny Flagg's wonderful "Rally 'Round The Flagg" LP to digital (still unavailable on CD) and would be happy to email you any of it -- some of it is hysterical! And some of my friends and I have been quoting catchy lines from it to one another for decades. Hmmm ... I was given a link to SoundCloud where you can download rarities and I added at least one of the tracks from that comedy album and other rarities. Try this:
I fourth or fifth (whatever) DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and add Miles Goodman's DUNSTON CHECKS IN which is also great fun.
Bruce Kimmel/Kritzerland has put out a lot of great examples of jazzy comedy scoring - George Duning's WHO'S GOT THE ACTION and Walter Scharf's THE GEISHA BOY ARE two I picked up. Action plays beautifully, while Geisha Boy is more varied, with orientalisms and more sweetly senitmental bits.
And I also agree that if you like this kind of thing, BELL, BOOK and CANDLE is a must buy.
Not sure if this is really the same style you are looking for but I really love "The Pleasure of His Company" by Alfred Newman and "All in a Night's Work" by Andre Previn. Both have an infectious jazz sound to them even though I typically hate most 60s jazz scores. Both are still available on Kritzerland if you want to check them out as is the previously mentioned "Geisha Boy."
