I basically stopped buying music a few years ago, and have been getting through mountains of unplayed LPs that I have accumulated over the past 25-or-so years.
My method is to organize the unplayed LPs into categories that make sense to me, give them a scrub on the trusted Nitty Gritty, and kick back and listen, preferably with a beverage and a coffee table book of some sort.
So I found a SEALED LP of a forgotten film with Liz and Dick titled "The VIPs," scored by Miklos Rozsa, on MGM (stereo).
Yesterday, I popped the seal and played the opening track. I quickly determined that this was not a Sunday afternoon record, and that it was clashing with my choice of cocktails.
I will spin the entire thing one night this week and share my thoughts then.
EDIT: This seems to be one of those albums, like "The Shoes of the Fisherman," of which zillions of sealed copies still exist, most with the 49 cents sticker still attached to the cellophane.
I basically stopped buying music a few years ago, and have been getting through mountains of unplayed LPs that I have accumulated over the past 25-or-so years.
My method is to organize the unplayed LPs into categories that make sense to me, give them a scrub on the trusted Nitty Gritty, and kick back and listen, preferably with a beverage and a coffee table book of some sort.
So I found a SEALED LP of a forgotten film with Liz and Dick titled "The VIPs," scored by Miklos Rozsa, on MGM (stereo).
Yesterday, I popped the seal and played the opening track. I quickly determined that this was not a Sunday afternoon record, and that it was clashing with my choice of cocktails.
I will spin the entire thing one night this week and share my thoughts then.
EDIT: This seems to be one of those albums, like "The Shoes of the Fisherman," of which zillions of sealed copies still exist, most with the 49 cents sticker still attached to the cellophane.
This is a re-record, apparently the original tracks are considered lost. It was included in FSM's massive Rozsa set
Do you have one of those modern turntables with the USB port, so you can digitize an LP if you decide you want it on your system?
No. About 15 years ago I had a free-standing LP-to-CD burner that was a stereo component. I think it was by Sony. It was very problematic. The only things I burned were impossibly rare LPs (Studio One dub LPs, etc.) and compilations of money cuts from otherwise boring LPs. It finally died and I never looked for an alternative.
There was a Downbeat magazine "Blindfold Test" featuring pianist Bill Evans, and one of the tracks Leonard Feather played was "Theme from The V.I.P.s" from an album on which Evans played. I don't recall if it was the original soundtrack or a jazz variations album of the time.
Well, I just listened to the album, and while parts of it are pleasant enough, I'm not sure that I'll be spinning this again anytime soon.
The film is from 1963, and the score sounds relatively old-fashioned for that time. It could have easily come from 15 years earlier.
As for Mickey Rose in general, I prefer him in noir (or related) mode, and the scores of his that I typically reach for are Spellbound, The Red House, Double Indemnity, and The Lost Weekend. The love themes on the VIPs don't reach the heights of Spellbound, and the dramatic writing doesn't reach the heights of any of those four.
At any rate, it is always nice to unseal an old LP, and I'm sure someone will be happy to pick up my copy for 49 cents.
There was a Downbeat magazine "Blindfold Test" featuring pianist Bill Evans, and one of the tracks Leonard Feather played was "Theme from The V.I.P.s" from an album on which Evans played. I don't recall if it was the original soundtrack or a jazz variations album of the time.
Did Bill Evans play on the OST?
I don't hear a piano at all, and if there is one, it is probably a studio guy.
That Bill Evans VIPs album is pretty universally dismissed in jazz circles, not that jazz guys are the final arbiters of taste, but I think that album was intended as a crossover vehicle, and if I'm not mistaken, I don't think it's been reissued on CD (except maybe in Japan). I've never heard it, and I have a ton of Bill Evans.
The Bill Evans album is up on Spotify (so I assume other digital sites as well). I would never have guessed this was Bill Evans in a million years.
Theme From the V.I.P.s
Me, I'm quite fond of the Rozsa score, and the film as well. I agree with Onya that the score sounds too old fashioned for the period. Nowadays though, the film also feels old fashioned enough that they kinda merge together.
I decide what records go best with I'm drinking. Tonight, I was enjoying The VIPs with a mango quinoa salad topped with a tropical vinaigrette.
Ah - but your implications are that 1) there exist types of brooding dramatic music which are not appropriate for listening on a Sunday afternoon, and 2) depressing or 'downer' music should not be listened to whilst imbibing alcoholic beverages.
[I - on the contrary - can listen to anything in my music collection on a Sunday afternoon, regardless if it is upbeat or not.]
Ah - but your implications are that 1) there exist types of brooding dramatic music which are not appropriate for listening on a Sunday afternoon, and 2) depressing or 'downer' music should not be listen to whilst imbibing alcoholic beverages.
Ah - but your implications are that 1) there exist types of brooding dramatic music which are not appropriate for listening on a Sunday afternoon, and 2) depressing or 'downer' music should not be listen to whilst imbibing alcoholic beverages.
But your inferences are not my implications.
Then what is your criteria for a Sunday afternoon (and drinks), OnyaBirri?
Ah - but your implications are that 1) there exist types of brooding dramatic music which are not appropriate for listening on a Sunday afternoon, and 2) depressing or 'downer' music should not be listen to whilst imbibing alcoholic beverages.
But your inferences are not my implications.
Then what is your criteria for a Sunday afternoon, OnyaBirri?
If I'm drinking, the music has to go with my choice of cocktail.
Oh, Onya, I think you'd like it. Only released on Universal in England on lp and a Harkit cd. Lots of Greek string instruments and percussion; makes a nice companion listen to Goldsmith's Justine. Barry wrote it quickly, replacing a John Dankworth score. Joseph Losey was off on another picture, so Barry mainly worked with Losey's friend Richard Lester!
