Well said, Stephen! Like you, only one play so far, and I'm surprised at just how different it is to Mr. Barry's other scores - whilst including so many mannerisms that are typically Barry.
As you point out: it's a little known film with no previous score release so this one has to sell, in the main, on the name "Barry" - okay there may be a market for Mr. Raine and/or the City of Prague Philharmonic and I apologise if I'm doing them a disservice - but whilst we know it's going to be good, we're a small market. So a big risk for those investing time and money ...
... and deserving of a big "Thank You" from fans like me.
It's not his best score but I haven't come across a score by John Barry, yet, which isn't worth owning. And this score has the potential to get better with further listens.
And the recording? It sounded great - straight out of the case - but once I've ripped the CD and stream it I know there will be a lot more detail to hear (my streamer is better quality than my CD player).
Great job, Stephen! To my knowledge Barry didn't start using an orchestrator regularly until he moved to America, where it's a union rule. He did use Bobby Richards on Lion in Winter because of deadlines, though.
He briefly mentions orchestration in this great interview:
Nice review, Stephen. I heartily agree. As I stated over on the announcement thread, I think this is the best and most welcome score release of 2014. Many thanks to everyone involved and I hope it finds a larger appreciative audience.
