What, have you just discovered Johnny Mandel? He's one of the all-time greats. And Agatha is not only a great theme, it's one of his greatest scores - it was a replacement score, too, written very quickly in the aftermath of Howard Blake's score being dumped.
Surely if more people were buying The Sailor Who Fell from Grace With the Sea perhaps Agatha could happen.
Is it not selling well, Bruce?
It should be selling a lot better than it is. Not sure what my dealer orders will be, though, so I'm sure it will do fine. But given the amount of posting going on in this and the other Mandel thread and NOT in the actual thread about a CD that actually is about to exist, it's just wacky to me. It's like we announce what, for me, is a major Mandel title and it instantly becomes about OTHER Mandel titles. I wonder if everyone posting in the two Mandel threads has actually ordered the new CD.
Surely if more people were buying The Sailor Who Fell from Grace With the Sea perhaps Agatha could happen.
Is it not selling well, Bruce?
It should be selling a lot better than it is. Not sure what my dealer orders will be, though, so I'm sure it will do fine. But given the amount of posting going on in this and the other Mandel thread and NOT in the actual thread about a CD that actually is about to exist, it's just wacky to me. It's like we announce what, for me, is a major Mandel title and it instantly becomes about OTHER Mandel titles. I wonder if everyone posting in the two Mandel threads has actually ordered the new CD.
By now I think we all know the drill. A new title by composer X is announced by a soundtrack specialty label and within minutes there are people posting "That's nice but what I really want is 'X'."
It's ridiculous. No one takes the time to appreciate and enjoy what is announced before they are on to the next thing they want. Hell, most don't even have the damn CD in their hand before they are on to the next thing.
With the exciting release of Howard Blake's rejected score, I thought it was a good time to resurrect a thread on Johnny Mandel's excellent replacement score for "Agatha." While Blake composed a big Old Hollywood style score (which sounds excellent from the clips I've heard), Mandel's is one of those wonderful 1970s orchestral/pop "love theme" scores of the kind Hamlisch, Lai, Holdridge, Legrand, Donaggio, and of course the great Mandel himself were so amazing at doing.
My favorite track on the LP - the beautiful main theme "Close Enough For Love," sung by Pattie Brooks, lyrics by Paul Williams. Great, lushly orchestrated pop love ballad:
"Main Title" - a lovely variation of the main theme
Maybe someday this one will make it to CD, as well.
