VA — The Avengers & Other Top Sixties TV Themes (1998)

FLAC (tracks) / MP3 320 kbps | 2h 18 min | Jazz, Rock, Pop, Easy Listening, Lounge, Stage & Screen | 852 / 424 MB

This double-CD set contains 60 television themes, at least a dozen of which will be familiar to many over the age of 40 or so — The Avengers, The Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Dr. Who, Fireball XL5, The Saint, The Champions and The Naked City are just a few of those programs whose title themes are featured here. There are a few drawbacks, however — for starters, Sequel is a British label, its orientation is British television, and it is drawing the contents of these two CDs almost entirely from the vaults of the British Pye label, so there are at least 40 programs here that never (or barely) aired in the United States. Additionally, a significant number of the themes here are not from the original programs\’ opening credits but are studio re-recordings. Several of these are quite good — Eric Winstone and His Orchestra, for example, do quite nicely by the Dr. Who theme music with a conventional orchestra. And, in many instances, the re-recordings are done by the composer (Tony Hatch is very well represented, since he was also a staff producer at Pye), though unfortunately even they falter somes. Much of what\’s here would fit into the category of \»bachelor\’s den\» repertory, with its sharp stereo separation and strings in front of electric instruments, but some is forgettable dance music — and then there are the rock oddities. The Pentangle show up doing their \»Light Flight,\» the theme from Take Three Girls, an exquisitely delicate acoustic piece with Jacqui McShee\’s soaring vocals out front; the Flee-Rekkers\’ (a Joe Meek act) rendition of the theme from Fireball XL5 doesn\’t resemble the program\’s version at all, but is great fun anyway. Jazz buffs will appreciate the presence of Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen and Bob Wallis and the Storyville Jazzmen on disc two, though the latter is also weighted down by some wimpy British pop-band renderings of American television themes. The sound is crisp, the notes are thorough and the artwork, made of choice memorabilia, is a delight. (British import) ~ Bruce Eder
Disc 1
01 The Laurie Johnson Orchestra — Theme from \’\’The Avengers\’\’
02 The Barry Gray Orchestra — A Man in A Suitcase
03 The Barry Gray Orchestra — Thunderbirds (Main Theme)
04 Eric Winstone & His Orchestra — Theme from Doctor Who
05 Ron Grainer — Old Ned (Theme from Steptoe and Son)
06 Bud Flanagan — Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler (Theme from Dad\’s Army)
07 The Barry Gray Orchestra — Captain Scarlet
08 Johnny Keating And The Z-Men — Theme from Z Cars
09 The Eliminators, Cyril Stapleton — The Saint
10 Cyril Stapleton — Theme from \»Department S\»
11 The Barry Gray Orchestra — Theme from Joe 90
12 The Tony Hatch Orchestra — Theme from Crossroads
13 Peter Knight — Thank Your Lucky Stars
14 Pentangle — Light Flight (Take Three Girls Theme)
15 Gary Miller — Stingray (Main)
16 The Bob Leaper Orchestra — High Wire (Danger Man Theme)
17 The Tony Hatch Orchestra — Theme from \»The Champions\»
18 The Derek Scott Music — Hancock\’s Tune
19 Cyril Stapleton — The Forsyte Saga
20 The John Schroeder Orchestra — On the Ball
21 Cyril Stapleton — The Power Game
22 The Les Reed Strings — March From A Little Suite (Dr Finlay\’s Casebook Theme)
23 The Flee-rekkers — Fireball XL5
24 Eagles — The Maigret Theme
25 The Tony Hatch Orchestra — Out of This World
26 The Laurie Johnson Orchestra — No Hiding Place
27 John Schroeder — Theme from \»The Fugitive\»
28 The Tony Hatch Orchestra — Who-Dun-It
29 The Cyril Stapelton Orchestra — W Somerset Maugham
30 Ron Grainer — Happy Joe (Comedy Playhouse Theme)
Disc 2
01 Peter Knight — Scarlett
02 Jackie Trent — How Soon
03 The Tony Hatch Orchestra — The Willow Waltz (Tim Frazer\’s Theme)
04 Roy Budd — Mr Rose
05 The Tony Hatch Orchestra — The Doctors
06 Johnny Keating — Sam Benedict
07 The Tony Hatch Orchestra — Ben Casey
08 The Piccadilly Strings — Sir Francis Drake
09 The Tony Hatch Orchestra — Perry Mason
10 The Piccadilly Strings — Our House
11 Charlie Drake — Who is Sylvia
12 The Laurie Johnson Orchestra — Latin Quarter
13 The Tony Hatch Orchestra — Ghost Squad
14 The Laurie Johnson Orchestra — Echo Four-Two
15 Sounds Orchestral — Our Love Story
16 The Tony Hatch Orchestra — The Naked City
17 The Laurie Johnson Orchestra — Top Secret (Sucu Sucu)
18 Kenny Ball — Casablanca
19 Eagles — Oliver Twist
20 Johnny Keating — Carlos\’ Theme
21 Cyril Stapleton — The Spies
22 The Laurie Johnson Orchestra — Theme From The Deputy
23 The Tony Hatch Orchestra — Man Alive
24 Tony Hatch — Memories of Summer
25 Johnny Hawksworth Orchestra — Lunar Walk
26 The Laurie Johnson Orchestra — West End
27 Bob Wallis and his Storyville Jazzmen — Three Live Wires
28 Paddy, Klaus and Gibson — Quick Before They Catch Us
29 Cyril Stapleton — That\’s Me Over Here
30 Jack Dorsey Orchestra — Peyton Place (Live)