Customer Reviews

The Avengers: Also Includes Dr. Strangelove, First Men In The Moon, Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter, Hedda (Television And Film Score Re-recordings)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I didn't know of what this digital score soundtrack was going to be like, because I mainly got since it had the films "Dr. Stranglove" and "First Men In The Moon." But I heard a sample of two "Avengers" music and just fell in love with it. It's sad to see that Laurie never got any awards or nominations, because his music for "Hedda" was just beautiful, and I haven't even seen the film. After hearing the music for "The Avengers," I wish that I could've saw the shows in the 60s. Thank you Laurie for making this album and for being the conducter for it, because I doubt that anyone could do it better than you can!

A first rate Soundtrack. I just wish it were a longer. Part of the album contains other soundtracks by Laurie Johnson which are'nt bad, but they are not from The Avengers. Still its well worth a listen. Highly Recommended.

If this CD was entitled something like "The Best of Laurie Johnson", I would have absolutely no problems at all with it. It is however entitled "The Avengers", which is a very misleading title, as only a minimal amount of music on this CD has anything to do with the original "Avengers" TV program. Composer Laurie Johnson is probably most well known for his "Main Title" music for the "Avengers". Yet of the twenty-four tracks in this collection, just three are credited as being from the original program. It is just unbelievable that from such a long running series, a total of less than 9 minutes of music was deemed suitable for inclusion on this CD which has a total of 62 minutes of music.

To say that it is disappointing, that such a small quantity of music from the original "Avengers" was included on this CD, is a gross understatement. Surely there was more than 9 minutes worth of quality music present, in even a season's worth episodes. This is just a pitifully poor effort. The way the product was produced and packaged makes one question the sincerity of both the studio and the artist. The intent was obviously not to produce a genuine compilation of music from the "Avengers" series. Instead other works by Laurie Johnson are being marketed under the "Avengers" name.

These other works consist of musical selections from "The New Avengers", the 70's revival show, and various other movie soundtracks scored by Laurie Johnson. Included is music from "Dr. Strangelove", "First Men on the Moon", "Hedda" and "Captain Kronos, Vampire Killer". These titles are plainly listed on the cover of the CD, so of course the studio can claim that the buyer should have known what they were getting.

The music from the "New Avengers Suite" is four tracks, totaling 12 minutes. So apparently more quality music was present in the sequel than the original.

The "non-Avengers" music is actually not bad at all, with the selections from "First Men In the Moon" being the most exciting, and "Captain Kronos" coming in second. There is no doubt that Laurie Johnson is a very capable composer, and his other "non-Avengers" music does stand on its own merits. That is not the issue at hand, honesty is.

What is truly disappointing is that this "bait and switch" collection is all there is available. A CD with music exclusively from the original "Avengers" apparently doesn't exist, and that's a shame. Based on the continuing popularity of the show, there is probably adequate economic incentive to put such a collection on the market. Perhaps it may happen.

The music was recorded in 1979-80 and then was apparently first issued in 1980, maybe on vinyl? I have no idea what music was actually on that recording, but the bottom line regarding this particular CD is, do not buy it if you are looking for a decent collection of music from the original "Avengers".

I actually found this on vinyl for a dollar. One of those weird little things you could never find if hunting for it, or you would pay a mint if you did.


I don't know anything about the composer Laurie Johnson--although it is great to know a women could do a major score in the 1960s.

And the more I play her music, the more I like her music. On vinyl, this starts out with a lot of murky orchestral music. It is subtle, and did not grab me right away,

But I am a hog for big orchestral TV funk of this era, and as the album goes on, the funk factor increases. Johnson has a symphonic approach to this--there is not a wha wha in earshot. What makes the music funky are the jagged edges--mainly provided by horns--Johnson uses to punctuate her music.

If you're a DJ you should crate dig this. A lot of edges for samples and those instrumental interludes make for great bridges between more popular tracks.

To the fellow reviewer that was disappointed with this disc, I must say that he, obviously, expected more from a compilation containing music from six different scores. What more can one expect, a little here, a little there, just enough to whet one's musical appetite!

As for me, my "appetite" was quite satisfied for the recording contains the lost gem of Johnson's creative wiles: The First Men in the Moon.

The classic Harryhausen film allows Johnson to be panoramic as well as mysterious as he grandly adapts his music to the Wells story. The score to this movie is up to par with Bernard Herrmann's work on Harryhausen's earlier "Mysterious Island" and "Jason and the Argonauts".

I just hope that there is a full rendition of the score in the not-too-distant future.

We fans deserve it!

In my over-exuberance on discovering a recording of excerpts from "The First Men in the Moon," I failed to adequately do justice to this release in my earlier critique. Naturally, my bias toward the aforementioned selection blinded me to the other superior and quite eclectic works on this compilation.

Johnson's compositions show the diversity of his musical palette. "The Avengers Suite", besides featuring the internationally known theme, also has a two hauntingly beautiful selections: "Theme from 'Pandora'" and "Theme from "'The Joker'". His "The New Avengers Suite" reflects the times with its disco era theme and also shows his flair for jazz with the "Theme from 'Tale of the Big Way'". "Theme from 'Obsession'" is so beautifully layered with lush strings that it induces goose bumps upon an initial hearing. Johnson borrows liberally from "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" in "The Bomb Run" from "Dr. Strangelove".

The big "find" for me is the "Hedda Suite", a composition that compares to John Barry's Bond music and the classic "Born Free". Johnson's passion for music is never more evident than on this selection.

Perhaps, others will discover Johnson and see what a select few and myself have always seen: he is a master movie music craftsman.