10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
cd one and two! cd three...nah, not really, April 8, 2003
This review is from: Days of Wine & Roses (Audio CD)
I bought this three cd set because I wanted all the "must have" mancini, but couldn't find it all on one disk--so I took the plunge and bought these--haven't regretted for one day--Mancini is what he is--fell in love with him for "peter gunn" and "pink panther"--mainly bought the sets for these, but there a number of gems on these albums that make them well worth the price--my only complaint is it seems that the material gets weaker towards the third disk--definately some sub-par filler on these disks that go a little too far disco and quirky (weird whistles and whatnot)--stuff that ain't Mancini--I mean this guy did "moon river"!--I put these three in the changer on random and its three hours of summery, breezy music to listen to on the porch and drink frozen cocktails to--or maybe throw it on for that candlelit dinner--just great atmosphere--like I'm Carey Grant on the riviera--I pretty much guaruntee that you can't like all three albums through and through--but at least two-thirds of this stuff is pure lounge satisfaction
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Superb collection, but...., June 15, 2003
This review is from: Days of Wine & Roses (Audio CD)
I used to think Henry Mancini was synonymous with schmaltz, but 1) I've aged and, in the process, developed an genuine appreciation for Mancini's marvelously nuanced and creative arrangements, and 2) now, in an era where any two-bit schmoe can knock out a modified nursery-rhyme on a Roland and it's called music, Mancini is elevated in the heirarchy of musical genius by comparison.
As others have aptly stated, this CD set is both an exercise in musical splendor and bloated. It's as if there were two Mancinis: the jazzman, building rich and timeless, emotion-laden tracks (like "Dreamsville"), and the muzuk-Mancini, full of gimmicky schlock, often sung by plastic voices and full of dated sentiments. Both Mancinis live on this set. As for myself, I'd be much happier with a shorter collection that distills the better stuff.
One inexcusable oversight: the song "Lujon" (heard on the "Sexy Beast" soundtrack, as well as remixes by Dmitri from Paris and the Black Mighty Orchestra, the latter found on the marvelous "Irma on Canvas" collection) that personifies early '60's glamour with its impossibly lush strings, is NOT on this set. Perhaps this is because it had not been created for a sountrack recording. Nevertheless, if you're looking for the perfect Mancini collection and, like me, prefer his classier and jazzier stuff, I'd check out other sets before settling on this one.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
you must remember this, February 18, 2004
This review is from: Days of Wine & Roses (Audio CD)
I got this set, used, at a public radio fundraiser,as a modest extravagance.It was mislabelled actually so I am still missing volume 3.Quibles.If you are at all romantic,this should be in your collection somewhere.True if you are a pre atomic purist, the tight strings and phrasing,the pop time structures on some pieces and short duration times on others are a trial, but the magic is there.
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