Customer Reviews

M Squad; Mickey Spillane's Mike

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

 

 

You don't have to be a lover of cops 'n robbers flicks to enjoy this two fer. Frankly, I was quite surprised I'd never heard of this CD before. Like, who the heck was Stanley Wilson, anyway?? Well, just a couple of seconds into the first track let me know this was gonna be one first rate swingin' set. And I was right! Sadly, there is no list of personnel so I've pretty much had to guess who was doing what. Nevertheless, the arrangements were principally by Johnny (now John) Williams and Benny Carter and that's an auspicious start right there.

But I was very familiar with the Mike Hammer offering by Skip Martin. I have several of his old Somerset albums and love his writing for big bands (Scheherajazz, TV Jazz Themes, Swingin' Things from Can-Can). To my knowledge this is the only CD offering of Martin. The Hammer portion is great as well with a terrific "Hammer Blow" featuring a great tenor sax solo by Bob Cooper. There is no listing of personnel for this album either but I am familiar with Martin's Video All Stars Personnel (Gus Bivona, Paul Horn, Red Mitchell, Jimmy Rowles, Irv Cottler, Bob Cooper, Frank Rosolino, Larry Bunker, etc).

This set was issued by Collectibles and anyone familiar with them can expect a colorful, top flight issue with all the original issued album covers and track listings. The sound quality is also typically first rate.

Bottom line, if you dig big band jazz you gotta get this one.

I love this CD. It has reintroduced me to this kind of Jazz. I started watching the old Lee Marvin series and after the first season the great music kicked in. I love playing this in the car, driving through the city.

I hated the tv show (and Lee Marvin), but boy oh boy did I love the soundtrack.

I am considering this album but I needed to hear some samples of the recording before making a decision on it. Where are the music samples? Before shelling out hard earned money on it, I would like a musical bite before consuming the audio meal.Cop Show Themes