Customer Reviews

Midnight Moonlight & Magic: The Very Best of Henry Mancini

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is a great survey of Henry Mancini's work. I am only 20 so I didn't get to hear all his hits the first time around and I've really enjoyed listening to this CD. There are a lot of great instrumentals here and some songs have singing as well, of course. This album made me appreciate Henry Mancini's prolific career. I would highly recommend this album.

As always, the music of Henry Mancini never fails to deliver the range of sounds associated with his talented career. This album showcases a wide variety of his music, and that's the key to his charm. He could never be expected to do the same thing, and his talent led him from the growly notes of the Peter Gunn theme to the wild polka music of the slapstick pie fight in The Great Race. Whether sentimental like The Sweetheart Tree or Moon River or the sneaky tiptoe of the Pink Panther, Mancini always delivered in an expert, smooth style that is so lacking in the present. The perfect album for what is now sneeringly referred to as Easy Listening, it's just the thing for a rainy afternoon, or a quiet morning sipping coffee. Too bad he's gone, the world could use a gifted talent like Henry Mancini even now.

Sometimes the cover alone is worth the price, and this one really captures the spirit of the music. It's martini-retro and somewhat self-indulgent, but it's also great music. For all those (like myself) who've fallen in love with chill-out and lounge sounds, this is the real deal.

In a one-disc hits collection, most of the usual subjects are here. One wonders, though, why RCA, BMG, or whatever it's called this week, doesn't do a proper re-mastering job, from the original tapes, and issue the albums like Peter Gunn, Mr. Lucky, Our Man in Hollywood, etc. here in the U.S. instead of making us shell out the bucks for imports from Spain? (Spain?) Yes, I know, Peter Gunn and Mr. Lucky were out on CD here for a short time because I have them. The back catalogs of RCA moneymakers like Presley and Glenn Miller have been taken care of very well here, but Mancini has been treated pretty badly compared to the others.

Easy listening is my favorite type of music and he is one of the best.

Henry Mancini was one of the greatest composers of the 20th Century. I have a number of collections of his music. He was a perfectionist when conducting his compositions. The result is high-quality music that sets a romantic mood. All 23 numbers are very good. But I bought this album for #18 - Dreamsville. I used to play trombone and trumpet in a dance band in the 1960's. We would finish after 1:00am and often had a bit of a drive back home. A midwest clear channel radio station always used Dreamsville as its theme song for the late-night music show. It is a song that has haunted me for decades. It is done with great style. There are many fine instrumental solos on this album - tenor and alto sax, trombone, trumpet with tasteful piano accents.

If you have trouble falling asleep, put on Dreamsville. Unfortunately, most of the time I heard it, I did not have that option. I was driving a car with a ways to go and several snoozing musicians depending on me.

Not only is the quality and song selections top notch but this cd also brought back a feeling from childhood....my parents listened to Mancini's music when company came or just hanging around the house. That was a time when I didn't have a care in the world and this music puts me back in that time....at least mentally. It simplifies my thoughts for awhile, a great way to relieve stress. What surprised me was the reaction of my 26 year old the first time he heard it. He came into the house one afternoon, stopped and asked, "What music is that?" I thought a sarcastic comment would follow...it did not....he followed it with...."Makes the house feel happy."

If you can only buy one Henry Mancini cd, this is the one because it has all his most famous songs. Great cd and brings back a lot of memories of the 60's and 70's.

truly one of the Best composers ever.i've always enjoyed the way His Arrangements&certain instrumentations all come together.He truly understood stylings&the vocals sound timeless.you always knew a Henry Mancini by the way it was played&arranged from start to finish.He had His own Musical Signature.

Excelent colection , has the VERY BEST of Mancini's work , I only miss
the music "Theme from Sunflower"