Ost [Import, Soundtrack]

Green Hornet (Billy May) (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 5, 2006)
• Original Release Date: September 9, 1966
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Soundtrack
• Label: Harkit
• ASIN: B000FG6364
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #491,745 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Green Hornet

2. Four Hornets

3. Casy

4. Horneted House

5. Kato

6. Do The Hornet

7. Black Beauty

8. Guadarahornet

9. Activate The Scanner

10. The Green Hornet

11. Main Title

Editorial Reviews

ABC commissioned this TV series which starred Van Williams as the hero and of course, the legendary Bruce Lee as his sidekick. Based on the classic 1930’s radio series about a newspaper owner Britt Reid. Billy May, celebrated composer and arranger referenced his theme music around Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakoff’s classic 'The Flight Of The Bumble Bee' although there’s plenty of original scoring too. Special limited edition is remastered and the outstanding accompanying booklet is simply stunning packed with masses of authoritative and little-known information and rare photographs! Pinnacle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good Musical Performances and a Nice Try but Audio Quality is 1966, LOW-Fi. CD Booklet is Better than CD., September 14, 2006

By 

Bryan E. Leed "Jesus says, 'Go and Sin No More!" (Dayton, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ost (Audio CD)

This TV Soundtrack of THE GREEN HORNET is pretty pricey as an import with poor audio quality, but a nice CD booklet.

You get 11 short tunes in 24 minutes.

The worst thing is that the high frequency notes sound overdriven and a bit distorted, most evident during trumpet music. I guess we all got spoiled from THE GREEN HORNET THEME with Al Hirt on the KILL BILL VOL. 1 SOUNDTRACK, where it sounds "perfect," or at least it sounds so normal that you don't notice any distracting distortion in the treble and trumpet sounds. This is often a problem with this import CD, though. Bummer.

You don't get the opening theme song with Al Hirt until last on this import CD, which should have been first, in my opinion. Everybody recognizes the classic and wants THAT song with Al Hirt. Instead they start the CD with that same song, but in a non-Al Hirt version, which compares poorly and worries the listener as to whether they have been cheated, "HEY, THAT'S NOT THE REAL GREEN HORNET THEME SONG!" This opening cut is like a REALLY out of tune version of the theme song, which is strange, indeed.

Most of the other music is agreeable. "Casey" is the song for the secretary who knows they are the Green Hornet. "Kato" has a nice oriental sound. "Black Beauty" is really happy and out of character for their "rolling arsenal" and famous car; it sounds like a happy car wash tune from a 1960's teen flick. "Do the Hornet" is also corny sounding. "Guardarahornet" sound like a mellow jazz bachelor pad tune.

The last three songs are variations of the opening theme song, with acceptable versions before the real deal, finally, coming last.

The CD booklet is the saving grace, full of many small photos, but interesting photo choices. It also has a good biography about the show and it's main creative people/actors.

If you must have this, after knowing all this, then you will probably like it. But don't expect a heavenly soundtrack experience! This is just okay, and probably only worth the import price for the most serious Green Hornet fans only.

I bought two copies, trusting a good experience, one for me and one for a gift, but the poor audio quality is forcing me to return the gift copy unopened, back to amazon.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Green Hornet, August 28, 2008

By 

Pj Thorp - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ost (Audio CD)

Although running less than half an hour, this CD has some great soundtrack music from the best scored American show of the 1960s.

Far superior to the Batman incidental music, the Green Hornet had jazz galore, and fast paced action themes.

Well worth it for any fan of the show or of jazz

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent, February 20, 2010

By 

Bill Your 'Free Form FM Handi Cyber Print DJ ... (Mahwah, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Ost (Audio CD)

As the Berlin Wall was torn down in the 1980s, so was the wall between high art and pop culture in the 1960s. Beatles. Warhol. Don Ellis could, at times, sound like Doc Severson, and the reverse is as true.

Green Horrnet is both action packed and jazz flooded. Billy May, who worked with Sinatra, did this score.

Mainly this is based on horns. Like Nelson Riddle with Batman, the horns blast and punctuate. Pow! Sock! Lisening, you can feel those fake TV punches and see those comic book speech balloons/

But this does genuinely work as jazz, and this is a complete and coharent big band jazz.

It is a shame in 2010 that there is reality TV and little high art intigrated into entertainment, but hear this, and see why thhe 60s were so asthetically cool.