Batman: Batman Theme And 19 Other Bat Songs (1966 TV Series) [SOUNDTRACK]

Neal Hefti, Batman (Related Recordings)

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 15, 1997)
• Original Release Date: January 12, 1966
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Razor & Tie
• ASIN: B000002ZBS
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,004 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #49 in	Music > Soundtracks > Anime & Video Game Soundtracks
  #79 in	Music > Soundtracks > Television Soundtracks

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wicked tunes, February 10, 2002

By	scott birksted (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

I grew up with this record, my grandmother gave it to me used, and now that its reissued on cd, it brings me back to being a kid listening to this stuff playing in the basement! Songs like Jervis are really good chillout jazz tunes.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cool 60's Instro-Pop!, September 4, 2001

By	Henry R. Kujawa ("The Forbidden Zone" (Camden, NJ)) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's NOT like it looks! You know those albums that say, "Music INSPIRED BY the motion picture..."? This predates that trend by 30 years! The difference here is, among the many, many recordings of the famous 1966 BATMAN tv theme song, Neal Hefti is the guy who actually WROTE it! Considering the bulk of the show's score was done by Nelson Riddle, this might make Hefti the "Monty Norman" of the BATMAN community. Ironically, his extended "45" version has turned up on collection after collection (the single itself was even reissued back in '89) while Riddle's faster arrangement can only be found on the official "TV Soundtrack" album.

It seems like everybody wanted to jump on the "Bat-Craze" in '66, and several artists did entire albums "inspired" by it (among them The Ventures, Jan & Dean). While NONE of the recordings here actually appeared on the show, this is a pretty cool disc on its own merits. The CD combines 2 Hefti albums from the same year, and I didn't notice at first they were slightly different in style. BATMAN THEME & 12 HEFTI BAT SONGS fit squarely in the "space age bachelor pad pop" genre, with a lot of early electronic sounds. The follow-up, HEFTI IN GOTHAM CITY, however, is full-out big band jazz! Among my favorites are "Senorita Boo Bam" and "Honorable Batman". Also of interest is "Mother Gotham", which sounds suspiciously like an early version of "The Odd Couple" theme-- which (I checked!) Hefti ALSO co-wrote! (It's not plagiarism if you re-use your own ideas, right?)

For anyone seeking out the "real deal", be sure to also get the "Exclusive Original Television Soundtrack Album" (which features sound clips from 4 of the earliest stories along with Nelson Riddle's amazing music). And for more MUSIC like you'll hear here, I'd recommend anything by Enoch Light or Stereophonic Space Sound Unlimited!

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Jazzy muzak, well-made but unmemorable, May 19, 2002

By	R. Riis "rriis" (NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Other than the title theme, the tracks on this disk have little association with the television program (the show's theme was penned by Hefti, the scoring generally done by Nelson Riddle). Most of this CD is middling jazzy muzak, although done with some wit and flair. The "Batman Theme", which was a minor chart single, suffers without Hal Blaine's propulsive drumming that made the television version so memorable. An interesting period piece, but nothing to get excited about.