Henry Mancini Greatest Hits

 (19 customer reviews)

Henry Mancini gave us so much of our consciousness of the 1960s and 1970s, and yet was "out" almost as soon as he was "in."

His work became synonymous with much-despised "elevator music" in the later 1960s. This stereotype (or monotype, for his earliest works) can mislead.

For example, "Lujon" [not in this collection] was used in a movie just last year to exemplify mystery and an exotic atmosphere.

Mancini dies way too young. While some would argue that he'd become a self-parody, his innate gifts compromised by relentless commercialization, you cannot take away his lasting gift to our culture. He was an original, and he captured an essence of our collective experience.

He's here in this collection, waiting round the bend, my Huckleberry friend.

Henry Mancini may well have been the geatest composer -- popular or classical -- of the 20th century. Although this album is entitled Henry Mancini's Greatest Hits and does indeed contain an excellent sampling of his hit songs, no single CD can contain all of Mancini's greatest hits. If you want all of the best of Mancini you have to get several CDs. Nevertheless, this CD is a very good place to start. Highly recommended.

Mancini is a quirky genius. Growing up on John Williams Wagner-esque movie scores, Mancini's scores seem rather odd. They have a rumba night club feel-a mixture of "The Ventures" and "Pet Sounds"-unlike the energetic and overwhelming majesty of Star Wars or Indiana Jones. But that is the appeal of Mancini-his are subtle anti-themes.It would have been helpful to have the tapes digitally re-mastered. They sound thick and stuffy, which blunts the music's edge. Mancini's daughter has rerecorded some of these hits, with some other additions, and the sound is clean (ASIN: B0001HAIFO). However, this disc has the original tunes as Mancini envisioned them.