Midnight Moonlight & Magic: The Very Best of Henry Mancini

 (14 customer reviews)

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.