Television's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2: From the 50s and 60s

There are some wonderful (albeit sometimes cheesy) memories here. But I have a couple of big problems with this series of albums:

1. A good deal of the songs are NOT the original recordings. In fact, a lot of them are versions that sound like somebody made them with a few synthesizers and a MIDI setup in their bedroom. Arrggggh! If it's not the original, I don't want it! But that brings us to the next problem...

2. Evidently the producers couldn't obtain quality masters of a lot of the songs. So what did they do instead? Well, honestly, on some of the songs (like the Get Smart theme, for example), it sounds like they just sat down in front of the TV with a tape recorder and a cheap mike. Lousy.

On the other hand, the lousy quality of some of the recordings might serve to more fully transport you back to the days of old B&W television sets with cheap, tinny speakers. You might even find yourself longing for that little white dot that you used to watch...Read more

Some of these reviews are WACKY that say most or all the tracks here are recreations. I just went through them all in this volume, and my guess is about 8 are recreations, maybe less. Some are obvious (Bewitched), others are not so obvious. I have a sick gift a being able to remember the tempo and aound of these original themes, and you'll fine that 90% of these are "The Real McCoys" (Volume 4). I don't think these reviewers appreciate that Steve Gottlieb was able to get access to studio recordings of the original themes in some cases, so in some cases the fidelity is remarkable. Good fidelity in sound does not mean a remake...

I have all the TV tunes volumes and some are dissappointing remakes (Bonanza, The Virginian, 77 Sunset Strip) but far and away the vast majority are originals and you won't find them anywhere else but on these remarkable collections. They are hysterical to listen to these songs... It's like taking a time machine (wayback machine?) back to the...Read more

This is a collection of "65 more TV themes from the 50s and 60s". Most of the themes are re-recordings of the original themes, but most people will be hard pressed to distinguish the re-recordings from the original versions. The re-recordings sound almost exactly like the original versions, except with better sound fidelity. The easiest way to tell which tracks are re-recordings is that the new recordings are in stereo, and it is highly doubtful that original television themes from the 50s or 60s would be in stereo. But regardless of that, this CD is a fun listen for fans of old TV shows.