I told you just about all I know about John Barry last time a compilation album of his compositions came up here. So I'm scratching around for things to add here.
I'd better consult the sleevenotes, which turn out to be pretty good, and suggest that this was compiled with some thought for showing the best of Barry's career — including his work for films with "smaller budgets… or limited release potential" which didn't warrant their own soundtrack albums, rather than just those with the best box office appeal. Kudos to Geoff Leonard and Pete Walker. But then this impression is rather undermined by the fact that all tracks were published by Polydor between 1972 and 1974. Oh well.
The notes conclude, "Many of these Polydor recordings have, over the course of time, taken on even greater significance, as they represent the last occasion on which the composer himself supervised a sustained and rigorous recording programme of his own work. Consequently, a great number of the themes featured here are unique versions, which are unlikely to be repeated in any form in the foreseeable future." It's moderately interesting, for sure, to hear an orchestral version of Midnight Cowboy with a trumpet taking the theme played on a harmonica in the original soundtrack. Though I think most people would still opt for the latter, given the choice.
Actually there is one other thing I know about John Barry, though it has nothing to do with this album. If you check Last.fm's John Barry charts, you'll see that they are topped by the James Bond Theme (well, they are once you aggregate the scores for James Bond Theme and The James Bond Theme). However, John Barry is strictly not credited as the composer of this theme, at least according to the courts who awarded Monty Norman £30,000 libel damages when The Sunday Times alleged that John Barry was the composer and Norman was not. Barry's testimony seemed to imply that he, Barry, had done most of the composition but had agreed at the time to assign the credit to Norman.Yet since Barry won favour with the producers by striking this deal, and went on to make a lot of money with them, he wasn't about to complain or rescind the deal 40 years later.
| Last.fm entry for this album |
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