I am a HUGE Mancini fan and have been waiting for a label to finally crack the nut and release some of his actual film scores that came out only as RCA re-recorded albums.
Now, let me say off the bat that I love Mancini's film scores, but I also love his lounge/pop "soundtrack" albums that are often disparaged around these parts.
But, the big exception to that rule has always been "Charade." I love the film score, but never cared for the LP. It has 4 tracks I really love, and at least that many that I cannot stand. (I'll let you guess which).
So, now that I have had the Intrada CD on repeat for the past 5 days, I loaded everything into my computer, along with the LP tracks. I also loaded a few of the film tracks into Protools for custom editing. (I generally don't geek out like this, but in this case I could not resist).
So, my aims for an alternate universe Charade LP are as follows:
1. Use the best lounge/source cues 2. Use the moodier dramatic underscore and action pieces 3. Use some variations of the main theme 4. Spare listeners from having to endure the godawful moments of the score that have no business being on an LP 5. Create a realistic playlist that may have comprised a soundtrack album of that period, even if not a typical Mancini album. (Even Mancini broke his own routine by including some dramatic score excerpts on Hatari, Arabesque, and Experiment in Terror).
So, here is what I have. Enjoy!
Side 1:
1. Charade Main Title - I use the mono LP version, because I like the change of the bongo pattern on the bridge of the LP version, and mono mix is ballsier. 2. Megeve - A bossa, and my favorite track on the album. I use the LP version; Either works. 3. Mean Cat - Begins as slow jazzy number with vibes and accordion, goes into a slow version of the theme, and has a dramatic ending. 4. Bistro - Mid-tempo samba source cue. This almost didn't make the cut but I couldn't leave it off. I use the album version, because it's shorter. 5. Don't Trust Him - Tension; starts with slow ominous cellos, has some abstract trumpet/sax lines, hits a dramatic peak, and ends as a mid tempo jazz with accordion improvising. 6. Charade - Vocal by Bobby Darin. Mancini's dreary vocal chorus themes are always a low point of his albums. I end side one with Bobby Darin's swingin' version. It's in 4/4 and starts with the bass riff from "Fallout." It makes a nice end to this side. Bobby didn't record this until 1964, but since I'm indulging in an act of fantasy, why limit my fantasies?
Side 2:
1. Notre Dame - A nice slow, continental version of the main theme starts side 2, not unlike the actual LP version (which started with the dreary vocal chorus), and hits a dramatic peak at the end. I bail out at the 2:42 mark to spare listeners from enduring the next part of the track. 2. Latin Snowfall - Bossa. LP version, but either works. 3. Confide in Me - Tension; abstract piano, and a slow dissonant version of the theme played on piano. I tightened up some of the crossfades within the track for pacing. 4. Mambo Parisienne - Uptempo Latin. LP version, but either works. 5. Stamps/Metro Chase/Game Over - I combined these relatively short action cues into one long track with crossfades, and left out "Son of." It works well as one piece. On the album cover, it is simply called "Metro Chase." 6. True Identity and Finale - I use the first iteration of the chorus theme, bail before the second chorus at 1:49 or so, and then skip to the finale at 3:25 and take it out.
So far, I've listened on the computer, and it sounds like the really great, delirious, 60s soundtrack album that it should have been, the type that got me into this sort of thing in the first place.
This weekend, I will burn a CD and, after uncorking a good bottle of wine, play it on the stereo, while I watch the RCA LP with the black dog logo spin on the turntable and hold the LP cover in my hands. I can't wait. I have a feeling that if this was the LP that I would have found in the thrift store in the late 1980s, instead of the real one, it would have been an instant favorite.
I enjoy those old RCA records too. I've been going through all of them since the 2 big Intrada releases: Z, Our Man, Hatari, Experiment, Charade, Tiff's, Arabesque, BB Latin, Academy Award songs, Mr Lucky, Gunn, Big Screen...
Wish I was hanging near that turntable when the cork comes out. :-D
I tried them both out. I thought Bobby's was a stronger side closer, and I like that it's in 4/4 rather than a waltz, as are the other versions of the main theme that are in the score.
I start at the beginning and use the first stanza from the first chorus, then crossfade into the first stanza of the second chorus and continue out. That gives me two stanzas with slightly different orchestration, the bridge, and then the transition to the finale.
Well, I just played it on the stereo with that bottle of wine I promised all of you, and, yes, I'm very happy with my alternate universe LP track lineup. I may tweak it a little in terms of edits, but I'm happy with the track selection and order overall.
Sitting in the record room surrounded by all of my LPs, at times I felt like I was listening to a mid-60s Verve soundtrack by Quincy Jones, Kenyon Hopkins, or Lalo Schifrin, in terms of the overall moods, pacing, and contrasts. It also brought to mind Thomas Crown and, oddly enough, Rosemary's Baby, just in terms of the delirious mix of styles ranging from the samba "Bistro," to the ominous tension cues, to a recurring beautiful theme.
Yes, this would have been a great LP. Thank God for the CD. Too bad Hank isn't here to enjoy it.
Better late than never, here's my LP presentation of the Charade score
Charade- Main Title 2.27 Megeve 3.15 Empty Room 2.36 Hook Fight 5.27 Mambo Parisienne 2.15 Fatherly Talk 1.49 Mean Cat 2.44 ---- Charade Vocal- Blossom Dearie 1.52 Latin Snowfall 2.15 Notre Dame 2.37 Metro Chase 2.28 Game Over 1.38 True Identity and Finale 3.55 Charade-Vocal Shirley Bassey 3.40
This runs at about 38 1/2 minutes and, for me, plays really well Only four of the tracks were on the original rerecorded album. I've gone for jazzy and moody tracks with the set piece Hook Fight and Metro Chase added as the best of the action cues.
The song was a toss up between the Blossom Dearie version and Shirley Bassey's. In the end I went for both, the Dearie, just gorgeous, cool and swinging, the Bassey just a great way to finish the album.
I can happily listen to the whole CD but in the 1963 alternate universe this is the album I'd have put together
came across this recently, often plays in a bar I go to.
Thought some of you might like to check it out - Nicola Conte
its a pretty decent alternative version
somewhere on the net it says the singer is Lisa Bassenge ---------------------------- Thanks for posting, Bill. Very nice version. Lisa Bassege has a great voice. I must check out some of her albums.
