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| Ace's new Something's Up collection thankfully focuses on composer John Barry's swingin' 60s peak years – Bond and beyond! |
Writes compiler Bob Stanley:
"I’ve put a new John Barry comp together. I’m quite excited. Bond themes, plus obscurities from Man In The Middle, Dutchman, The Chase (US single version)…magical stuff."
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“Something’s Up!” – Ace's latest archival dig into the soundtrack recordings of John Barry soundtrack recordings – is the ultimate collection of the distinctive, darkly beautiful John Barry Sound – spy movies, swinging comedies, and social realism. Compiled by Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley, “Something’s Up!” covers the era when London was the driver of popular culture, and John Barry went from being just another British arranger to an actual pop star. The press talked about his E-Type life and called Jane Birkin his “E-Type wife.”
At the heart of this was his work on the most beloved James Bond films. With 1964’s Goldfinger, 1965's Thunderball and 1967's You Only Live Twice, John Barry made Bond his own; his fame and fortune were secured. Further big commissions like The Ipcress File and The Quiller Memorandum came in, and Barry essentially the sound of the cold war spy movie. They also enabled Barry to pursue more unusual requests – the tense and controversial short movie Dutchman; Bryan Forbes’ tale of isolation and paranoia The Whisperers– for purely artistic reasons. He even tried his hand at advertising work; ‘The Girl With The Sun In Her Hair’ is taken from a Sunsilk hampoo ad.
Other highlights of “Something’s Up!” include not only acknowledged classics (the Bond movies, The Knack, Born Free) but other now-obscure films whose soundtracks (King Rat, The Chase, Séance on a Wet Afternoon) are more widely discussed than the actual movies.
John Barry’s soundtracks were among the first to sell in numbers on record, often irrespective of whether the purchaser had seen the movie. He was a new breed; his music was designed to have a life of its own, on vinyl as well as celluloid. After the success of Ace's “The More Things Change: TV, Film and Studio Work 1968-73”, “Something’s Up!” will work a magic all of its own. Something's Up is set for release on September 27th but you can pre-order it directly from Ace Records right here. Check out a few song clips following the tracklisting below.
John Barry – Something's Up
Film, TV & Studio Work, 1964-67
01 The Syndicate
02 Oublie Ca
03 Seance On A Wet Afternoon'
04 Troubadour
05 Chicken Delhi Cold
06 Barbra's Theme
07 Goldfinger
08 The Chase
09 Theme From King Rat
10 A Man Alone
11 The Knack
12 Thunderball
13 Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
14 Four In The Morning
15 Danny Scipio Theme
16 Theme from The Quiller Memorandum - Wednesday's Child
17 Something's Up!
18 The Girl With the Sun In Her Hair
19 Vendetta
20 The Whisperers
21 You Only Live Twice
22 Space March (Capsule In Space)
23 Dutchman
24 Seance On a Wet Afternoon
25 Theme from Born Free
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