"Baby Elephant Walk" By HENRY MANCINI

"Breakfast At Tiffany's" OST

Original released on LP  RCA Victor LPM 2362

(US, August 1961)

This soundtrack to the movie adaptation of Truman Capote's novel "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is one of Henry Mancini's best. The pleasing blend of pop (the perennial "Moon River") and swing stays fresh over the album's 12 tracks and shows off Mancini's considerable writing and arranging skills. The cuts range from the layered, big-band mambo "Something for Cat" to the transcendentally smooth lounge number "Sally's Tomato" with some vaudeville moments coming via "Mr. Yunioshi" (check out that banjo eating up the faux Japanese scales) and "Hub Caps and Tail Lights" (sounds like the "Addams Family Theme"). Mancini keeps the lounge/easy listening mood from collapsing in on itself with many fine jazz solos, a driving rhythm section, and his expert (yet pleasantly cheesy) handling of the liquid-toned chorus parts. He also strikes a nice balance here between his crime-jazz backdrops for the Peter Gunn TV show and Touch of Evil and the later, more streamlined soundtracks for The Pink Panther and Charade. Throughout "Breakfast at Tiffany's" solid program, Mancini makes it clear that he isn't just a peddler of Muzak but a fine composer. (Stephen Cook in AllMusic)

"THE PINK PANTHER" - OST

Original released on LP RCA Victor LSP 2795

(US, March 1964)

"The Pink Panther" is another fine, early-'60s soundtrack from Henry Mancini. The title track became one of his most recognizable themes and kicks off a pleasant program of dreamy lounge cuts and Latin-tinged numbers. As he did on many other movie / TV albums (Touch of Evil, Peter Gunn, etc.), Mancini also includes some noirish, big band numbers, like "The Tiber Twist" and the main title. Along with these up-tempo songs, he balances out the mostly light material with the solidly swinging mambos "The Village Inn," "Something for Sellers" (as in Peter Sellers, the movies' star), and "It Had Better Be Tonight" (co-written by frequent partner Johnny Mercer and something of a minor vocal hit upon its release). The program's highlights, though, come from the kind of sublime (some might say cheesy) ballads he usually included on his soundtracks; the after-hours jazz tune "Royal Blue" stands out in particular, with its tasteful string arrangement and glowing trumpet solo. This is a great title for fans of Mancini's lounge/soundtrack material, but those more into his jazz material should consider either his Peter Gunn or Combo soundtracks. (Stephen Cook in AllMusic)

(VER COMENTÁRIO SOBRE O FILME AQUI)

Album gravado entre 16 e 18 de Setembro de 1963, no RCA's Music Center of the World, Hollywood, California e remasterizado em Janeiro de 1969, nos RCA Recording Studios, em New York

"EXPERIMENT IN TERROR" - OST

Original released on LP RCA Victor LSP 2442 (stereo)

(US, 1962)

Henry Mancini's adventurous score for the 1962 thriller "Experiment in Terror" is one of the composer's many classic collaborations with director Blake Edwards. Released a year after "Breakfast at Tiffany"'s and a year before "The Pink Panther", it's a must for any level of Mancini collector, not because it's so representative of his work at the time but because it's extra quirky and diverse -- with jazzy lounge pieces, melancholy piano, and eerie suspense passages, as well as guitar rock ("Golden Gate Twist") and even a nod to the flapper era with the Charleston-like "The Good Old Days." The score was recorded earlier that year at RCA Victor's Music Center of the World by Henry Mancini & His Orchestra.

"HATARI" - OST

Original released on LP RCA Victor LPM/LSP 2559 RE

(US, 1962)

Coming off a double Oscar win for his "Breakfast at Tiffany"'s score, Henry Mancini produced this score for the Howard Hawks-directed, John Wayne-starring safari comedy. This is at first a fun blend of jazz and Afro-exotica, jungle drums mixed with a classic bop combo. Elsewhere, however, the soundtrack opts for some pleasant, but very Western jazz, only stopping for the African instrument-sampler "The Sounds of Hatari," which features some nice treated piano. The filmmakers were probably hoping that the Mercer and Carmichael song "Just for Tonight" would be as much a success as Tiffany's "Moon River," but if "Hatari!" is memorable for anything, it's for the incredibly goofy "Baby Elephant Walk," which has gone on to be infamous musical shorthand for kookiness of any stripe. Get this tune in your head and it sticks.