Search - Ron Grainer :: To Sir With Love

Wonderful album if you loved the movie!

Niall Lovejoy | UK | 02/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"'To Sir With Love' is probably my favourite film from the Sixties and in my top ten of all time. Surprisingly the movie was directed and screen written by James Clavell, better known for novels like 'Shogun'. Sidney Poitier was cast as the black teacher who gets his first teaching job in a run down East End school. He faces an out of control class of 15 yr olds, all from deprived backgrounds. The movie focuses on Poitier's relationship with the kids, and his eventual winning them over. Using actual London locations and featuring Sixties icons like Lulu and Suzy Kendall,'To Sir with Love' is just perfect for all those nostalgia freaks who long for a return to those heady times. The cd soundtrack has excellent sleeve notes with stills from the film.The music itself is superb. Don Blacks lyrics to the title track still bring a tear to my eye. There are several versions of the song too, including the original movie orchestrated and best example. The Mindbenders (featured as the 'school prom' band) also feature on the album. I have waited along time to get hold of this soundtrack. It was worth the wait!"

Stunning

His Beat Goes On... | 10/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Contrary to our Canadian friend reviewing this record, it's a stunner. Of course, this is an exact duplicate of the original album, so it contains incidental music and scoring, unlike many of today's soundtracks, which are simply a collection of songs licensed to further vertical integration of a product. The Mindbenders tracks are great - never liked the band much, but these are fine songs, Lulu's stuff is killer, the alternate takes on the title theme fascinating. The rest of the score is good as well - there 's a reason this was a long awaited release. If you simply want the title track, maybe a compilation or Lulu CD would be better, but for those who liked the film's music upon watching it, here ya go!"

Nice period score and entertaining pop numbers

R. Riis | NY | 06/24/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Excellent soundtrack to an excellent film. The several variations on the title theme are each interesting and the other pop numbers (including the Mindbenders, who are quite good) very entertaining. The rest of the disc comprises mainly musical cues and the film's percussive score is evocative of the film. Recommended. Collectors' note : half of the future Led Zeppelin play on this disk...."