Search - John [1] Barry, Monty Norman, Nic Raine :: John Barry: The Collection

Not the originals but nonetheless pretty good!

Tim G. Corcoran | Beaverton, OR USA | 05/31/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If it's heft you're after... this collection of 56 classic John Barry scores on 4 CD's is a dream. Arranged in chronological order starting with ZULU (1963) and continuing to Mercury Rising (1998), the collection covers all his major works (14 James Bond themes, Dances with Wolves, Body Heat, Out of Africa etc.) and many lesser known but memorable ones (Walkabout, Chaplin, Robin and Marian). If there's one disappointment, it's that the performances are gathered from a series of previous releases on the same label. All tracks feature the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted/arranged not by the composer but by Nic Raine, described as John Barry's "orchestrator of choice". To be fair, arrangements are true to the originals though I feel they sound just a little thin next to the real thing (e.g. JB's own Moviola albums). Still, if you're a John Barry fan, there's plenty to entice you here, particularly you lucky Brits.... Why it's more expensive Stateside is anyone's guess.Sonic quality is good. I detect a little hiss but can't determine from the box whether the recordings are full digital or not. It's certainly not too distracting anyway.I own everything by John Barry I can find on CD and I don't begrudge shelf-space to this collection. If you like the price you can't go wrong."

Incredible Barry Collection

C. A. Luster | Burke, VA USA | 03/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Any fan of movies will absolutley love this collection. Being a movie buff I couldn't wait to get this boxed set. Knowing Barry from all the James Bond movies, I did not realize his involvement with so many others. The orchestra is magnificent in all these themes. I'm listening to "High Road to China" right now and I'm drifting in the clouds in a Tiger Moth with Tom Selleck and Bess Armstrong. If you are familiar with a movie it will definitely have you seeing it again, if not the scores are still beautiful. Any fan of classical music will be pleased as well. Travellers will defintitely enjoy it for a long drive. I know from when I use to travel that music like this made the miles float by faster. I highly recommend these four CDs even if you just know a handful of the songs."

A Variety Of Classics!

Martin A Hogan | San Francisco, CA. (Hercules) | 12/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Barry has been composing film scores for over forty years and this is only scratching the surface of his productions. Never mind that the entire set is recorded by the Prague Philharmonic; it's pure to Barry's themes. While John Williams compositions ("Star Wars", etc.) are wild and flamboyant and Jerry Goldsmith's (Hoosier's, etc.) are mood pieces, John Barry crosses over all barriers and is amazingly diverse. Barry has recorded most of the exciting James Bond themes, melodramatic classics like "The Lion In Winter' and moody theme hits like "Midnight Cowboy". He also tugs at the heartstrings with compositions from, "Somewhere In Time", "Frances" and "Out Of Africa". He varies his themes for all types of films and few composers capture it so well.



There is over four hours of music in this set with a colorful and informative booklet."