For Fans.
Des Francis | Winnipeg, MB CANADA | 03/02/2010
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I too would like to see more Hopkins on CD, but this double album set is a curious choice (trust the Brits).
The first 10 cuts, comprising the album ROOMS, are rendered by a well-rehearsed quintet (including Columbia producer Teo Macero on tenor/clarinet). The notes oddly state Hopkins 'conducted' this little group playing his original music, which is rather claustrophobic & laced with 12-tone touches. While "interesting" (the level of musicianship is quite high), I don't see even Hopkins fans listening to this set very often. Nonetheless, all praise goes to the musicians for a fine job playing this difficult material (the rarely-heard Macero strikes me as a better musician than some of the folks he produced recordings for).
The remaining 12 tracks make up THE SOUND OF NEW YORK. 'Concept' albums about New York were never in short supply (George Russell's NEW YORK N.Y., Oliver Nelson's JAZZHATTAN SUITE & Mel Torme's SUNDAY IN NEW YORK come to mind). All 3 of THOSE recordings almost match the 60-odd year old vintage of the Hopkins, but can still sound fresh.
Sadly, that's not the case here. The set opens & closes with a gee-whiz choral group underlaid by the unmistakeable sound of DC-6 piston engines, making the effort needlessly dated right from the start. The remaining 10 pieces are cluttered with 'appropriate' sound effects which get in the way of some interesting arrangements that would be more enjoyable without them (I think I can hear Phil Woods & Mundell Lowe or maybe Jimmy Raney bashing away in there)."
I have not heard it yet, but he did not do 77 Sunset Strip o
J. Olsen | Chicago, IL | 02/20/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I wish that they would release more Kenyon Hopkins on CD, like the soundtracks to "Wild River" and "The Yellow Canary.
I wonder who wrote the erroneous information about Hopkins. That is unusual for Amazon.
Kenyon wrote music in a sixties contemporary jazz/pop style. Think of Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" and "Mr. Lucky", or Elmer Bernstein's "Walk on the Wild Side".
Baby Doll
YELLOW CANARY (ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK LP VINYL, 1966)
LILITH (ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK LP VINYL, 1964)"
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1