Cinema of

nice to get a lot of 60's in one place

The CINEMA OF QUNCY JONES brings together long hard to find film scores by the great Quincy Jones. Most if not all of these scores were long out of print, and hard to find. Look no further! Jones's score for IN COLD BLOOD is one of the three or four greatest film scores of all time and here makes its appearance on CD for the first time. As I have never seen the film this score blew me away. For anyone who didn't know how great a film composer Quincy Jones is, this indispensable set will tell you! A must!!!

This set, while it misses some great Q scores like "Mackenna's Gold" sounds wonderful and is full of the innovative, diverse sounds that made Jones' work so effective and unique. Highly recommend. 6 CD's with 10 scores, as originally recorded for LP back in the 60's and 70's; The Pawnbroker; The Slender Thread; Mirage; The Deadly Affair; In the Heat of the Night; In Cold Blood; Walk Don't Run; The Italian Job; The Lost Man; John & Mark; plus assorted extras including "The Getaway," "Ironside," The Anderson Tapes," and "Sole Bossa Nova" which everyone now associates with Austin Powers.

Yes, it's a wonderful set in terms of the music, even though much of it has been on CD for years. Yes, the music is fun and terrific, especially the 60s stuff. Yes, it's great to have Mirage and John and Mary on CD. So what is my problem? Well, I'm happy to tell you and all I can say is that the other reviewers must be listening on lousy equipment, perhaps not listening at all but just reviewing the set based on its contents (which happens a LOT on Amazon), or just don't care about sound.The top credit on the back of the booklet says it all: Designed and Realized by Stephane Lerouge. A simple produced by would have been enough for a real record producer. But here's the problem and it applies to so many titles in the Ecoutez de Cinema Universal France series - this guy either has lost his hearing, knows nothing about sound, or just accepts what he's handed in terms of mastering. Because there really is no excuse for mastering anything like this so hot - this isn't a heavy metal album, this is film music. So, what happens is it becomes a wearying listening experience. I had a splitting headache by the end of disc three - it's like being assaulted constantly, the music has no dynamic other than LOUD, and it a) doesn't do Mr. Jones's music any favors, and b) it veers toward distortion.So, if you don't care about sound, you might enjoy this. I do not enjoy being assaulted by sound for six hours. And I lay this firmly at the feet of Mr. Lerouge, who thinks an awful lot of himself. Sorry to be harsh, but I really was looking forward to this set, but should have known better.

Soundtracks to The Pawnbroker (1964), The Slender Thread (1965), Mirage (1965), The Deadly Affair (1965), In The Heat Of The Night (1967), In Cold Blood (1967), Walk Don't Run (1966), The Italian Job (1969), The Lost Man (1969), John & Mary (1969), The Getaway (1972) plus bonus CD Q's Highlights.[DW]