John Barry - Soundtracks and Singles 1963-1966 (2015)

The 3CD Soundtracks And Singles 1963-1966 compiles the original soundtrack albums for Zulu and Four In The Morning, both composed and conducted by John Barry, together with other recordings he made for the Ember label. Barry (1933-2011) was one of the best known composers of film music in the world. His early career found him working as in-house arranger for EMI, leader of hit instrumental combo the John Barry Seven, and composer, arranger and conductor on the first UK soundtrack album (the Adam Faith vehicle Beat Girl). After Barry's involvement as arranger on the first James Bond film Dr No in 1962, he was appointed as primary composer for the film franchise. The BAFTA-nominated Zulu (1964) was directed by Cy Endfield with a cast including Stanley Baker, Michael Caine and Jack Hawkins. The film depicts the heroic defence of Rorke's Drift mission station during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. Originally released in 1964, and here mastered from original stereo tapes, the album comprises soundtrack music (with two of the tracks incorporating narration by Richard Burton), followed by A Selection of Zulu Stamps , essentially southern African-influenced beat instrumentals, performed by the John Barry Seven. Anthony Simmons Four In The Morning (1965) won the Golden Sail award for best feature film at the Locarno International Film Festival, and earned Judi Dench a BAFTA award for Most Promising Newcomer of 1966. Originally released on Ember, the soundtrack album comprises John Barry's original haunting score, plus four excerpts of dialogue featuring Dench, Ann Lynn, Norman Rodway, Brian Phelan and Joe Melia. The dialogue only exists in mono, so we have presented the entire album in mono, followed by the music-only tracks in stereo, again mastered from original tapes. Both soundtrack albums were originally released on British independent label Ember, where John Barry was associate producer and head of A&R in the early sixties. A third disc spotlights other John Barry recordings for the label. These include two UK hit singles: the From Russia With Love theme (here also in an alternative version with organ) and the Barry-produced Christine, a satirical commentary on the Profumo affair, credited to the mysterious Miss X, as well as Fancy Dance , which served as the theme to the BBC's twice-weekly soap The Newcomers from 1965 to 1967. John Barry went on to score many notable soundtracks, including the award-winning Born Free, The Lion In Winter, Midnight Cowboy, The Cotton Club, Out Of Africa and Dances With Wolves. In 1999 Barry was appointed OBE for services to music, and in 2002 he received the GoldenEye award, courtesy of the Ian Fleming Foundation.