Henry Mancini - The Pink Panther [50th Anniversary Edition]

The film director Blake Edwards brought into existence what is probably the best opening sequence to his comic crime film when he commissioned a young enterprising company to produce an animated Pink Panther cartoon film. The creative team came up with the idea of giving the cold, glittering diamond the guise of a cool, pink panther, which leads a bungling detective on a merry dance to the slinky sound of the Panther theme. Mancini bathes the film location in highly varied musical colors and genres and reveals his love for dance music. The soundtrack includes samba "It Had Better Be Tonight", the shuffle "Champagne and Quail", and the cha-cha "Something For Sellers" as well as the ballad "Royal Blue, sung by a muted trumpet and saxophone. Also incorporated is the delightful sounds of the accordion.

The Pink Panther is another fine, early-'60s soundtrack from Henry Mancini. The title track became one of his most recognizable themes and kicks off a pleasant program of dreamy lounge cuts and Latin-tinged numbers. As he did on many other movie/TV albums (Touch of Evil, Peter Gunn, etc.), Mancini also includes some noirish, big band numbers, like "The Tiber Twist" and the main title. Along with these up-tempo songs, he balances out the mostly light material with the solidly swinging mambos "The Village Inn," "Something for Sellers" (as in Peter Sellers, the movies' star), and "It Had Better Be Tonight" (co-written by frequent partner Johnny Mercer and something of a minor vocal hit upon its release).

The program's highlights, though, come from the kind of sublime (some might say cheesy) ballads he usually included on his soundtracks; the after-hours jazz tune "Royal Blue" stands out in particular, with its tasteful string arrangement and glowing trumpet solo. This is a great title for fans of Mancini's lounge/soundtrack material, but those more into his jazz material should consider either his Peter Gunn or Combo soundtracks. ~ Stephen Cook