Henry Mancini's "Gaily, Gaily" & Charles Strouse's "The Night They Raided Minsky's"

[Bernd Junker]

THERE WAS THIS REAL RELIGIOUS GIRL

Kritzerland is proud to offer a double bill of two never-before-released on CD soundtracks on one CD.

Gaily, Gaily, music composed and conducted by Henry Mancini

The Night They Raided Minskys, music composed by Charles Strouse.

Gaily, Gaily is the 1968 film version of Ben Hechts fictional memoirs about coming of age in 1910 Chicago, and his beginnings as a journalist and author. The film was directed by Norman Jewison (coming off an incredible run of hits with The Cincinnati Kid, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, In The Heat Of The Night, and The Thomas Crown Affair), and starred Beau Bridges, Brian Keith, Melina Mercouri, Hume Cronyn, and a very young Margot Kidder. Henry Mancini provided the absolutely delightful score. As was his wont back then, the album was a rerecording it contains all the films themes, but not the actual film tracks. The movies main theme, Tomorrow Is My Friend, is one of Mancinis most beautiful and haunting melodies its heard here in several variations, including a beautifully sung version by Jimmie Rodgers (the lyrics to this and the films other songs are by Marilyn and Alan Bergman). The album also included a recitation by Melina Mercouri, accompanied by Mancinis underscore. As always, Mancinis music is tuneful, memorable, and altogether wonderful.

The Night They Raided Minskys is the story of an innocent Amish girl who comes to New York in 1925, gets involved with a burlesque troupe at Minskys Burlesque, and inadvertently ends up inventing the striptease. The film was directed by William Friedkin (his second, after the Sonny and Cher picture, Good Times), and starred Jason Robards, Norman Wisdom, Britt Eklund, Bert Lahr, and Harry Andrews. It was a troubled film Bert Lahr died during shooting, the first cut was, by all accounts, one of the worst first cuts in the history of film (so said David Picker, head of United Artists), Friedkin wasnt around at all in post-production, and producer Norman Lear left the film in the hands of editor Ralph Rosenblum to fix. It took Rosenblum a year, but fix it he did restructuring scenes, shifting them around, using stock footage he transformed Minskys from disaster into hit. The score was by the great Charles Strouse, whod written the Broadway shows Bye Bye Birdie, All-American, Golden Boy, and Its A Bird, Its A Plane, Its Superman (hed go on to write Applause, and the smash hit, Annie), as well as the score to the film Bonnie and Clyde. With his lyricist, Lee Adams, he wrote several really clever and catchy songs for the film, as well as a bunch of clever and catchy themes to go with them. Its a wonderfully melodic score, and features vocals by Rudy Vallee, Dexter Maitland, Lillian Heyman, as well as the films stars, Jason Robards and Norman Wisdom.

Its a tuneful, toe-tapping, and terrific double bill the kinds of scores they simply dont write anymore, by two great composers Henry Mancini and Charles Strouse.

This release is limited to 1000 copies only.

The price is $19.98 plus shipping.

CDs will ship by the end of September however, preorders placed directly through Kritzerland usually ship one to five weeks earlier (weve been averaging four weeks early).

Rare soundtracks of "Gaily, Gaily" by Henry Mancini and "The Night They Raided Minsky's" by Charles Strouse

Bearbeitet 19. August 2009 von Bernd Junker