24BIT Remastered
Connor L. 5.0 out of 5 stars February 21, 2013 This import collects two of Henry Mancini's early 60's soundtrack albums, 1960's "High Time" and 1962's "Hatari!" onto one excellent disc. Most Mancini fans need no introduction to "Hatari!", as it's one of the composer's best ever scores. From the brooding title theme to "Baby Elephant Walk" to the mini-epic "Sounds of Hatari", some of Mancini's best and most recognizable work is found here. Further, those relaxed jazz numbers Mancini did so well are represented by "Night Side", "The Soft Touch" and "Big Band Bwana", and they are as masterful as anything on the "Peter Gunn" albums. Even the non-Mancini song "Just for Tonight" by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer is memorable. The only issue is how short the original album is, although what is here is fantastic (in case you don't know already, by the way, these albums had re-recordings of "highlights" from the soundtracks made for the albums. Fortunately, the original "Hatari" soundtrack can be found here:Hatari! - Complete Original Soundtrack.) Aside from the tracks on the 1966 budget comp "The Second Time Around", most of the music from "High Time" was only briefly avaiable on the original soundtrack album, which is reissued here. The album might not have a classic tune like most Mancini soundtracks, but it is still solid music that is particularly recommended to the fan of Mancini's jazz side, which is evident here more than possibly any other Mancini soundtrack.