Henry Mancini Ultimate Mancini Soundtrack CD

 Too much of her
She has an okay singing voice, but there was no need for her to do more than one song. I'm talking about Mancini's grand-daughter or neice or whoever she is. Take Six did one song and she did almost half of them. The other way around would have been a better listening experience.
Submitted by pagq (Madison, WI) 
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 smooth Mancini
I have several "Best Of" CDs in this catagory. The tried and true movie themes and swinging 60's intros are well worth the price of this hefty set. My only wish that the CD had less "downtime" as lyrics being sung for most of the slow songs (by Monica Mancini who is always at the top of my female vocalists) never really takes-off. She tries to stay ahead of each of the tunes with some ounce of lyrical momentum, but the whole thing just bogs down to its "sum of parts". No one is to blame and I can acurrately recall Hank talking and tinkling the ivories in person (couple of years before he passed) in one of my local venues. Each note he played was carressed out of the piano to the delight of all and the fact that he was not a true singer didn't matter. I guess each era has a mood setting classic that defines the energy's of those composers, only problem is we are swung between opposites in such rapid fashion that hardly a scant sweeping composition can save the listener from earlash! Monica is now using her "stage show" presence to pull off some of the most delicate heart-felt lyrics in a great full ochestra show. I have seen her twice and she truely defines the craft in how she approaches a song. If only we could hear the clinking of glassware in the background of this CD to get the "unstrerilized" version of these smokey tunes. I would gladly give up some of the SACD surround potential for "more" ambiance and "less" forced directional steering withing the 5.1. The longevity of this music is it's abiltiy to tranport a person beyond this loud and troubled world to those of lush surroundings filled with new hope on the horizon. Many thanks Hank.
Submitted by martin.montes (bedford, tx) 
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