More Music from "Peter Gunn"

AMG Review of More Music from "Peter Gunn"

Bruce Eder
All Music Guide

Henry Mancini was so successful with his Music From Peter Gunn album that RCA-Victor brought him back into the studio for a second LP's worth of music from the Blake Edwards-produced program. The second Peter Gunn album didn't do as well as the first, but it is almost as strong musically. Notables on the sessions included drummer Shelly Manne, trumpet virtuoso Pete Candoli, and pianist (and future film music giant) John Williams. Thanks to American BMG's unwillingness to pay the higher mechanical royalties involved, they refused to combine the two Peter Gunn albums on one CD when they upgraded the first album on the Buddha label, choosing instead to simply add four bonus tracks off the second album to the CD. The remaining eight numbers are about as strong as anything on Music From Peter Gunn: "Timothy" may have its weak moments of comic effect, but even it includes some diverting trumpet passages, and none of the rest needs any apology or explanation; "My Manne Shelly" surprisingly isn't given over to Manne's drumming, though the latter does get spotlighted in some surprisingly subtle playing for a featured number; "Goofin' at the Coffee House" is a fine showcase for Victor Feldman's vibraphone, Pete Candoli's trumpet, John Williams' pianio, and Ronnie Lang's flute work; "Odd Ball" is an exciting piece of effect music, evoking action and suspense with some virtuoso playing by all concerned; and "The Little Man Theme" is a great workout for Lang's flute, Ted Nash's piccolo, Williams' piano, and Bob Bain's electric guitar. The CD reissue of More Music From Peter Gunn is a European import that has been augmented with four additional tracks: the original "Peter Gunn," Mancini's main title from the series Mr. Lucky and its Latin variant, and Mancini's main title theme from the Blake Edwards movie Experiment in Terror. The CD has been remastered using a process called "advance noise reshaping," which has yielded a warm yet clear and detailed sound.