Hotel/Kaleidoscope (1967/1966)

First Time on CD!

Composed by: Stanley Myers, Johnny Keating

FSM pairs a couple of swinging sixties soundtracks by British composers from the Warner Bros. Records catalog: Hotel (1967) and Kaleidoscope (1966). Each film was the debut score of its respective composer, and each soundtrack makes its CD premiere here.
Hotel was a lavish adaptation of the Arthur Hailey novel about the operations of a New Orleans luxury hotel. Later made into an Aaron Spelling TV series, the theatrical version starred Rod Taylor, Catherine Spaak, Michael Rennie, Kevin McCarthy, Melvyn Douglas and other top-flight character actors in overlapping subplots of employees, magnates and guests—even a rascal of a sneak thief played by Karl Malden.

The excellent jazz/symphonic score to Hotel was by Johnny Keating, a Scottish big band composer/arranger who whose ingenious main theme plays in versions both minor-mode (for the imminent closing of the grand hotel) and major (for its bustling operation). He also provides a beautiful love theme, swinging New Orleans Dixieland source music, exciting chase music (for Malden's sneak thief on the loose), and two vocal versions of themes (the main theme and love theme) sung by jazz great Carmen McRae, who plays the hotel tavern bandleader in the film.

Keating's re-recording of the Hotel soundtrack for Warner Bros. Records is an outstanding example of an LP presentation. Long considered one of the best-sounding re-recordings ever made, it is remixed here from the four-track 1/2" master tapes for sterling sound quality. Keating may not be the most familiar name to film score collectors, but this first-rate work has big band orchestrations worthy of other masters of the period.

Kaleidoscope was an offbeat blending of genres -- romantic comedy, spy thriller and crime caper -- starring Warren Beatty as a smug playboy who executes a daring scheme to mark playing card artwork and thus rack up huge winnings on the gambling circuit. He is nabbed by Scotland Yard and forced to use his talents to bankrupt an English underworld leader; Susannah York costars as his on-again, off-again girlfriend.

British composer Stanley Myers (later known for The Deer Hunter and his collaborations with Hans Zimmer) provides the kind of swinging sixties English soundtrack that would make Austin Powers proud. An eclectic blend of jazz, rock, spy stylings and British culture (from London rock to old-fashioned dance-hall music), this is a long-lost entry from the Henry Mancini/John Barry/Lalo Schifrin style of sixties "mod"/spy adventure. The Warner Bros. Records LP is presented from the first-generation 1/4" stereo album master.

New liner notes are by Lukas Kendall.

Hotel

Music Composed and Conducted by Johnny Keating

Theme From Hotel (Main Title) 2:13
Airport 2:28
Love Theme 2:42
Key Case 3:54
This Year (Carmen McRae) 2:39
Bourbon Street 2:14
Hotel Lobby 1:47
Duke and Duchess 2:30
Hotel (Carmen McRae) 2:36
Elevator 2:37
Jeanne and Pete 3:55
End Title 3:08

Total Time: 33:08

Kaleidoscope

Music Composed, Arranged and Conducted by Stanley Myers

Main Title 2:27
Kinky Dolly 2:16
Shazam! 5:35
D.B. 6 1:58
Angel's Theme 2:17
Kaleidoscope 2:35
Barney 3:04
A Present for Daddy 2:35
Dominion's Deal 2:06
Kings Full 2:18
End Title 3:11

Total Time: 30:49

Total Disc Time: 64:04

All that for only $16.95. Such a deal!

Put me down for this at the MovieMusic Store!

James