“This superb 54-track 2CDs set, is possibly the most definitive collection of instrumental music. The track selection is second to none, with some rare gems and popular themes from radio and TV as well as intrumental masterpieces from the past 40 years and more. ”
“In the fifties and sixties, instrumental hits were a regular feature of the pop charts in Britain and America. The Shadows in Britain and the Ventures in America were the big stars but there were many others too. This collection contains many classic hits from that era and plenty of lesser hits that are well worth hearing.The set opens with Stranger on the shore, a classic hit played by clarinettist Acker Bilk. Other highlights include A summer (Percy Faith), Apache (Shadows), Midnight in Moscow (Kenny Ball), Pink panther theme (Henry Mancini), James Bond theme (John Barry), Telstar (Tornados), Nut rocker (B Bumble and the stingers), On the rebound (Floyd Cramer), Z cars them (Johnny Keating), Albatross (Fleetwood Mac), Petite Fleur (Chris Barber), Classical gas (Mason Williams), Yakety sax (Boots Randolph), Walk don't run (Ventures), Side saddle (Russ Conway), Cast your fate to the wind (Sounds orchestral) and A walk in the black forest (Horst Jankowski). Apart from these famous instrumentals, there are a few forgotten rarities. The South African group, Elias and his zigzag jive flutes, who had a British top ten hit playing Tom Hark. The Cougars had a minor hit with Saturday night at the duck pond.There are a few obvious omissions. I might he expected to find The good the bad and the ugly (Hugo Montenegro), Diamonds (Jet Harris and Tony Meehan) and something by Duane Eddy. But don't let those omissions put you off - this is a great collection and you can find the others without too much difficulty if you want them. If you enjoy pop instrumentals from the fifties and sixties, you will find plenty of interest here.
01 Acker Bilk - Stranger On The Shore 02 Percy Faith - A Summer Place 03 Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra - A Swingin'Safari 04 Whilstling Jack Smith - I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman 05 The Shadows - Apache 06 Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen - Midnight In Moscow 07 Henry Mancini - The Pink Panther Theme 08 John Barry & Monty Norman - James Bond Theme 09 Brian Fahey & His Orchestra - At The Sign Of The Swingin' Cymbal 10 The Tornados - Telstar 11 B Bumble & The Stingers - Nut Rocker 12 Floyd Cramer - On The Rebound 13 De Brubeck - Unsquare Dance 14 Bert Weedon - Guitar Boogie Shuffle 15 Laurie Johnson Orchestra - Sucu Sucu 16 Perez Prado - Guaglione 17 Joe Loss - Wheels Cha Cha 18 Eddie Calvert - Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White 19 Nelson Riddle & His Orchestra - Dick Van Dyke Theme 20 The Charles Williams Orchestra - Devil's Galop 21 Sidney Torch - Barwick Green 22 Ron Goodwin & His Orchestra - Theme From '633 Squadron' 23 Ray Anthony - Dragnet 24 Billy May - The Man With The Golden Arm 25 Johnny Keating & The Z Men - Theme From 'Z Cars' 26 Mood Mosaic - A Touch of Velvet-A Sting of Brass 27 Ken Woodman & His Piccadilly Brass - Town Talk 28 Winifred Atwell - The Poor People Of Paris