THE REAL... JOHN BARRY

I very rarely write reviews for music, or films, as everyone has different tastes and who am I to say that John Barry is the best musician ever, that’s up to you to decide. However, I thought I‘d write a review of this CD package just to try and clarify what you will get if you purchase it.First, the packaging says “original recordings” and I think this could be slightly misleading, given this is a CD of film music. To me the original recording is the music written for the actual film soundtrack, these CDs do not contain music from the original soundtracks. What we have here is a compilation of recordings John Barry (JB) did for other CDs (Moviola, Moviola II, etc) with an orchestra, usually The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The good thing is that JB conducted the orchestra and so his distinctive sound was retained, unlike on some ‘tribute’ CDs by other people. I suppose the tracks on these CDs are original in that they are conducted by JB. Some tracks are fairly faithful to the original film music but many are not. The arrangement for The Lion in Winter track sounds more like a theme from a 60s ITC action show, like The Persuaders, than anything from the film. Again, it retains JB’s sound so I’m not unhappy, it’s just different.The sound quality of the CD’s is nice and clear but does not seem to have the depth of really good orchestra recordings, but give the £6 price I am probably being very, very, picky here.So, do I recommend this package? Well for 3 CDs containing a total of 54 tracks the price is very good. If you like JBs music, and even already have the original soundtracks, this will give you something slightly different so I think it’s worth buying. If you really want the original soundtrack music this probably is not for you. Unfortunately it’s unlikely there will be a compilation like this that does contain the soundtrack versions so you’ll need to dig deeper in your pocket and get all the soundtrack CDs.I have a lot of JBs soundtracks and knew what I was getting before I purchased this and have no regrets whatsoever.

As opposed to the fake John Barry? I guess they are trying to stress that these are original performances conducted by JB rather than covers. The music is impossible to fault and the collection is fantastic value for the money and a great starter for anyone interested in John Barry's career or film score music fans generally. My only reservation is that presumably for contractual or licensing reasons,several classics are missing such as The Persuaders, Somewhere In Time, King Kong, Hanover Street, Indecent Proposal. However what is on here is first class and being newly remastered sounding brilliant too.

This is basically a cut down version of Sony's Themependium box-set, released about ten years ago. Most of the tracks missing from this compilation were licensed from other companies for Themependium and presumably Sony looked to save money from by omitting them on this occasion.Yes, it's terrific value for money, though as others have mentioned it's a pity there was no booklet. The authors of the Themependium booklet would have happily edited it as appropriate for this compilation, free of charge. I know because I am one of the writers. :) Alas, the inclusion of a booklet was probably deemed an unnecessary expense.Finally, some have complained the tracks are not the original soundtrack versions (as heard in the film) but many of them are. Even those that are not were mostly re-recorded at the time and are virtually identical to the originals.My only complaint is that even compilations as complete as Themependium and The Real John Barry, still omit some Barry recordings made for Sony. Will we ever get to hear The Lion in Winter Part 2 (with Alan Haven), for example?

This is an excellent collection of John Barry's compositions, yes all original recordings which have been remastered sensitively. Some may argue that certain Bond themes have had the vocals removed but I think this is not detrimental as it allows the theme music to be truly realised.This is a great compilation of the mans music and one of Britains foremost original composers.I've only docked one star as "The Persuaders" theme is missing which is available on another Sony Music compilation which I intend to buy.This is a terrific compilation and great value. Enjoy!

A mix of original and re-recordings all under the baton of the composer. No liner notes or any information. And the quality of the recordings is variable, although mostly pretty good. And you can argue that its not comprehensive and that some stuff should have been left off and other tracks included (and I would). But overall, this set from Sony represents great value for money as an introduction to the work of John Barry.

Who does not like this music, it bring back memories of movies and times out, turn down the lights, open the wine and relax.

Although I have most of the music on this disc, this is a must have altogether collection. Any John Barry fan will love this.A great price for a great CD, very quickly sent.Another superb Amazon seller and thoroughly recommended.

Excellent - it is John Barry - what more needs to be said. Others try to imitate him, some with a reasonable degree of success - but there is only one master. Mind you, trying to copy his style e.g. David Arnold, is not a bad start if you are writing a soundtrack.