April 16, 2024 marked what would have been the 100th birthday of Henry Mancini (1924-1994).  With over 125 films and 90 albums to his credit (not to mention television shows, stage productions, and more!), the late composer's richly melodic music is still very much a part of the American cultural tapestry.  Spain's soundtrack specialist label Quartet Records wasn't about to let the Mancini centennial go unnoticed.  The label has delivered four new Mancini releases just in time for the holidays, all of which look to be deserving of the composer's great legacy.

Perhaps the most highly-anticipated is the first-ever release of the original film soundtrack to The Pink Panther.  While the original 1964 RCA Victor "soundtrack" album of the film starring Peter Sellers and David Niven reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 41 weeks (and has continuously remained in print), the LP actually consisted of re-recordings aimed at the pop market.  This wasn't uncommon for Mancini's soundtracks of the era, and one can argue that this approach helped his music gain wider acceptance in the record market.  As the composer oversaw and conducted the sessions - often utilizing the same top-tier musicians who played on the film sessions - the results were always beyond reproach.  But the actual music as heard in Blake Edwards' classic film has never been available in an audio format - until now.  The first disc of Quartet's 2CD presentation premieres the original 1963 film recordings made in mono at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios, plus a half dozen alternate takes.  The second disc offers a remastered version of the familiar 1964 RCA album.

This deluxe set makes a fine companion to Quartet's 2022 box set which included Mancini's scores for the final three titles in the original series, Trail of the Pink Panther, Curse of the Pink Panther, and Son of the Pink Panther.  In addition to the now-famous title theme with saxophone by Plas Johnson (the album recording of which went Top 40 as a single), other delightful highlights include "It Had Better Be Tonight," an Italian-style love song recently covered by Michael Bublé and performed in the film by Fran Jeffries, and "Something for Sellers," a great example of Mancini's feel for what we today think of as lounge music.  This edition has been produced, restored, and mastered by Chris Malone, and contains a 24-page booklet with liner notes by Jeff Bond.

The Pink Panther is joined by another exciting release: the first-ever expanded edition of the soundtrack to Blake Edwards' 1970 musical Darling Lili.  The production of the offbeat, big-budget film starring Julie Andrews and Rock Hudson, set against the backdrop of World War I, proved to be fraught; it briefly ruptured the long relationship of Edwards and Mancini, and led to Paramount editing the final cut without Edwards' consent.  (He would later draw on his experiences with Darling Lili in writing the withering satire of Hollywood, S.O.B., in 1981.)  Upon the film's release, it was dismissed by critics and audiences alike.  Happily, Edwards and Andrews' marriage lasted from 1969 through his death in 2010. Today, Darling Lili can be viewed as the ambitious and unconventional musical Edwards intended it to be, and can be enjoyed for its sumptuous, romantic score by Mancini and the equally-legendary Johnny Mercer which includes the title song and the haunting ballad "Whistling Away the Dark."

This comprehensive set opens on CD 1 with the remastered RCA album featuring Julie Andrews and continues with the premiere of Mancini's orchestral underscore.  CD 2 unearths a treasure trove of demos performed by Johnny Mercer - including a pair of cut songs - and a program of instrumental performances of the song score.  Chris Malone has again produced, restored, and remastered, with John Takis providing the liner notes.

Quartet's Mancini CD campaign is rounded out with a new presentation of his 1970 score for director Martin Ritt's The Molly Maguires. Starring Sean Connery and Richard Harris, the film told the story of the Molly Maguires, the Irish-American coal miners who formed a secret society to fight their oppressive employers in 19th century Pennsylvania.  Mancini wasn't the first composer tapped to compose the score; the initial choice was Broadway's Charles Strouse (Bye Bye Birdie, Annie) who had begun to make a splash in cinema with Bonnie and Clyde and The Night They Raided Minsky's.  When test audiences reportedly responded coolly to Strouse's score, however, Ritt asked Mancini to step in on short notice.  He didn't disappoint, penning a richly atmospheric score adorned with unusual instrumentation including pennywhistle, ocarina, button accordion, and Irish harp.  With lyricist Paul Francis Webster, Mancini wrote the beautiful song "The Hills of Yesterday," recorded in 1970 by vocalist Scott Walker.

Quartet's single-disc release expands upon Kritzerland's 2012 presentation, adding over twenty minutes of previously unreleased cues and alternate takes straight from the Paramount archives.  Like the Kritzerland disc, Charles Strouse's score is also included.  Both the Mancini and Strouse scores have been newly remixed by Chris Malone for the most sonically faithful and exciting rendering yet.  Jeff Bond has written the liner notes in the 24-page booklet.

Back in 2013, the Intrada label premiered the actual film soundtrack to the 1962 Mancini/Edwards classic Breakfast at Tiffany's. Mancini scored a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 in 1962 with the RCA re-recording, but that 12-track LP only told part of the story of his Academy Award-winning score for the film starring Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Buddy Ebsen, Patricia Neal, and Mickey Rooney.  The Intrada CD release forms the basis of Quartet's new 2-LP vinyl presentation, newly mastered, restored, and resequenced from the original tapes by Chris Malone.  Featuring Audrey Hepburn's original vocals for "Moon River" and a slate of fizzy orchestral cues, Tiffany's remains one of Mancini's most transporting scores.  The Quartet release has 26 tracks on four sides of white vinyl housed in a gatefold jacket; the enclosed booklet has liner notes by Jeff Bond and images from the film.

All four titles celebrating Henry Mancini's 100th are available now directly from Quartet Records as well as from your favorite film score retailers including Screen Archives.  You'll find the track listings and order links below!

The Molly Maguires (Music from the Motion Picture - Expanded Edition) (Quartet QR569, 2024 - original film released 1970)

The Film Score

1. Theme from The Molly Maguires (Pennsylvania, 1876)
2. The Mollys Strike
3. Main Title
4. Room and Board
5. Sandwiches and Tea
6. Work Montage
7. Pennywhistle Jig/On Your Knees
8. A Hard Day's Work
9. Jamie and Mary
10. Trip to Town
11. Strike Two/Strike Three
12. The Hills of Yesterday
13. There's More
14. The Mollys Strike Again
15. A Suit for Grandpa
16. Kehoe Lights Up/The Last Strike
17. The End

Bonus Tracks

18. Fiddle and Fife (Film Version - Fiddle Only)
19. A Brew with the Boys (Film Version - Fiddle Only)
20. Pennywhistle Jig (Album Version)
21. Jamie and Mary #1 (Film Version)
22. Jamie and Mary #2 (Film Version)
23. The Hills of Yesterday (Film Version)
24. Bye Bye Jamie
25. The Hills of Yesterday (Alternate 1)
26. Room and Board (Alternate)
27. The Hills of Yesterday (Alternate 2)
28. Fiddler #4 (Fiddle Only)
29. Fiddle and Fife (Album Version)
30. A Brew with the Boys (Album Version)
31. Pennywhistle Jig (Alternate)

The Charles Strouse Unused Score

32. Sabotage
33. Fuse
34. Work in the Mine
35. Bleak Street/To Find a Room/To Work
36. The Long Walk
37. Widow Shopping
38. Truant Picnic-ers
39. The Last Rites
40. The Company Store (Parts I and II)
41. Arson
42. End Titles

Tracks 1-6, 9-10, 12, 14-15, 17, 20 and 29-30 released as Paramount Records PAS 6000, 1970

The Pink Panther (Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Quartet QR570, 2024 - original film released 1963)

Disc 1: Original film score and bonus tracks

1. Main Title (Theme from The Pink Panther)
2. Meanwhile
3. Ski for Two
4. Cortina (Film Version)
5. More Ski for Two/How Did It Go?
6. Nasty Little Habits
7. Dinner Party (Guitar Solo)
8. She Shall Have Milk
9. Champagne and Quail (Film Version)
10. Piano and Strings (Film Version)
11. The Lonely Princess (Film Version)
12. Royal Blue (Film Version)
13. Imbecile!
14. It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera) - Vocal: Fran Jeffries *
15. The Village Inn (Film Version)
16. Oh, Darling
17. Uncle Charles
18. Stand Back
19. The Tiber Twist (Film Version)
20. It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera) Chorus
21. Something for Sellers (Film Version)
22. The Safe's Empty 3:00
23. Shades of Sennett (Film Version)/End Titles
24. Main Title (Theme from The Pink Panther) (Alternate)
25. It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera) (Alternate)
26. Once Upon a Time...
27. More Dinner Party (Guitar Solo)
28. It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera) (Instrumental)
29. La Marsellaise

All tracks previously unreleased except * from The Classic Soundtrack Collection box set - RCA/Legacy 88843 09173-2, 2014

Disc 2: Original soundtrack album (released as RCA Victor LSP-2795, 1963)

1. The Pink Panther Theme
2. It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera) (Instrumental)
3. Royal Blue
4. Champagne and Quail
5. The Village Inn
6. The Tiber Twist
7. It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera) (Chorus)
8. Cortina
9. The Lonely Princess
10. Something for Sellers
11. Piano and Strings
12. Shades of Sennett

Darling Lili (Music from the Paramount Motion Picture) (Quartet QR571, 2024 - original film released 1970)

Disc 1: Original soundtrack album (1-13, originally released as RCA Victor LSPX-1000, 1970) and original underscore (14-32)

1. Overture
2. Whistling Away the Dark - Julie Andrews
3. The Little Birds (Les P'tits Oiseaux) - Chorale du Lycée Français de Los Angeles
4. The Girl in No Man's Land - Julie Andrews
5. Gypsy Violin
6. I'll Give You Three Guesses - Julie Andrews
7. Darling Lili
8. Smile Away Each Rainy Day - Julie Andrews
9. The Can-Can Café
10. I'll Give You Three Guesses - Julie Andrews
11. Skäl (Let's Have Another on Me)
12. Your Good-Will Ambassador - Gloria Paul
13. Whistling Away the Dark
14. Overture
15. Red Cockpit/Nazi Mess Call/Up Your Zeppelin/Up Your U-Boat
16. The Can-Can Café
17. Picnic Sequence/Best Time, No Ants
18. Darling Lili
19. Some Kind of Spy
20. Strolling in the Sun
21. Gypsy Violin (Mother Machree)
22. Plot Thickener/Wet Job/Warm Water Job
23. Entr'acte
24. The Great Escape
25. Get the Car
26. Tear Jerker
27. Sour Kraus and Kessler/Hands Up--Kraus Down
28. Message to R-5/Anybody Here?
29. Showdown
30. Drop the Hankie/Temporary Peace
31. Finale and End Titles
32. Exit Music

Disc 2: The Johnny Mercer Demos (1-12) and Instrumentals (13-25)

1. Darling Lili (Demo)
2. Whistling Away the Dark (Demo)
3. Piccadilly Circus (Demo)
4. The Girl in No Man's Land (Demo)
5. Skäl (Let's Have Another on Me) (Demo)
6. I'll Give You Three Guesses (Demo)
7. The Little Birds (Les P'tits Oiseaux) (Demo)
8. Steal Two Eggs (Demo)
9. Your Good-Will Ambassador (Demo)
10. Smile Away Each Rainy Day (Demo)
11. Whistling Away the Dark (French Version)
12. Henry Mancini Piano Ballad
13. Whistling Away the Dark (Instrumental)
14. Main Title Medley (Instrumental)
15. The Girl in No Man's Land (Instrumental)
16. Smile Away Each Rainy Day (Instrumental)
17. Skäl (Let's Have Another on Me) (Instrumental)
18. It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary (Instrumental)
19. Mademoiselle from Armentieres (Instrumental)
20. French Montage (Instrumental)
21. Lili of the Roses (Instrumental)
22. I'll Give You Three Guesses (Instrumental)
23. The Little Birds (Les P'tits Oiseaux) (Instrumental)
24. Your Good-Will Ambassador (Instrumental)
25. I'll Give You Three Guesses (Strip Version)

Breakfast At Tiffany's (Music from the Motion Picture) (Quartet QRLP55, 2024 - original film released 1961)

LP 1

Side A

1. Main Title (Moon River)
2. Something for Cat
3. Poor Fred
4. Moon River Cha Cha
5. Paul Meets Cat/After the Ball
6. Turkey Eggs

Side B

1. Moon River (Vocal Version) - Audrey Hepburn
2. Rats and Super Rats
3. Wait a Minute/An Exceptional Person
4. Sally's Tomato
5. A Lovely Place
6. Moon River (Guitar and Piano)

LP 2

Side C

1. Holly
2. Latin Golightly
3. Meet the Doc/Feathers
4. Loose Caboose - Part 1 (À La Cha Cha)
5. Rusty Trawler/Bermuda Nights/The Hard Way/You're So Skinny
6. Just Like Holly
7. Moon River (Guitar and Harmonica)

Side D

1. Moon River (Vocal Version #2) - Audrey Hepburn
2. Let's Eat
3. The Big Blowout
4. Loose Caboose - Part 2
5. The Big Heist/After the Heist
6. Hub Caps and Tail Lights
7. Where's the Cat?/End Title (Moon River)

All tracks previously released on CD as Intrada MAF 7129, 2013