This single-disc CD contains the original soundtrack LPs to two mid-'60s films scored by
John Barry, garnished with historical liner notes. The first of these,
Zulu, was one of
Barry's first major soundtracks, though not one of his better ones. Only side one of the 1964 soundtrack LP contained music from the film, with most of the music based around an epic, grandiose theme, embellished by some narration by
Richard Burton. While this theme impressively conveys a mixture of pomposity and foreboding drama, its incessant repetition over the course of seven tracks hammers home the motif without enough variation to make it interesting listening in isolation from the film. Bizarrely, side two of the LP was devoted to instrumental reworkings of the film's theme in an early-'60s British beat style, not too far removed from
the Shadows or some of
Barry's own excursions into pop/rock instrumentals. While this isn't bad period instrumental pop, it's again repetitive to hear the variations occupy an entire LP side, and the chirping orchestration in particular makes the arrangements way too frivolous. This is, incidentally, an entirely different recording than a separate release of the soundtrack music as performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic and
the Crouch End Festival Chorus.
Barry's soundtrack to the low-budget 1965 drama Four in the Morning was crafted with a nine-piece orchestra, playing very sparsely arranged themes. These melancholy, subdued themes are attractively downbeat and well-suited toward the film's subject matter, projecting a sense of emptiness and regret. The soundtrack grows tiresome, however, consisting (like
Zulu) as it does principally of variations on the main theme. ~ Richie Unterberger