While drummer/bandleader
Shelly Manne's initial 1959 outing, dedicated to
Henry Mancini's Peter Gunn TV scores, was more than just a novelty, this follow-up disc stretches the concept to the absolute limit. Recorded only five months after the release of
Shelly Manne & His Men Play Peter Gunn,
Son of Gunn!! sounds exactly like what it is: jazz musicians taking ostensibly generic background music for a television show and trying to make something more out of it. Apparently, even
Mancini was aware of the challenge these musicians were facing, and encouraged them to apply free interpretations on these ten cuts and not to worry about maintaining a "
Mancini feeling." Besides the lack of interesting material,
Manne was also working with a brand-new front lineup, as trumpeter
Conte Candoli and alto saxophonist
Herb Geller were replaced by trumpeter
Joe Gordon and tenor man
Richie Kamuca. In retrospect, this isn't a horrible set, just one that should have focused less on concept and more on vision.