2 posts tagged “lalo schifrin”

Always a spy--I just can't get away from the spy music!  Here's another Lalo Schifrin track, from his execrably-titled 1967 album There's a Whole Lalo Schifrin Goin' On:

01 - Secret Code

Lalo Schifrin

I assume that the keyboard solo is a monophonic synthesizer, and since it was recorded in 1967 that would probably make it a Moog.  (The birthplace of the Moog synthesizer is right here in Ithaca, where Robert Moog was a graduate student in solid state physics.  Or just up the road in Trumansburg, where he had his factory.)  One more "Odies" song down!

I've been blurring the distinction between cop and spy music because they often contain the same elements, but a good rule of thumb is that, like the TV shows and movies they accompany, cop music contains more action, while spy music contains more intrigue.  Illustrative of this distinction are the two theme songs that tower over everything else in their respective subgenres: Lalo Schifrin's Mission: Impossible theme on the spy side, and Mort Stevens' Hawaii Five-O theme on the cop side.  Ultimately this post isn't really about either of them, but I'll lay the groundwork for the real subject with a rarely-heard version of "Mission: Impossible," performed by the Israeli Philharmonic and conducted by Lalo Schifrin himself:

34-Mission Impossible Theme (Orch)

Israeli Philharmonic

There's nothing like the oomph a full orchestra can give you!  GNP Crescendo's The Best of Mission: Impossible Then and Now is scanty on the liner notes, so I don't know when this track was recorded, or who is playing the piano, though I suspect it's Schifrin himself.  The CD does include a good selection of Schifrin's incidental music from the original TV series, and John E. Davis's from the 80s revival.  Which brings us, incidentally, to Shawn Lee, previously featured here for his impeccable soul album Soul Visa.  The multitalented Lee also has a penchant for incidental music, which he records in bulk and releases as by Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra.  Needless to say, the albums are excellent and stand side by side with the work of the soundtrack greats: Schifrin, Morricone, Goldsmith, et al.  He's not above a bad pun, as evidenced by tracks titled "King Conga" and "Das Booty."  He's also not above playing around with standards; there's more than a little "Mission: Impossible" in "Changing Times" from Voices and Choices:

12-Changing Times

Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra