– My second "spy-themed" album review here (see “Come Spy With Me” down the page), Roland Shaw easily sets the bar as high as Hugo Montenegro did with his homage to the men who know women and karate chops. What Mr. Shaw does with his double CD is take the original themes, scores, novelty tunes, and mood-setters and fleshes them out completely. You still have the familiarity of the snippets and themes you remember listening to while enjoying the films & shows; it’s just that Roland perfects them and arranges them as complete little masterpieces. Full, thick and rich with strings, horns and driving rhythms… Simple little touches like the blind trio singing "Three Blind Mice" in a Kingston Calypso from the Bond film, “Dr. No,” becomes a delicious island background song for your next barbeque. Honestly, the only song I feel is missing is the theme from “Mannix”. Roland covers just about everything else with the first disk being devoted to James Bond and most of the sexy, wonderful openers and mood pieces; the second disk finishes up the Bond and glides on into the famous television detective themes from the same 60’s era. “The Saint,” “I Spy,” “The Avengers,” and so much more is covered. Almost as fascinating as the spy themes and moods he covers here, Roland Shaw delivers everything you need in these 37 songs for a night of tropical drinks, martinis, grilled meat and thick, fun, movie-spy atmosphere.

– When, as a child, I used to watch Bobby Troup as a mild mannered receiving doctor for the paramedics on the show “Emergency,” I had no idea he was better known as a seriously accomplished song writer, pianist and composer. I recall my dad mentioning that both he and co-star Julie London were connected both romantically and musically, but I was much more interested in the show’s weekly life & death situations. Along came my 30’s and now 40’s, cocktails & jazz and now I know! Bobby Troup was a very important figure in standards jazz. I had no idea he wrote “Get Your Kicks on Route 66,” “Girl Talk,” or “It Happened Once Before” – all beautiful standards and three of my very favorite songs. The songs on this record were all unreleased but played on “Navy Swings,” a public service radio series back in the day. This one’s pretty soft and can easily carry a cocktail party’s mid-point. Troup’s voice is adequate and soft in that jazzy way that works perfectly. One can easily imagine this record played live at a late-night piano bar and swank 60’s Hollywood party. Six out of the record’s sixteen songs are Troup originals, the other ten are perfect late night listeners. Fire place or fire pit, a nice cocktail and some friends, along with this record? You could do a whole lot worse.

– Frank Sinatra had such success with novelist James Jones’ “From Here To Eternity,” that in 1958 MGM decided to team actor and author again in an adaptation of Jones’ “Some Came Running.” Teaming Frank and Dean Martin together for the very first time on film and bringing a perfectly cast Shirley McLaine along for the ride, the movie had a lot to live up to, and its soundtrack also had much to carry on its back. Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen even composed a special ballad, “To Love and Be Loved,” for the picture, which stands out a timely ode for the period, a Country Club standard one would hear at the movie’s ritzy club. Bernstein fills his soundtrack with dozens of atmospheric punctuations all designed to carry the film’s melodramatic storyline through town taverns, living rooms, poker dens, diners, necking spots, state fairs and flop houses. If you’re a fan at all of the great schmaltzy love stories and dramas of the late fifties and early sixties, “Some Came Running” is one of the best. This gorgeous, full orchestra piece composed by an American Master begs for a summer night on the sofa, gin and tonic in hand. One of Sinatra’s best film’s for you as a musical experience, what more could you want.

– One thing I’ll say about YouTube is that it’s actually turned me on to quite a bit of undiscovered music. While searching for a great cocktail-party version of Burt Bacharach’s “Always Something There To Remind Me” to post on our FaceBook component, I stumbled upon Jose Feliciano’s version and was stunned as to how fantastic it was. I turned around and bought the record and have just devoured it. It reminds me very much of the bossa nova albums I’ve mentioned in our reviews section. Recorded in 1968, this album carries Feliciano’s strong Latin-based guitar style, yet also pumps infectious Latino jazz rhythms throughout the mix as well. Another important record I’d never listened to (it stayed on the charts for 59 weeks), this record very much captures a sense of time and place. One can easily visualize this sound ebbing up from street parties and barbeques of the era. I’m often outside, and this record is just perfect for yard parties and grilling. Jose Feliciano is a subtle, accomplished, beautiful guitar player, and the arrangement of this one celebrates the more jazzier style of voice and instrumentation. More jazz than pop, this one is yet another perfect excuse to slow things down outside, enjoy the weather, and indulge with a lime-based sour, or other summer cocktail. Songs include his famous version of Light My Fire, Sunny, Here, There & Everywhere, and many more.