The music of Henry Mancini has become etched into our mass culture. From the themes to shows like "The Pink Panther" and "Peter Gunn", to songs like "Moon River", Mancini has become one of the more enduring composers of this century. His music has the ability to touch a nerve in out collective psyche, to elicit the response that he or the filmmaker desires.
And since we're currently undergoing a seemingly unending wave of tribute albums, it seems only fitting that Mancini get his shot at one. Shots In The Dark features acts from all over the musical spectrum playing their own renditions of Mancini tunes. On some tribute albums, this means trying to get as far away from the original source as you can (witness Toad the Wet Sprocket's laid-back, acoustic version of "Rock and Roll All Night" on the KISS tribute album a couple of years back). But the catch with covering Mancini is that his songs span generations even still, making it more of a challenge for a group to simply do a good rendition of it then it would be to totally go off on a tangent and try to change the tune entirely.
For example, the theme to "Peter Gunn" wouldn't be too well served by trying to turn into...say, and ambient piece. "Peter Gunn Theme" always has and always will be straight-forward guitar with a catchy hook. And The Cramps' Poison Ivy does a great job of keeping to the original, while still adding a bit of her own style to the tune.
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects to this album is the choice of performers. Sure, someone would think of putting The Cramps on a tribute album - but not too many would think of just Poison Ivy. And even less would think of Oranj Symphonette, Wonderful World of Joey, Wiskey Biscut, and Man or Astroman?. None of these are bands which resonate in the mind of the mass public, and that's just fine. Because these aren't today's hottest artists who were asked to record Mancini tunes - these are people who truly love and appreciate Mancini's work, and were given a chance to record something they really had a feel for.
Tracks like "Touch of Evil" by Man or Astroman? and "Lonesome" by Friends of Dean Martinez are both great examples of the superiority of this album as opposed to other tribute albums in the past. While "Lonesome" stays almost rigidly set in the original composition, Man or Astroman? use elements like white noise to add an even more sinister feel to the song than the original. And most of the tracks on Shots In The Dark follow that example. They are either dead-on covers or just a little different - because let's face it - this is Henry Mancini we're talking about here...why try to improve on the hippest cat around?
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