Johnny Cool: Billy May's Original Motion Picture Score - Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD] [Soundtrack]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A jazz composer and arranger best known for his work with Frank Sinatra, Billy May's scoring and songwriting talents run the gamut of canned emotion--from sly, self-deprecating humor to sloppy sentimentality to bold braggadocio. But given the proper circumstance, his compositions can swing with wild abandon. The soundtrack to Johnny Cool (1963) provides a delightful case in point. A film of (for its time) ridiculous and gratuitous violence, Johnny Cool called for a similarly unhinged score. May rose to the occasion, delivering some of the most rollicking music of his career. It's obvious that the composer saw freedom in contradiction, as the big band pieces on this collection alternate from disposable, dishwater jazz to kinetic, almost rock-like swing tunes. But it's the appearance of another rat packer--Sammy Davis Jr.--that really vaults this soundtrack over the top. Davis's exquisitely cheesy phrasing on the hilarious "Bee Boom" and his hollow lament on the film's title track are the stuff of ironic legend. --Matt Hanks

From the Label
Fabled in jazz circles for his composing and arranging duties with such singing stars as Frank Sinatra, Nat 'King' Cole and Peggy Lee, Billy May wrote very few full-length film scores. May's furiously swinging music for the 1963 gangster film Johnny Cool exemplifies his storied genius, and features legendary Rat Pack alumni Sammy Davis, Jr. on two vocal tracks, "The Ballad Of Johnny Cool" and the slyly humorous "Bee Bom."

Johnny Cool: Billy May's Original Motion Picture Score - Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD] [Soundtrack]

Tracks:

The Lizard
Window Washer
Dare's Affair
Borrow A Knife
Johnny Cool Theme
Morning In Balboa
Nice Quiet Saloon
Green Tables Blues
The Contest Pad
Juan Coolisto
Bee Boom - Sammy Davis, Jr.
The Ballad Of Johnny Cool - Sammy Davis, Jr.

Amazon.com

A jazz composer and arranger best known for his work with Frank Sinatra, Billy May's scoring and songwriting talents run the gamut of canned emotion--from sly, self-deprecating humor to sloppy sentimentality to bold braggadocio. But given the proper circumstance, his compositions can swing with wild abandon. The soundtrack to Johnny Cool (1963) provides a delightful case in point. A film of (for its time) ridiculous and gratuitous violence, Johnny Cool called for a similarly unhinged score. May rose to the occasion, delivering some of the most rollicking music of his career. It's obvious that the composer saw freedom in contradiction, as the big band pieces on this collection alternate from disposable, dishwater jazz to kinetic, almost rock-like swing tunes. But it's the appearance of another rat packer--Sammy Davis Jr.--that really vaults this soundtrack over the top. Davis's exquisitely cheesy phrasing on the hilarious "Bee Boom" and his hollow lament on the film's title track are the stuff of ironic legend. --Matt Hanks

Customer Reviews:

EXCELLENT MOVIE SOUND TRACK.......2006-06-08

I SAW THIS MOTION PICTURE 40 YEARS AGO ON A SHIP BOUND FOR VIETNAM, THE MOVIE IS WHAT ALL GANGSTER MAFIA MOVIES WERE COPIED FROM..........THIS MOVIE ALTHOUGH BLACK AND WHITE IS STAR STUDDED
AND WILL KEEP YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT, THE MUSIC IS PERFECT
I WISH THIS FLICK WAS AVAILABLE ON DVD, I"M SURPRISED THAT THE SOUND TRACK IS AVAILABLE........EITHER CASE ITS GREAT......
IF IT EVER DOES COME OUT ON DVD I WILL BE THE FIRST TO BUY IT...............

Obscure Soundtrack gets First Class Treatment.......2000-11-11

The soundtrack to "Johnny Cool" is about as obscure as the film itself. The film is essentially a gangster revenge tale. It was shot in 1963 in Black & White. It starred forgotten "rat packer" and brilliant character actor Henry Silva as Johnny Cool Giordano. Billy May did the scoring and Sammy Davis Jr. sings. This is technically an excellent recording. It sounds very good and is equally very pleasurable listening. This album is a very good piece of early 1960s contemporary America. Track 11 "Bee Boom" and Track 12 "The Ballad of Johnny Cool" both sung by Sammy Davis Jr. are excellent. Actually "Bee Boom" is fantastic!

'GLAD I FINALLY FOUND YOU ~~BEE BOOM BEE BOOM BEE BOOM.......2000-03-08

hot and jazzy i love an albumn that can stand alone ~~ even without the film to back it up! ALL CUTS ON THIS ALBUMN ARE PERFECT! delightful listening ! my personal favorite is 'bee boom!"times three!try this~~ sergio!

Johnny Cool.......2000-01-04

Had the original record, this CD is very well mastered. If you like high rat pack cheese with a horn section this is your disc. Everyone I have turned on to this recording digs it. Light up a cigarette line up a few martinis, kick off your loafers, put up your silk socked feet and groove!

Music:

Music

Music