THE REAL... JOHN BARRY

JB's brilliant music always made a big impression on me as a young kid, I well remember going to the cinema to watch the early Bond films and Born Free. In later life I saw the great man in concert at the Royal Albert Hall. He has composed, arranged and produced so many great film soundtracks across many different genres. There is his creative, distinctive style of course, modern orchestral but often tinged with jazz stylings or use of unusual instruments. Who can forget the zither or the ground-breaking inclusion of modern electronic sounds (eg OHMSS or Persuaders theme). He has worked on an impressive list of films and was a go to composer for so many producers. Each time his score/soundtrack fitted the needs of the visual images, enhancing the mood and enriching the whole film experience. What a talent! I could go on, but what about this compilation? Well I have been waiting years for such a comprehensive selection, done by the master himself. Like others I bought and was disappointed by the City of Prague's Philharmonic Orchestra 4cd collection, it has the great music but is missing the great man's magic touch. This one however really hits the spot, all the titles you'd want and expect plus a sprinkling of supporting tracks from several film scores. So buy this and enjoy taking a trip down memory lane!

I very rarely write reviews for music, or films, as everyone has different tastes and who am I to say that John Barry is the best musician ever, that’s up to you to decide. However, I thought I‘d write a review of this CD package just to try and clarify what you will get if you purchase it. First, the packaging says “original recordings” and I think this could be slightly misleading, given this is a CD of film music. To me the original recording is the music written for the actual film soundtrack, these CDs do not contain music from the original soundtracks. What we have here is a compilation of recordings John Barry (JB) did for other CDs (Moviola, Moviola II, etc) with an orchestra, usually The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The good thing is that JB conducted the orchestra and so his distinctive sound was retained, unlike on some ‘tribute’ CDs by other people. I suppose the tracks on these CDs are original in that they are conducted by JB. Some tracks are fairly faithful to the original film music but many are not. The arrangement for The Lion in Winter track sounds more like a theme from a 60s ITC action show, like The Persuaders, than anything from the film. Again, it retains JB’s sound so I’m not unhappy, it’s just different. The sound quality of the CD’s is nice and clear but does not seem to have the depth of really good orchestra recordings, but give the £6 price I am probably being very, very, picky here. So, do I recommend this package? Well for 3 CDs containing a total of 54 tracks the price is very good. If you like JBs music, and even already have the original soundtracks, this will give you something slightly different so I think it’s worth buying. If you really want the original soundtrack music this probably is not for you. Unfortunately it’s unlikely there will be a compilation like this that does contain the soundtrack versions so you’ll need to dig deeper in your pocket and get all the soundtrack CDs. I have a lot of JBs soundtracks and knew what I was getting before I purchased this and have no regrets whatsoever.

This is a cd. Containing music by John Barry. If you like John Barry. Buy this. It is a CD that you can play on a CD player and music by John Barry will come out of the speakers. This is a review of a John Barry CD that you can read before purchasing the CD, if you like this review you can purchase another review at a discounted price . John Barry was a man who composed very good music that were in very good films that you can buy the soundtracks for on a cd that will play on a cd player and the music will come out of the speakers

An excellent selection of original songs by a well known composer at a very reasonable price.

Now this is a bit special ladies and gents. Aside from being fantastically good value at just over 6 UK Pounds, all of the tracks featured here are remastered from the Original Soundtracks composed by Mr Barry himself. So for those of you that can't abide the re-recorded music because it just isn't the original, have no fear. Sony Music have given us a wonderful compilation of John Barry's music from across the years. If you are a JB fan, you will absolutely adore this collection. Of course, nothing beats the ORIGINAL music and this is exactly what we have here. Congratulations Sony. John Barry was such a wonderful composer. A beautiful, exceptional 3-CD set showcasing the unforgettable talent of a much-loved and respected composer. Buy it!

A mix of original and re-recordings all under the baton of the composer. No liner notes or any information. And the quality of the recordings is variable, although mostly pretty good. And you can argue that its not comprehensive and that some stuff should have been left off and other tracks included (and I would). But overall, this set from Sony represents great value for money as an introduction to the work of John Barry.

This is basically a cut down version of Sony's Themependium box-set, released about ten years ago. Most of the tracks missing from this compilation were licensed from other companies for Themependium and presumably Sony looked to save money from by omitting them on this occasion. Yes, it's terrific value for money, though as others have mentioned it's a pity there was no booklet. The authors of the Themependium booklet would have happily edited it as appropriate for this compilation, free of charge. I know because I am one of the writers. :) Alas, the inclusion of a booklet was probably deemed an unnecessary expense. Finally, some have complained the tracks are not the original soundtrack versions (as heard in the film) but many of them are. Even those that are not were mostly re-recorded at the time and are virtually identical to the originals. My only complaint is that even compilations as complete as Themependium and The Real John Barry, still omit some Barry recordings made for Sony. Will we ever get to hear The Lion in Winter Part 2 (with Alan Haven), for example?

I liked the music but a lot of the content is very similar

映画曲が大半ですが、リラックス出来ます。

Dai masters originali, il meglio della produzione di Barry. Il suo suono che tende alla profondità ed all' intimità e la sua linea melodica ne fanno un maestro inconfondibile, di una classe a sé stante , come Ennio Morricone o Maurice Jarre. Consiglio a tutti questa raccolta . Suono eccellente e vivido. Ottima musica. M. L.

N'écoutez pas ceux qui ne jurent que par les bandes originales de films. Cette magnifique production du travail de John Barry est parfaite pour l'orchestration, certainement dirigée par un maître devant un ensemble Britannique de grande classe. Bref, si vous aimez John Barry ce coffret économique d'origine Sony vous réjouira.

Most of these 3 discs come from the spy movies Barry did in the 60's, and some after...No Nancy Sinatra, Madonna, or Louie Armstrong vocals thank goodness. Yes, some tracks are updated from their primitive 60's audio capability, but recorded by top of the line orchestras. such as the London Symphony...no mediocre Prague Philharmonic nonsense here, and many are conducted by Mr. Barry himself. These 3 discs complement the genre nicely and match the mood throughout with very few "what's that crap doing in here?" stuff. All tracks are instrumental. No vocals! The best Barry compilation to date. Released in 2016. Highly recommended and true to the Barry spirit of spies, secret agents, and wolves...

Very pleased with the quality of the cd.