Lalo Schifin, Music From Mission Impossible, Dot DLP-25831, 1967
This is a real TV Soundtrack. Unlike the fleshed out Jazz songs from the similar I Spy, the Mission Impossible music seems to be mostly incidental or background music. There’s the marvelous theme song for the show of course, but the other tunes were clearly meant to be played underneath a scene from the show where someone is doing a car chase or evading a gunman.
That doesn’t mean it’s bad! The 1967 release date of the record meant that the very 60s instruments like the harpsichord and the sitar are featured through. They are obviously tweaked into a strange mysterious drama sound, but it’s really great background music. Lalo Schifren, despite the German sounding name, is very much an Argentine composer, and he used the influences of Tango and Samba in his long list of Hollywood credits. The Theme From Mission Impossible has just been added to the Grammy Hall Of Fame.
The original owner of this copy of this somewhat rare record, Judy Short, obviously kept her copy flat, which created some pretty strong ring wear. Like most soundtracks, I think this was an impulse purchase and once she grew tired of hearing the theme song, she stopped playing the record. It plays flawlessly, especially on Side Two which may never have been played. This record used to be fairly easy to find, but since Tom Cruise made a film franchise out of it, the original record is disappearing from bargain bins. I didn’t have to think twice about picking up Judy’s record for $2.
Today’s Summary:
Cost: $2, $328 Remaining
THE GROOVES MAN 