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Start Date: July 16, 2024
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Nelson Riddle, Various – Robin and the 7 Hoods ‎(Original Score From The Motion Picture Musical Comedy) LP (1964)

Fair British Reprise 1st release. Featuring music score composed, arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle.

The film (1964, dir. Gordon Douglas) starred Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Bing Crosby. The picture features Peter Falk, Barbara Rush, and an uncredited Edward G. Robinson.

Condition VINYL: F. Clean on visual inspection. Lots of scuffs and hairlines (more obvious on side 1) but no deep scratches. Played just pre-listing and sound clarity is fair overall - but good in places. Run-in to side 1 is crackly with some static and surface noise. Side 2 run-in less crackly. Static, clicking and surface noise elsewhere and during quieter cues/fadeouts, but some cues sound better than others. Vocals sound bright. Plays with no jumping, skipping or sticking but may jump on some players. OUTER SLEEVE/COVER: VG. Colours are unfaded on laminated front. A few curved creases, creases in from spine and disc outline. Corners lightly scuffed. Edges in great shape. Spine has a few mild splits. Aperture has a band of soiling. Back of sleeve has faint yellowing in many places, notably cross left edge and centre area. Foxing also visible. Flipbacks are all present and attached. Original owner’s name handwritten at top left. INNER SLEEVE: VG+. Poly-lined white sleeve with centre hole. Clean and intact but with some corner folds/buckling. A decent example.
Tracklist A1. Robin And The 7 Hoods - Overture – Nelson Riddle And His Orchestra    A2. My Kind Of Town – Frank Sinatra    A3. All For One And One For All – Peter Falk A4. Don't Be A Do-Badder – Bing Crosby A5. Any Man Who Loves His Mother – Dean Martin A6. Style – Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby and Dean Martin   
B1. Mister Booze – “Robin And The 7 Hoods" Chorus    B2. I Like To Lead When I Dance – Frank Sinatra B3. Bang Bang – Sammy Davis Jr   B4. Charlotte Couldn't Charleston! –“ Robin And The 7 Hoods" Chorus    B5. Give Praise!! – “Robin And The 7 Hoods" Chorus    B6. Don't Be A Do-Badder (Finale) – Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin and Bing Crosby and Sammy Davis Jr.

Soundtrack review:
Robin and the 7 Hoods is one of the more obscure releases from Reprise Records to be associated with Frank Sinatra and a major project, in this case a movie from the tail-end of the Rat Pack era.
It also isn't nearly as successful an album as its all-star lineup of talent would lead one to hope. Not that there aren't some worthwhile moments here -- it's just that between Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr., one might have expected two, or maybe three, great songs, instead of the good and fair moments spread across this album. It is true that the recordings, like the production of the movie, bridged a difficult time in the lives of everyone -- the Rat Pack itself was starting to fall apart; and Reprise Records, Sinatra's new business venture, with which he started the decade, was pretty much haemorrhaging money, except for his own recordings; and in the midst of the movie's production came the assassination of President Kennedy.
So in retrospect, if everyone involved was a little off their game, it was understandable.
Following the breezy, brassy overture, which already sounds a bit dated for 1964, we get the highlight of the record, Sinatra's rendition of "My Kind of Town." With Nelson Riddle's arrangement and conducting, this is the kind of number that Sinatra's fans just devoured, and it's the reason a lot of people actually bought this album -- his intonation is fine, his cocky manner fits the lyric, and the music works (and it works even better when seen as a performance in the movie).
Then we jump to the other extreme on the record, Peter Falk's version of "All for One and One for All" -- Falk at this point was not yet a star, but his was the kind of talent that endeared him to many a director and producer, and it's pretty plain that he must've done the same to Sinatra to get his spot on this album, raspy voice and all. Bing Crosby's contribution is confined to two songs, "Don't Be a Do-Badder" and "Mister Booze," neither representing the best that he was capable of, even at this late date in his career, though neither is a complete waste of time, either -- the influence of the earlier Sammy Cahn/Jimmy Van Heusen song "High Hopes" can certainly be heard woven through "Do-Badder."
"Style" is a joint contribution of Sinatra, Crosby, and Dean Martin that is cute but hardly worthy of the three voices. "I Like to Lead When I Dance" allows Sinatra to range across his vocal persona, from his introspective side, recalling his then-recent work on Point of No Return, to his more extrovert voice.
It's not his best work, but it would have made a good track on any of his albums from this period. And Sammy Davis, Jr.'s major contribution is "Bang! Bang!," which is a delightful romp.

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