The great John Barry as a young man – stepping out here on songs that are a lot more rocking than his later fame as a soundtrack composer – served up in a massive 3CD box that collects together singles for Parlophone and Columbia, plus some early rock songs from films! The style here is quite different than the Barry of the James Bond years – as the Parlophone tracks include a number of vocal singles that are clearly trying to challenge the US rock hits of the time, mixed with more instrumentals by the John Barry Seven – and the Columbia years follow with more of the instrumental vibe, often using cool production to bring the most out of the twangy guitars or bright trumpet lines. The set concludes with a CD that features the
Beat Girl soundtrack and the String
beat instrumental album – both a strong extension of the Columbia years – and the package features 92 tracks in all – with a
big booklet of notes – titles that include "Get Lost Jack frost", "
Big Fella", "
Beat For
Beatniks", "Hit & Miss", "Zip Zip", "Little John", "Hideaway", "Farrago", "
Big Guitar", "Tit Willow Twist", "Watch Your Step", "The Menace", "Blondie's Strip", "The Challenge", "Moody River", "A Handful Of Songs", "Zapata", and lots lots more.