Music From Mission Impossible

Album review

Before the days of "Music from and inspired by," there was "Music from." The album is solely comprised of music used in the Mission: Impossible TV series. All of it was composed by Lalo Schifrin for the show and is played on the album by his band, with him on the piano. This in and of itself is something special for the listener, as Schifrin is an amazing jazz player (played with Dizzy Gillespie's small band for a number of years, still occasionally plays here and there). The compositions are, of course, outstanding, as can be expected, as Schifrin spent quite a bit of time writing themes, etc., for the Hollywood set. He also shows his wide range on the album, spending some time away from his leanings on softer, lounge type songs, such as "Cinnamon (The Lady Was Made to be Loved)" for Barbara Bain's character. Most of the album, though, follows through mainly with much more exciting tracks from the series. These more exciting ones are mainly single character "themes," such as "Wide Willy" for Peter Lupus' character and "Barney Does It All" for Greg Morris' character. The highlights of the album are, of course, the opening theme, "Mission: Impossible," with its pounding bass piano riffs, and the ending theme, "Mission: Accomplished." Any fan of the show should try and find this album at a used music shop, but more specifically fans of Lalo Schifrin (and that could be quite a few, as he remained uncredited on some of his TV themes) should definitely check the album out. It's a good buy if you can find it.
© Adam Greenberg /TiVo