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There have been countless Ray Conniff collections over the years, with most of them covering the same familiar hits, but few of them have been as ambitious and comprehensive as Columbia/Legacy's double-disc 2004 release The Essential Ray Conniff. At 36 tracks, it's much larger than most CD-era Conniff comps, which tended to be budget-line releases like 16 Most Requested Songs, and it also covers more territory, opening with 1957's "S'Wonderful" and ending with a previously unreleased version of "My Way" from 1998. Between those two points, his biggest hits, including "Somewhere, My Love (Lara's Theme from Doctor Zhivago)," are covered, but as his daughter Tamara makes clear in her liner notes, unlike some Conniff collections, the focus here isn't on the charts. Instead, she has chosen a range of songs that convey the scope of his musical achievements, so it samples his work as a classical arranger, film composer, soft-pop arranger, and trombonist. The result is the best Conniff collection to date, since it's not only the only compilation that attempts to tackle his entire body of work, it succeeds in doing so.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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George Gershwin, Composer - George Gershwin, Lyricist - Mitch Miller, Producer - Ira Gershwin, Composer - Ira Gershwin, Lyricist - Ray Conniff, Performer
Originally Released 1957 Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.
Ray Conniff & His Orchestra, Performer - Mitch Miller, Producer - R. Conniff, Composer - R. Conniff, Lyricist
Originally Released 1957 Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.
Ray Conniff & His Orchestra, Performer - George Avakian, Producer - D. Fields, Lyricist - D. Fields, Composer - Dorothy Fields, Lyricist - Dorothy Fields, Composer - J. Kern, Lyricist - J. Kern, Composer - Jerome Kern, Composer - Jerome Kern, Lyricist
Originally released 1957. All rights reserved by Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Mitch Miller, Producer - R. Conniff, Arranger - R. Conniff, Adaptor - P.I. Tchaikovsky, Composer - Ray Conniff, Performer
Originally Released 1958 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Mitch Miller, Producer - R. Conniff, Composer - R. Conniff, Lyricist - Ray Conniff, Performer
Originally Released 1958 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Ray Conniff & His Orchestra, Performer - Mitch Miller, Producer - O. Harbach, Composer - O. Harbach, Lyricist - J. Kern, Composer - J. Kern, Lyricist
Originally Released 1958 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Mitch Miller, Producer - Billy Butterfield, Performer - Jimmy Kennedy, Composer - Jimmy Kennedy, Lyricist - Ray Conniff, Performer - Michael Carr, Composer - Michael Carr, Lyricist
Originally released 1959. All rights reserved by SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Mitch Miller, Producer - R. Conniff, Arranger - R. Conniff, Adaptor - Ray Conniff Singers, Performer - Traditional, Composer - Traditional, Lyricist
Originally released 1959. All rights reserved by Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Richard Addinsell, Lyricist - Richard Addinsell, Composer - Rann Productions, Inc., Producer - Ray Conniff & His Orchestra & Chorus, Performer
Originally released 1960. All rights reserved by Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Ary Barroso, Composer - Ary Barroso, Lyricist - Unknown, Arranger - Ray Conniff, Performer - Al Ham, Producer
Originally Released 1960. All rights reserved by Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
J. Howard, Composer - J. Howard, Lyricist - J. Lubin, Composer - J. Lubin, Lyricist - Ray Conniff, Performer - Al Ham, Producer
Originally Released 1960 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Richard Dehr, Composer - Richard Dehr, Lyricist - Frank Miller, Composer - Frank Miller, Lyricist - Ray Conniff & His Orchestra & Chorus, Performer - Al Ham, Producer - Terry Gilkyson, Composer - Terry Gilkyson, Lyricist
Originally Released 1960 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Rann Productions, Producer - R. Conniff, Composer - R. Conniff, Lyricist - Ray Conniff & His Orchestra & Chorus, Performer
Originally Released 1962 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Rann Productions, Inc., Producer - R. Conniff, Composer - R. Conniff, Lyricist - Ray Conniff & His Orchestra & Chorus, Performer - Ernie Altschuler, Producer
Originally Released 1963 Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.
Victor Young, Composer - Victor Young, Lyricist - The Ray Conniff Sextet, Performer - Will J. Harris, Composer - Will J. Harris, Lyricist - Billy Butterfield, Performer - Ray Conniff, Performer - Ernie Altschuler, Producer
Originally released 1963. All rights reserved by SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
R. RODGERS, Lyricist - R. RODGERS, Composer - L. Hart, Composer - L. Hart, Lyricist - Ray Conniff Singers, Performer - Ernie Altschuler, Producer
Originally Released 1964 Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.
S. Miller, Composer - S. Miller, Lyricist - N. Miller, Composer - N. Miller, Lyricist - Ray Conniff & His Orchestra & Chorus, Performer - Ernie Altschuler, Producer
Originally Released 1964 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
P. Parnes, Composer - P. Parnes, Lyricist - Ray Conniff & his Singers, his Orchestra, his Sound, Performer - Ernie Altschuler, Producer - P. Evans, Composer - P. Evans, Lyricist
Originally Released 1966 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
DISC 2
Ray Conniff & His Orchestra & Chorus, Performer - J. Herman, Composer - J. Herman, Lyricist - Ernie Altschuler, Producer
Originally Released 1966 Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.
Maurice Jarre, Composer - Paul Francis Webster, Lyricist - Ray Conniff & The Singers, Performer - Ernie Altschuler, Producer
Originally Released 1966 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Jack Gold, Producer - Ole Hoyer, Composer - Ole Hoyer, Lyricist - Alan Brandt, Composer - Alan Brandt, Lyricist - Eric Soya, Lyricist - Eric Soya, Composer - Ray Conniff, Conductor - Ray Conniff, Performer - Ray Conniff, Arranger
Originall released 1967. All rights reserved by SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Jack Gold, Producer - Michel Legrand, Composer - Michel Legrand, Lyricist - Mack David, Lyricist - Mack David, Composer - Ray Conniff & The Singers, Performer - Ray Conniff & The Singers, Vocal - Ray Conniff, Arranger - Ray Conniff, Conductor
Originally released 1968. All rights reserved by Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
L. Pober, Composer - L. Pober, Lyricist - Jack Gold, Producer - Ray Conniff Singers, Performer
Originally Released 1967 Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.
Jack Gold, Producer - Chico Buarque, Composer - Chico Buarque, Lyricist - Ray Conniff, Performer
Originally released 1969. All rights reserved by SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Jack Gold, Producer - Ray Conniff & The Singers, Performer - Larry Kusik, Composer - Larry Kusik, Lyricist - Nino Rota, Composer - Nino Rota, Lyricist - Eddie Snyder, Composer - Eddie Snyder, Lyricist
Originally Released 1969 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Jack Gold, Producer - R. Conniff, Composer - R. Conniff, Lyricist - Ray Conniff & The Singers, Performer
Originally Released 1969 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Jack Gold, Producer - Francis Lai, Composer - Francis Lai, Lyricist - Ray Conniff & The Singers, Performer - Carl Sigman, Composer - Carl Sigman, Lyricist
Originally Released 1971 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Jack Gold, Producer - Ray Conniff, Arranger - Ray Conniff, Conductor - Ray Conniff, Performer - Ray Conniff, Lyricist - Ray Conniff, Composer
(P) 1972 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
B. Davis, Composer - B. Davis, Lyricist - R. Cook, Composer - R. Cook, Lyricist - B. Backer, Composer - B. Backer, Lyricist - R. Greenaway, Composer - R. Greenaway, Lyricist - Ray Conniff & The Singers, Performer - Snuff Garrett, Producer
(P) 1972 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Ray Conniff & The Singers, Performer - Snuff Garrett, Producer - Larry Kusik, Composer - Larry Kusik, Lyricist - Nino Rota, Composer - Nino Rota, Lyricist
(P) 1972 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Jack Gold, Producer - R. Conniff, Composer - R. Conniff, Lyricist - Ray Conniff, Performer
(P) 1973 Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.
Jack Gold, Producer - Arthur Kaplan, Composer - Arthur Kaplan, Lyricist - Norman Simon, Composer - Norman Simon, Lyricist - Ray Conniff & The Singers, Performer
(P) 1973 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Jack Gold, Producer - Ray Conniff, Arranger - Ray Conniff, Conductor - Ray Conniff, Composer - Ray Conniff, Performer - Ray Conniff, Lyricist - Ray Conniff, Producer
(P) 1975 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Jack Gold, Producer - Sammy Cahn, Composer - Sammy Cahn, Lyricist - Ray Conniff, Performer - Roy Budd, Composer - Roy Budd, Lyricist
(P) 1975 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Ray Conniff, Performer - Ray Conniff, Producer - F. Ebb, Composer - F. Ebb, Lyricist - J. Kander, Composer - J. Kander, Lyricist
(P) 1986 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Album review
There have been countless Ray Conniff collections over the years, with most of them covering the same familiar hits, but few of them have been as ambitious and comprehensive as Columbia/Legacy's double-disc 2004 release The Essential Ray Conniff. At 36 tracks, it's much larger than most CD-era Conniff comps, which tended to be budget-line releases like 16 Most Requested Songs, and it also covers more territory, opening with 1957's "S'Wonderful" and ending with a previously unreleased version of "My Way" from 1998. Between those two points, his biggest hits, including "Somewhere, My Love (Lara's Theme from Doctor Zhivago)," are covered, but as his daughter Tamara makes clear in her liner notes, unlike some Conniff collections, the focus here isn't on the charts. Instead, she has chosen a range of songs that convey the scope of his musical achievements, so it samples his work as a classical arranger, film composer, soft-pop arranger, and trombonist. The result is the best Conniff collection to date, since it's not only the only compilation that attempts to tackle his entire body of work, it succeeds in doing so.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 36 track(s)
- Total length: 01:38:22
- Main artists: Ray Conniff
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Columbia - Legacy
- Genre: Pop/Rock International Pop
(P) 2004 Sony Music Entertainment
Distinctions:
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