Si Zentner : The Man with the Golden Arm

"The Man with the Golden Arm" is one of those themes, like "The Third Man Theme" or anything by Henry Mancini, that turns up on hundreds of easy listening LPs. This is primarily because it's an awesome tune, one of the many classic themes penned by Elmer Bernstein (some others being "The Magnificent Seven" and "Gunsmoke"). It's a spy-jazz masterpiece, although it wasn't written for a spy movie. The Man with the Golden Arm is about a heroin-addicted drummer who tries to stay clean after being released from prison. It starred Frank Sinatra as Frankie Machine, the drummer, and apparently was one of the first films to deal seriously with the taboo issue of heroin addiction.

Si Zentner was a trombonist and a big band leader in the early sixties and released a couple of albums before rock & roll put him out of business. From Russia with Love is one of my favorites because it's chock full of "crime jazz"; that is, big band tunes with a driving bass, a touch of swing and a horn section that just chugs along. Think "The James Bond Theme" or "Peter Gunn" (both of which are on this album, as is "The Third Man Theme," oddly enough). Or this tune.

The tune kicks off with a sneaky little riff, a baritone sax over a shuffling back beat. Then a horn kicks in and lays the initial groundwork. Pretty soon though, all the horns are chiming in, punching in loud and proud, playing off each other and tearing it up. It rocks.

Unfortunately, this album isn't available on CD as far as I can tell. The Swingin' Eye!!!!!!!! is on a double CD with another album of his, but even though the title implies otherwise, I don't see a single P.I. theme on there. It may be a great album, but I haven't heard it yet, so I can't say. If you're ever in a thrift store and see From Russia with Love though, grab it and wow your friends at your next swank cocktail soirée.

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Jack Jones : Wives and Lovers

My wife and I have started watching Mad Men (season one: don't spoil it!), and we've often wondered how 'true-to-life' the characters are. Were folks really that blunt back then about their feelings towards women and minorities? Burt Bacharach, or probably more accurately Hal David, don't really chime in on the second count, but this song clearly weighs in on the first.

The lyrics are quaint, although somewhat chauvinist in their delivery. I mean, the song opens with "Hey, little girl, comb your hair, fix your make-up," and goes on to exhort us that wives should always be lovers too, because, you know, there are "girls at the office, and men will always be men." The whole song is directed at the lady of the house, assuming, I suppose, that the man is king of the house and beyond reproach and whatnot. Either that, or he's just a hopeless cause.

This Grammy-award winning version is crooned by Jack Jones, who also sang the theme to "The Love Boat", among, I'm sure, more stellar offerings. The music is nice but standard swinging pop orchestra with horns and strings. The song was originally from his 1963 outing fittingly titled Wives and Lovers, but I found my copy on my Burt Bacharach box set, The Look of Love.

[You can listen to Jack Jones' "Wives and Lovers" by navigating to the post "Song015" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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