Patrick Macnee RIP

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Sounded like vibes to me

- to me, too - motor off, hard sticks ... and some kind of damper to stop the resonance from sustaining.

But I think that there is a Harspsichord in the mix, too - when the main theme is reprised at c1min 38secs (and at the very first appearance of the riff, too) that "budgie cage" "tschh" is there.

[Stillhomewardbound]

- to me, too - motor off, hard sticks ... and some kind of damper to stop the resonance from sustaining.

But I think that there is a Harspsichord in the mix, too - when the main theme is reprised at c1min 38secs (and at the very first appearance of the riff, too) that "budgie cage" "tschh" is there.

My goodness, I knew I'd come to the right place. If someone says vibes to me I'm thinking the likes of Milt Jackson, Cal Tjader, Gary Burton and not the likes of the Avengers.

One day, when I have the time, I'll research and write a pamphlet on the manner in which the pop industry was clutching at classical straws to create new melds. To say it was a George Martin / Beatles thing would be too specific.

Anway, there was a lot of harspichord (and relatives) influences going around at that time. (Ron Goodwin's 'Miss Marple Theme', for one)

Here's a cut from Michel Legrand's score for The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). NO, it's not the famous chess scene but a cue that follows it. Fortunately it has been mastered with a hard left/right mix so it is a little easier to pic out the instrumentation.

At the risk of coming all over Jilly Goolden (well, you know what I mean) I'm getting hints of a harpsichord left, strummed, not plucked.

https://youtu.be/aAwDRkwiDPk?list=PL7F8E9E186666B2C9

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

- Definitely Vibes in there, too, Stillhomeward (motor on, though).

And this remarkably haunting, un-Bondesque Music from John Barry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ykujqft0xk

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

... and Harpsichord and Cymbalom:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2Jw6_Xgszk

[Stillhomewardbound]

'Ipcress File' is one of those supreme movie themes and leit motif. The chill of it has not dimmed with the years and demonstrates Barry's versatility in presenting the two sides of the cinematic espionage coin from Palmer to Bond.

I'm of the mind that Barry was referencing 'The Third Man', but whether that was his idea or that of the director, Sidney J. Furie, I'm not sure. Probably the latter given that there are tilted, angled shots aplenty, as per TTM.

Btw, that link is to a City of Prague Philharmonic recording reconstruction. More often than not I hold my nose up in the air at facsimile renderings, but not this time. The orchestra seems to be playing the original parts but also they have gone to great pains to get the canter just right , the failing flutter of the flute*, then the 'and forward' pickup of the double bass. (*though the flutes are a bit flat)

Every bit as good as the original but with a pleasing, digital separation.

[Stillhomewardbound]

Explanation a plenty here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10962261/John-Leach-obituary.html