Conducted by Henry Mancini

Produced by Joe Reisman

Release Date: April 6th, 2004

                RCA Victor

     With the release of the Pink Panther Collection on DVD arrives this compilation from RCA Victor that delightfully packages some of the best musical moments from the Blake Edward’s film series on one CD. And with such wonderful scores by Henry Mancini, this effort was not without some difficulty, but for the most part, this album represents a fine musical selection from across six films.

     The Pink Panther – This is one of the best represented of the all the films on the album. The section opens with the requisite Pink Panther theme, a theme originally intended for that of the character of Sir Charles Litton, but later reworked to follow the on-screen animation for the title sequence. The wonderful It Had Better Be Tonight song from the film is here, along with the zany car chase music in Shades of Sennett. The rest of the selections make up the jazzy background music that Mancini composed for this classy comedic caper.

     A Shot in the Dark – Nothing else from the score has ever been released before save for the main title music and the song The Shadow of Paris. Both selections are wonderful, but one can’t help wish that more of the score would be made available.

     The Return of the Pink Panther – The opening cue to this section, Summer in Gstaad is nicely whimsical and fits the mood of the series well. However, the rest of the cues make up Mancini’s return to the jazzy style from The Pink Panther and includes some of the source music from the film.

     The Pink Panther Strikes Again – Arguably Mancini’s best score for the series. The opening main title is here again, this time interpolated with musical parodies of pop culture icons (for the period in which it was released at least). Clouseau’s theme appears at the end of the selections in a performance that is different than what I can remember is found on the actual soundtrack album (which is a nice touch), and the selections in between include the fun Bier Fest Polka music as well as Tom Jones’ Come to Me song (including a brief interlude by Inspector Clouseau himself).

     Revenge of the Pink Panther – Leaving off the title theme is quite a shame, as Mancini imbued it with 70s funk in a way that made it quite a fun take on the theme. The Hong Kong Fireworks cue more than makes up for it though, and the Thank Heaven For Little Girls song provides even more amusing sounds of Clouseau singing his way through this one.

     Son of the Pink Panther – I’m not such a big fan of the main title from this score. The vocalization of the theme by Bobby McFerrin is an interesting take, but also one that I find to get annoying before too long. I would have preferred to have Mancini’s funky take on the main theme from Revenge as opposed to this one.

     With only a few minor pratfalls, The Ultimate Pink Panther proves to be pretty much just that, and is a wonderful album for those who haven’t already purchased a collection of the original soundtracks.

The Pink Panther

1 - The Pink Panther Theme (2:38)

2 - Royal Blue (3:12)

3 - Champagne and Quail (2:47)

4 - The Village Inn (2:38)

5 - It Had Better Be Tonight (1:59)

6 - Piano and Strings (2:38)

7 - Shades of Sennett (1:29)

A Shot in the Dark

8 - A Shot in the Dark (2:31)

9 - The Shadow of Paris (2:59)

Return of the Pink Panther

10 - Summer in Gstaad (2:03)

11 - So Smooth (4:06)

12 - The Greatest Gift (3:21)

13 - The Orange Float (3:10)

14 - Dreamy (3:23)

15 - The Wet Look (3:10)

The Pink Panther Strikes Again

16 - Main Title from The Pink Panther Strikes Again (2:38)

17 - Bier Fest Polka (2:45)

18 - Come to Me (4:38)

19 - Until You Love Me (3:21)

20 - The Inspector Clouseau Theme (3:02)

Revenge of the Pink Panther

21 - After the Shower (3:40)

22 - Hong Kong Fireworks (3:21)

23 - Thank Heaven for Little Girls (2:36)

Son of the Pink Panther

24 - The Pink Panther Theme (Bobby McFerrin) (3:09)