I'm surprised no one's come in to review this one, as it's among the very few quad titles featuring music from the period between Elvis and the Beatles (Van Cliburn's TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO No. 1, and Enoch Light's PERSUASIVE PERCUSSION are two others that come to mind). Given the limitations, it's actually a fine mix, with a lot of discrete activity. Sound quality is also very good--typical of anything Mancini--and the man knew how to use brass and percussion in clever ways that have never been matched. And unlike most film composers, Mancini not only dabbled in TV scores, but in pop music in general--no composer has ever had so many pop hits! Even when the films were crap, like HATARI!, Mancini whipped up superior music, like the whimsical "Baby Elephant Walk." It's also interesting that two of his best known pieces, "Peter Gunn" and "Moon River," did Ok for him commercially as 45's, but even better for other artists (Ray Anthony and Jerry Butler, respectively).
Interesting note. The catalog number for this album--finally released in 1964--is for an Lp originally conceived and put into the RCA system in 1963. For whatever reasons its release was delayed until the following summer, and the inclusion of "Charade" indicates a modification of the original track lineup. And by the time it was released in the summer of 1964, "Pink Panther Theme" had gone Top 40, although it wasn't included (pity, woulda been nice in quad!).
Overall, an '8' for me: very well done, some limitations, but hard to argue with, and unfortunate that more music from this period was never mixed to quad.
ED