Hank Moody Guide Wit

The Moody Blues get the two-disc treatment on the latest installment of Polydor's surprisingly thorough Gold series. Rather than just assemble the usual suspects around staples like "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Story in Your Eyes" (which are here), the compilers dove deep into the group's career, providing tracks from solo recordings like "Remember Me My Friend" from Justin Hayward and John Lodge's excellent Blue Jays album and their gorgeous follow-up single, "Blue Guitar," as well as lesser-known late-'70s/early-'80s cuts from Octave, The Present, and Sur la Mer…

Hank Marvin, mostly playing a Favino acoustic guitar (and, occasionally, the "Hank Marvin"-model Fender Stratocaster), turns in some delightful work on this 58-minute CD, supported by players including Ben Marvin on guitar, Ray Martinez on bass, Gary Taylor on rhythm guitar, and Ric Eastman on drums. The music ranges across the decades from the 1950s to the 1970s – the virtuosity is beyond question and the arrangements on familiar fare such as "Sunny Afternoon," "American Pie," "Ticket to Ride" and "Eleanor Rigby" bring out some unexpected attributes to the songs, as well – only "Your Song" does what one would expect in its arrangement, and that tune is so pretty that one would never want to deviate too far from the basics on it. Some of the original tunes are less than memorable melodically, but the playing is always interesting enough to hold the listener, and one of them, "A Tall-A Tall Dark Stranger" could have made a good single two or three decades ago, with its rippling double-lead guitar parts.

English guitar legend Hank Marvin inspired a generation of British post-war guitarists with his smooth, plectrum-based guitar lines. Backing Cliff Richard with his band The Shadows, Hank's guitar playing inspired The Beatles and a generation of British groups starting out in the 1960s. This album sees Hank performing a plethora of songs from the big screen, both recent and vintage. All are flawlessly executed with the smooth melodic perfection that audiences have come to expect from Hank. This album contains a wide range of material–"The Sound of Silence" from The Graduate, "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic, "How Deep Is Your Love?" from Saturday Night Fever and "A Kiss From A Rose" from Batman Forever. Hank purists will enjoy the James Bond Medley containing the James Bond theme, plus music from You Only Live Twice, From Russia With Love and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Part of Blue Note's quality series of artist samplers, The Best of Hank Mobley surveys the great tenor saxophonist's prime stretch from 1955-1965. Originally overshadowed by the likes of Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, and, of course, Coltrane, Mobley nevertheless gained the respect of his peers, thanks to his richly fluid phrasing and smooth, caramel tone – in lieu of trying to impress you, he seduced you slowly from afar. And while one is advised to dive in directly with any one of his Blue Note discs – especially Soul Station, No Room for Squares, and A Slice of the Top – this ten-track overview still works well as a launching pad. Backed by a stellar array of "Blue Note" regulars like Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Billy Higgins, Freddie Hubbard, and Horace Silver, Mobley ranges effortlessly from early hard bop favorites ("Funk in a Deep Freeze") to mature, solo-rich material from the mid-'60s ("The Turnaround"). In between, there are two stunning originals from his banner year of 1960 ("This I Dig of You," "Take Your Pick") and one of the best of his several bossa nova numbers ("Recado Bossa Nova"). For listeners who just want a taste, this best-of collection will do the trick just fine.