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There have been countless Ray Conniff collections over the years, with most of them covering the same familiar hits, but few of them have been as ambitious and comprehensive as Columbia/Legacy's double-disc 2004 release The Essential Ray Conniff.
At 36 tracks, it's much larger than most CD-era Conniff comps, which tended to be budget-line releases like 16 Most Requested Songs, and it also covers more territory, opening with 1957's "S'Wonderful" and ending with a previously unreleased version of "My Way" from 1998.
Between those two points, his biggest hits, including "Somewhere, My Love (Lara's Theme from Doctor Zhivago)," are covered, but as his daughter Tamara makes clear in her liner notes, unlike some Conniff collections, the focus here isn't on the charts.
Instead, she has chosen a range of songs that convey the scope of his musical achievements, so it samples his work as a classical arranger, film composer, soft-pop arranger, and trombonist.
The result is the best Conniff collection to date, since it's not only the only compilation that attempts to tackle his entire body of work, it succeeds in doing so.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 'S WonderfulGeorge Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | Ray Conniff | Play | 02:26 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | The Way You Look TonightDorothy Fields, Jerome Kern | Ray Conniff | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Favorite Theme from Tchaikovsky's First Piano ConcertoPyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky | Ray Conniff | Play | 02:54 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Greensleeves (What Child Is This)Traditional | Ray Conniff | Play | 02:29 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Warsaw ConcertoRichard Addinsell | Ray Conniff | Play | 03:01 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | BrazilAry Barroso, Bob Russell | Ray Conniff | Play | 03:04 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Winds of Change (Main Title)Mack David | Ray Conniff | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | A Time for UsLarry Kusic, Nino Rota, E. Snyder | Ray Conniff | Play | 03:26 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | HarmonyArthur Kaplan, Norman Simon | Ray Conniff | Play | 02:41 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from "The Godfather") | Ray Conniff & The Singers | Play | 02:30 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Somewhere, My Love (Lara's Theme from "Doctor Zhivago") (Album Version) | Ray Conniff & The Singers | Play | 02:27 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony) (Album Version) | Ray Conniff & The Singers | Play | 02:28 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 13 | Memories Are Made Of This (Album Version) | Ray Conniff & His Orchestra & Chorus | Play | 02:31 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 14 | (Where Do I Begin) Love Story (Album Version) | Ray Conniff & The Singers | Play | 02:59 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 15 | Walkin' And Whistlin' (Album Version) | Ray Conniff & His Orchestra | Play | 02:07 | 4 MB | 0 MB |
| 16 | Early Evening (Album Version) | Ray Conniff | Play | 02:31 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 17 | (When Your Heart's On Fire) Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Album Version) | Ray Conniff & His Orchestra | Play | 02:34 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 18 | South of the Border (Down México Way) (Album Version) | Ray Conniff, Billy Butterfield | Play | 02:23 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 19 | Midnight Lace, parts 1 & 2 (Album Version) | Ray Conniff | Play | 04:51 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 20 | African Safari (Album Version) | Ray Conniff & His Orchestra & Chorus | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 21 | Scarlet (Album Version) | Ray Conniff & His Orchestra & Chorus | Play | 02:20 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 22 | Sweet Sue, Just You (Single Version) | Billy Butterfield, Ray Conniff, The Ray Conniff Sextet | Play | 01:52 | 4 MB | 0 MB |
| 23 | Blue Moon (Album Version) | The Ray Conniff Singers | Play | 02:20 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 24 | Invisible Tears (Album Version) | Ray Conniff & His Orchestra & Chorus | Play | 02:03 | 4 MB | 0 MB |
| 25 | Happiness Is (Album Version) | Ray Conniff & His Singers, His Orchestra, His Sound | Play | 02:12 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 26 | Hello, Dolly! (Album Version) | Ray Conniff & His Orchestra & Chorus | Play | 02:47 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 27 | Seventeen (Single Version) | Ray Conniff; Arranged and conducted by Ray Conniff | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 28 | Tiny Bubbles (Album Version) | The Ray Conniff Singers | Play | 02:32 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 29 | A Banda (Single Version) | Ray Conniff | Play | 02:54 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 30 | The Power Of Love (Album Version) | Ray Conniff & The Singers | Play | 02:23 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 31 | With Every Beat Of My Heart (Single Version) | Ray Conniff; Arranged and conducted by Ray Conniff | Play | 03:04 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 32 | Someone (Album Version) | Ray Conniff | Play | 02:52 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 33 | Love Theme From An X-Rated Movie (Single Version) | Ray Conniff; Arranged & conducted by Ray Conniff | Play | 02:46 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 34 | My Little Friend (Theme from "Paper Tiger") (Album Version) | Ray Conniff | Play | 02:38 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 35 | Theme From "New York, New York" (Album Version) | Ray Conniff | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 96 mins | 220 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
Note: You are able to listen to 30-second samples for preview purpose.
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Addinsell | Composer |
| 2 | Ernie Altschuler | Producer |
| 3 | Paul Anka | Composer |
| 4 | George Avakian | Producer |
| 5 | William Backer | Composer |
| 6 | Ary Barroso | Composer |
| 7 | Steven Berkowitz | A&R |
| 8 | Chico Buarque | Composer |
| 9 | Roy Budd | Composer |
| 10 | Billy Butterfield | Primary Artist, Soloist, Trombone |
| 11 | Sammy Cahn | Composer |
| 12 | Michael Carr | Composer |
| 13 | Ray Conniff | Adaptation, Arranger, Composer, Conductor, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Soloist, Trombone, Vocals |
| 14 | The Ray Conniff Singers | Primary Artist |
| 15 | Tamara Conniff | Liner Notes |
| 16 | Roger Cook | Composer |
| 17 | Mack David | Composer |
| 18 | Raquel Davis | Composer |
| 19 | Richard Dehr | Composer |
| 20 | Didier C. Deutsch | Compilation Producer |
| 21 | Fred Ebb | Composer |
| 22 | Paul Evans | Composer |
| 23 | Adam Farber | A&R |
| 24 | Dorothy Fields | Composer |
| 25 | Claude François | Composer |
| 26 | Howard Fritzson | Art Direction |
| 27 | Tommy "Snuff" Garrett | Producer |
| 28 | George Gershwin | Composer |
| 29 | Ira Gershwin | Composer |
| 30 | Terry Gilkyson | Composer |
| 31 | Jack Gold | Producer |
| 32 | Roger Greenaway | Composer |
| 33 | Laura Grover | Product Manager |
| 34 | Al Ham | Producer |
| 35 | Otto Harbach | Composer |
| 36 | Will J. Harris | Composer |
| 37 | Lorenz Hart | Composer |
| 38 | Jerry Herman | Composer |
| 39 | Don Hunstein | Cover Photo, Photography, Tray Photo |
| 40 | Maurice Jarre | Composer |
| 41 | John Kander | Composer |
| 42 | Arthur Kaplan | Composer |
| 43 | Ron Kellum | Design |
| 44 | Jimmy Kennedy | Composer |
| 45 | Jerome Kern | Composer |
| 46 | Larry Kusic | Composer |
| 47 | Francis Lai | Composer |
| 48 | Lily Lew | Packaging Manager |
| 49 | Joe Lubin | Composer |
| 50 | Frank Miller | Composer |
| 51 | Mitch Miller | Producer |
| 52 | Ned Miller | Composer |
| 53 | Sue Miller | Composer |
| 54 | Paul Parnes | Composer |
| 55 | Léon Pober | Composer |
| 56 | Darcy Proper | Compilation Producer, Mastering Engineer |
| 57 | Liz Reilly | Photo Research |
| 58 | Jacques Revaux | Composer |
| 59 | Richard Rodgers | Composer |
| 60 | Nino Rota | Composer |
| 61 | Bob Russell | Composer |
| 62 | Carl Sigman | Composer |
| 63 | Norman Simon | Composer |
| 64 | E. Snyder | Composer |
| 65 | Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky | Composer |
| 66 | Gilles Thibaut | Composer |
| 67 | Amanda Tozzi | Product Manager |
| 68 | Traditional | Composer |
| 69 | Paul Francis Webster | Composer |
| 70 | Jen Wyler | Mixing Engineer |
| 71 | Victor Young | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |