Italian Job Soundtrack CD
The Italian Job.
1969, Paramount.
Quincy Jones.
MCA CD, 2000, MCD 60074/112488-2
Rating: 
This energetic, stylish score for the 1969 heist caper starring Michael Caine is living proof that a soundtrack can lift a film above the sum of its parts. In this case, master composer and producer Quincy Jones, best known for his work with Michael Jackson and his scores for ‘In The Heat of the Night’, ‘In Cold Blood’ and ‘The Color Purple’, has put together a mix of lounge (‘On Days Like These’), jazz (‘Greensleeves and All That Jazz’) and good old British chanting (‘It’s Caper Time’ and ‘Getta Bloomin’ Move On!’) for an album that covers all the bases. There is a real sense of the British abroad about both the film and the soundtrack, as a cockney geezer goes after a security van full of gold bullion in the centre of Turin, under the noses of local crime bosses. Jones’ manages to combine the continental and the quintessentially British nature of the film well, injecting a good dash of humour and playfulness into the action. ‘Hello Mrs Beckerman!’ contains echoes of Michel LeGrand’s score for ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’, but Jones’ effort is more rough and tumble. At only 28 minutes long, the score may be short but it is a great ride.
The Italian Job Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. On Days Like These (Matt Munro)
2. Something’s Cookin’
3. Hello Mrs. Beckerman!
4. Britannia And Mr Bridger, If You Please
5. Trouble For Charlie
6. On Days Like These
7. It’s Caper Time (Self-Preservation Society)
8. Meanwhile, Back In The Mafia
9. Smell The Gold!
10. Greensleeves And All That Jazz
11. On Days Like These (Reprise)
12. Getta Bloomin’ Move On! (Self-Preservation Society)
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