Andre Kostelanetz & His Orchestra - Scarborough Fair and Other Great Movie Hits (1968/2018)

Scarborough Fair and Other Great Movie Hits is an unexpectedly charming and solid entry into the vast André Kostelanetz catalog. Although its unifying Hollywood theme is flimsy at best, at least it's a theme, and the material is selected with obvious care and affection, focusing on both contemporary and classic silver screen fare. While perennials like "Laura" and "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" are tailor-made for the lush, string-sweetened Kostelanetz formula, the album truly comes to life on latter-day tunes including "Talk to the Animals" and "The Bare Necessities," which inject real energy into the otherwise dreamy arrangements and capture a childlike innocence rarely glimpsed in the conductor's otherwise staid and precise universe.