The Best Of Mission: Impossible Then And Now

The Best of Mission: Impossible (Then and Now) is an album reprising the works of Lalo Schifrin and John E. Davis for both the Mission: Impossible original television series and the later Mission: Impossible from 1988 to 1990, filmed in Australia. The first track of the album is the ever-present "Mission: Impossible Main Title." After this, the album moves on to various bits of sounds composed by Schifrin for the original series, and eventually to his works for the newer series, including his revised versions of the opening and ending themes to the show. These are followed by a number of works by Davis for the newer series, which are actually quite good, though they may be easily overshadowed by Schifrin's work. At the end of the album, there is an interview with Peter Graves, the actor who played Jim Phelps, the leader of the Impossible Missions Force in both series, and a wonderfully rousing finale of the "Mission: Impossible Theme" performed by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Schifrin himself. For true Schifrin fans, the earlier Music from Mission: Impossible would be a better choice, as it showcases only his work, ignoring any other interviews, etc. For devotees of the show, though, The Best of Mission: Impossible (Then and Now) would be a perfectly good choice for a novelty-type album. The music is still good and the interview may be a nice addition. ~ Adam Greenberg