Al De Lory Plays Midnight Cowboy (And Other Motion Picture Themes)

Al DeLory was a pianist who played on productions by Phil Spector and Brian Wilson during the '60s, and also an award-winning producer for Glen Campbell and other top-selling country and pop artists of the late '60s. This albums offers his pop instrumental renditions of music associated with then-popular movies, including Midnight Cowboy, The April Fools, Romeo and Juliet, Easy Rider, True Grit, etc. DeLory's pianism is beyond reproach, though the arrangements themselves offer few surprises (the bright, bouncy, harp-ornamented rendition of "True Grit/Rooster" being the one exception). But the usual crisp Capitol Records production makes this the late-'60s equivalent of those '50s stereophile sides. And whoever is playing the bass on some of these tracks (most notably "True Grit/Rooster") -- probably Joe Osborn, given DeLory's history with the Wrecking Crew -- is worth hearing, regardless of what one thinks of the rest of the record.