Listen to ‘The Cop Show Themes’ LP by Henry Mancini, (RCA, UK, 1976).

There’s not a lot to say about this extremely pleasing record. It’s a powerful collection of well known television police drama theme tunes, two by Mancini himself. It was released the same year as Johnny Gregory’s much loved ‘The Detectives’ album (on Philips) and there is considerable overlap in the material. But while Gregory’s arrangements are good, Mancini makes the Englishman sound puny by comparison. (By the way, did you know that Johnny Gregory is Chaquito in disguise?).

Henry Mancini’s big band orchestrations, featuring heavy drum breaks, wah-wah, bonkers electric bass lines, harpsichords and even a theremin ensure that the album moves at breakneck speed, which is a bit of a shame as it only lasts 25 minutes. Never mind, quality vs. quantity, and all that.

So, if Steve McGarrett, Kojak and Jim Rockford are your kind of guys (or if you think they’re tossers but still like the tunes), pick this album up, in it’s wonderfully cheap looking washing powder pop art sleeve, for nine themes that (mostly) out-do the originals.