Spy music from the ’60s has always been a big part of my life. I remember buying Lalo Schifrin’s two Mission: Impossible LPs (as well as his Mannix, There’s a Whole Lalo Schifrin Goin’ On, and countless other movie and jazz albums) back in the day. So it was a special thrill that La-La Land Records asked me to produce a 6-CD box set of music from all seven seasons of the original Mission: Impossible television series (which aired on CBS from 1966 to 1973). All 62 episodes with original scores (many others were “tracked” with previously recorded music) are represented, including 12 with music composed by Schifrin himself. I also wrote all the notes, chronicling the entire history of Mission music with comments about all the selections (and plenty of new information including recording dates and legendary jazz soloists who played on them).
Winner of the International Film Music Critics Association award as “Best New Archival Release – Compilation” of 2015.
Excerpts from fan reviews: “One of the best TV-score box sets ever produced… the comprehensive liner notes, the presentation, just ace!” “Exceptional. My favorite release of 2015 by a long shot. Absolutely phenomenal, from the liner notes to the sound quality to the graphic design.” “A thousand cheers to everyone involved in the making of this set. Without doubt, one of the coolest releases of the year.” “One of those dream soundtrack releases… really, really thrilled with it.”
“Major props for this collection can be given to Jon Burlingame, television music journalism’s answer to Ethan Hunt, whose knowledge of the medium easily bests being able to hang from an airplane at takeoff. Given dozens of hours of already powerful Mission: Impossible scoring to pull from, Burlingame has done an exceptional job of cherry picking what are truly the best tracks.” — Daniel Schweiger, Film Music Magazine
“Album producer Jon Burlingame provides a thrilling mission with this deluxe edition, including his comprehensive liner notes…. The finished result certainly is a thing of beauty and all involved should be congratulated.” — Darren Allison, Cinema Retro