The 1962 Gilbert & Sullivan film parody The Cool Mikado is not well known, and far more obscure is its rare soundtrack album, originally issued on Parlophone in Britain. It came out on CD on El in 2002, because...well, why not? It's by no means great music, but it's entertaining in an over-the-top camp sort of way, whether on the instrumental selections or vocals by Kevin Scott, Lissa Grey, Stubby Kaye, and most especially, comedian Frankie Howerd. The orchestration is light, stilted, and dated, like a throwback to musicals of the '40s and '50s that would soon no longer be made. Pop and soundtrack collectors will be most interested in the record, though, for the presence of some contributions by the John Barry Seven. These are by far the most palatable excerpts of the disc, as they feature Barry's trademark low-twanging guitar lines. That's not only heard on the sole track credited to the John Barry Seven alone ("Tit Willow Twist"), but also on Kevin Scott's "A Wandering Minstrel," which sounds pretty close to a just-pre-Beatles British teen idol pop record. Presumably there's also John Barry Seven involvement on the silly but infectious rock twist version of "The Sun's Hooray"; the liner notes on the reissue aren't too detailed, and don't make that clear.
