Bob Thompson The Sound of Speed

Bob Thompson's landmark orchestral tribute to wheels, wings, and whirly birdsby Irwin Chusid In the late 1950s, when Mexican-born Space Age Pop avatar Esquivel was in his prime, orchestra leader/composer/arranger Bob Thompson was his American stylistic counterpart. They recorded for the same label (RCA Victor), employed many of the same musicians and vocalists, and experimented with sound in the same Los Angeles studios. His RCA albums, Mmm, Nice!, Just for Kicks, and On the Rocks, embody 1950s orchestral pop: brimming with sparkle and sophistication, an appealing soundtrack for the Good Life. Thompson won a number of Clio awards for excellence in advertising music, and in 1959 the title track of Just For Kicks was Grammy-nominated for Best Performance by an Orchestra. Thompson took temporary leave from RCA in 1960 to record The Sound of Speed. This "concept" LP rhapsodizes the technology of human transport, from Vespa scooters to Le Mans racers, from tricycles to rocket ships. Each of