The Pink Panther (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

by Jason Ankeny It's virtually impossible to separate The Pink Panther franchise and its comedic hero Inspector Clouseau from Henry Mancini's immortal title theme, and composer Christophe Beck doesn't even try -- his score for the 2006 Steve Martin-headlined remake is a heartfelt if tedious Mancini homage that references the theme in a series of contexts and genres spanning from tango to electronic pop. Only a scant few of Beck's melodies fail to acknowledge Mancini's inspiration, which signifies what a thankless task awaits any composer tackling material so closely identified with another artist, not to mention what a thankless task awaits the listener who opts for the sequel instead of the original.