This four-CD set from Rhino Records' Kid Rhino division is really much more intended for adult baby boomers in their forties or fifties than for any kids of the '80s, '90s, or beyond, devoted as it is to the music from the Hanna Barbera television cartoons of the late '50s, '60s, and early '70s, from Huckleberry Hound to Scooby Doo. Most of the music is the work of Hoyt Curtin, who became Hanna Barbera's resident composer/arranger in 1956 when he was asked to devise a theme for the cartoon series Ruff and Reddy. Huckleberry Hound, which was much more elaborate, followed, and after that came the title music and background scores for Yogi Bear, Pixie & Dixie, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, Yakky Doodle, Wally Gator, McGilla Gorilla, Peter Potomus, The Jetsons, and, more memorably, The Flintstones. Even casual listeners will be amazed at the complexity of mood in the background underscores for The Flintstones and more, all of which were carefully keyed to the characters, settings, and moods of the particular program, and the differing styles that Curtin adopted -- the best of these is the Top Cat underscore, which sounds like lost George Gershwin outtakes and leftovers; Jonny Quest is the most interesting and the most serious-sounding of the extended underscores; and all of them (including Jonny Quest) are filled with surprises. The theme songs, or at least the most familiar versions of them, are so much a part of popular culture that most baby boomers will discover that they still know some of the words; it's the older, less-familiar, and often supplanted original theme material, such as "Rise and Shine" (the original 1960 Flintstones theme), that will astonish many listeners -- anyone born in 1955 or earlier may still have distant, fading memories of the songs, which haven't been heard in broadcast in more than three decades. The material is all represented in exceptionally good sound, digitized off of original studio masters, and it features many top musicians brought in by Curtin for the sessions. Disc four is the only part of this box that may be an acquired taste, comprised as it is of very familiar sound effects from the Hanna Barbera library, which have also become staples of popular culture (this reviewer's favorite is the sound of El Kabong's "Kabong"). The annotation is far more thorough than one would expect, and, indeed, gives listeners a very detailed overall history not only of the Hanna Barbera company, but also the genesis and sources of inspiration for the characters that they created. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide