The Sound of Music by Pizzicato Five is a compilation album by Japanese pop band Pizzicato Five. The album was released in the United States on October 31, 1995, by Matador Records, serving as the band's second full-length, and third overall, American release on the label. Following the previous year's Made in USA, The Sound of Music by Pizzicato Five is Matador's second compilation of Pizzicato Five's previously released material.
The track selection on The Sound of Music by Pizzicato Five emphasizes Pizzicato Five's albums Bossa Nova 2001 (1993) and Overdose (1994), while Romantique 96 (1995), their most recent studio album at the time, is represented by one track, a cover of Plastics' "Good". The title The Sound of Music and the front cover slogan "music is organised by sound" are taken from the Romantique 96 song "The Sound of Music", though the track itself does not appear on the compilation.
The LP edition has a slightly rearranged track order and contains alternate versions of "Good", "Fortune Cookie" and "Rock n' Roll".
Spin critic Barry Walters described The Sound of Music by Pizzicato Five as "the most fully realized, personality-rich synthesis of popular culture that's come about this decade", finding that the compiled material showcased the band's move toward "a little less funky, a bit more thumpy and considerably fuller and jazzier" sound. "While their retro tendencies lend a patina of kitsch to the proceedings," wrote Entertainment Weeklys Mike Flaherty, "they go at it with a sophistication and polish that sidesteps cheese. In other words, they mean it."
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