Various: Pink Panther's Penthouse Party

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

Herald rating: * * *

This collection is released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the cartoon cat who started life as an opening credits star on the Blake Edwards-Peter Sellers comedies before ending up as the world's most popular fairground prize stuffed toy.

Thankfully, this album isn't 18 versions of Henry Mancini's classic slinky saxophone theme. Though you do get the original and three remixes -- Fischerspooner's pleasant reggae lope, St Germain's frantic lose-the-plot attack of synthesisers and Malibu's clever electro-lounge rethink which interpolates a little of Mancini's Peter Gunn theme.

The rest is of previously released Latin and Franco-tinged lounge-pop makeovers, like Peggy Lee's Fever, Corazon and the Girl from Ipanema, as well as cocktail-friendly tracks from the likes of Fatboy Slim and Dimitri from Paris.

Swank packaging, but it doesn't really do much that many such lounge compilations haven't done before. And it sure makes you worry what they'll do for the 50th birthday of Baby Elephant Walk.

(EMI)