The Magnificent Westerns (Compilation)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

At a certain specific time you we're getting fed up and tired of all the Silva Screen compilations that were coming your way. Now you kinda miss their interpretations of the most famous music ever written, because they remain to throw a terrific balance of young and old together and create an amazing orchestral performance surrounding it. It was done with blockbusters, composer tributes and outer space. Now the west is getting what it deserves, recognition. With 4 Cd's of at least 65 minutes long the west was never heard in better style, yet at the same time its strange to get this 4 CD compilation when years ago the failed The Wild West (1999) and Way Out West (2002) was launched, 2 CD's each covering most of the selections heard here. Now with four selections they make it happen, movie magic for a very kind (read cheap) price. Considering I wanted the entire selection for just one track was kinda stupid, but I really wanted to hear The Guns for San Sebastian in total flawless recording crispiness and so I went for the whole package instead. And as always you discover that the small entries sometimes bring forth the biggest richness. Here both the bold and the beautiful go hand in hand. With always a classic entry Dimitri Tiomkin did a lot of good things for the golden age, with The Alamo capturing a good pair of themes, Duel of the Sun being a less interesting piece and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral being the song led piece, the SFX of gunfights is a bit awkward and yet the fanfare makes all the fuzz happen. Blazing Saddles with its comedy song is great and The Commancheros catchy as it alternates the Hallelujah theme so accustomed in the Bernstein sense. However it are Morricone's and Williams's solo selections that enlighten the first CD. With The Cowboys you just witness how much Williams already had of superiority in that time, not only his amazing main theme is thrilling, his midpiece silences you with its touching grandeur for strings and brass. But Morricone shows the most in time, with A Fistful of Dollars, A Fistful of Dynamite, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad & The Ugly we get nothing but classics, and their treatment is wonderful to proof that grandeur.

If there was a thrilling thing on the 4 disc compilation that I had to hear, it was the re recording of Guns for San Sebastian. Because hearing this wonderful choral version in perfect surround sound was all I wanted from the moment I heard the original release years ago. Luckily there exist a now better version when Film Score Monthly released it some time ago yet still this version kicks ass too. And always thrilling is the choral version of The Hallelujah Trail, a favorite of mine. Hang' Em High is a great brassy theme reminiscent of The Alamo and especially Giligan's Island which Dominic Frontiere composed which I like a lot. High Plains Drifter has a blossoming main theme when all the strings and brass reach their crescendo and is another welcome surprise and always a necessity is How the West was Won yet strangely it lacks the choral back up that we remember of it. The High Chaparral is another known Western tune and The Lone Ranger is the famous scherzo. Lonesome Dove is however the real sublime entry on this disc. If Poledouris was one thing, it was a sublime composer who could excel in any genre and the western genre was one where he didn't compose often for. For Lonesome Dove he saved all the brilliance for this excellent majestic piece. Note that this version is a different suite from the previous recording done by Silva Screen and is equally astonishing. The Magnificent Seven is more thrilling here then on the original version but I can't seem to become attached to it and Monte Walsh is gentle and offers a march, a sinister Bond motif and a typical flowing Barry move. With disc 3 we perhaps receive the least thrilling portion of all the western scores, but this means that you receive a new opportunity to discover some new entries. Like the cool Nevada Smith of Alfred Newman, the grand rising of the themes in Old Gringo, the less thrilling version of Once Upon a Time in the West but the equally entertaining piece of Morricone, or The Professionals of Maurice Jarre who brings us a Spanish flair of rhythm and thematic delights.

Dimitri Tiomkin's Rawhide is fun and catchy and so is The Scalphunters and Red River. The lesser known John Williams suite of The Rare Breed misses the excellence of The Cowboys but still offers an immediate recognizable Williams flair (at times it even sounds like Hook) but despite its great moments, it lacks that instant classic feel. Luckily a good old fashioned Silverado sings things of in good old fashion. The openers of CD 4 are all Bernstein, in The Shootist a marching mood is amplified by the brass, while good old Americana is for The Sons of Katie Elder with a theme in the spirit of the The Magnificent Seven, and I find it just a little more catchier. True Grit is more of that, with a basic variation of the style heard in so many westerns scores of Bernstein. With Richard Hageman we got more new voices and while Stagecoach holds some nice ideas, its too frenetic and golden age music like to really get a kick out of it. The soft and pleasant Two Mules for Sister Sara is needed after all that brassy energy and so it comes at a perfect time, even though the middle dances on the rhythmic flute and drum melodies. Its nice to compare Unforgiven between the 2 composers that made it great. Clint Eastwood may not be a composer, he gave Claudia's Theme a nice gentle breeze of a theme, while Dimitri Tiomkin puts all the brassy stops out and gives us big bombastic romance and adventure. The fun and energetic The Virginian of Percy Faith holds things on a tight schedule before Villa Rides is a nice rhythmic delight of Maurice Jarre. The big suite of The Wild Bunch starts wild but soon goes into soft mode and it more or less slips under your radar. That the final tracks are the best is obvious, with Goldsmith's Wild Rovers we finally get some Jerry flavor and James Newton Howard outdid himself in Wyatt Earp, and here you at least get a sample of his amazing style. With 4 Cd's and loads of western music of all ages, Silva Screen continues the trend of bringing life into your world with music of all genres for every person imaginable. That they are performed respectfully and strong is another winning ticket. And even though its not always the best melody or theme, its a winning package for a more than respected prize, and it gives you a Western blazing performance no matter what.

\ЕЕЕ1/2/

Tracks

4 Single Disc

CD 1: 71.44

The Alamo (Dimitri Tiomkin)

1. Overture (5.11)

The Big Country (Jerome Moross)

2. Main Theme (2.53)

Blazing Saddles (John Morris)

3. Blazing Saddles (5.05) Excellent Track

Bonanza (Ray Evans / Jay Livingston)

4. Bonanza (1.39)

The Commancheros (Elmer Bernstein)

5. Main Title (2.38) Excellent Track

The Cowboys (John Williams)

6. Overture (9.43) Excellent Track

Dances with Wolves (John Barry)

7. The John Dunbar Theme (2.36) Excellent Track

Duel in the Sun (Dimitri Tiomkin)

8. Entr'acte (12.52)

El Condor (Maurice Jarre)

9. Main Title (3.22)

A Fistful of Dollars (Ennio Morricone)

10. A Fistful Of Dollars (3.27) Excellent Track

A Fistful of Dynamite (Ennio Morricone)

11. A Fistful Of Dynamite (4.09) Excellent Track

For a Few Dollars More (Ennio Morricone)

12. For A Few Dollars More (3.24) Excellent Track

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (Ennio Morricone)

13. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (5.54) Excellent Track

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (Dimitri Tiomkin)

14. Suite (8.48)

CD 2: 72.37

Guns for San Sebastian (Ennio Morricone)

1. Overture (3.49) Excellent Track

The Hallelujah Trail (Elmer Bernstein)

2. Overture (6.13) Excellent Track

Hang 'Em High (Dominic Frontiere)

3. Main Theme (2.42) Excellent Track

Heaven's Gate (David Mansfield)

4. Sweet Breeze (4.07)

High Noon (Dimitri Tiomkin)

5. Do Not Forsake Me (2.33)

High Plains Drifter (Dee Barton)

6. Main Theme (4.12)

How the West Was Won (Alfred Newman)

7. Overture (7.10) Excellent Track

The High Chaparral (David Rose)

8. Main Theme (1.13)

The Jayhawkers (Jerome Moross)

9. Suite (7.56)

The Lone Ranger (Rossini)

10. William Tell Overture (3.29) Excellent Track

Lonesome Dove (Basil Poledouris)

11. Suite (9.48) Excellent Track

The Magnificent Seven (Elmer Bernstein)

12. Main Theme (4.52)

Monte Walsh (John Barry)

13. Suite (11.12)

My Name is Nobody (Ennio Morricone)

14. Main Theme (3.12)

CD 3: 65.57

Nevada Smith (Alfred Newman)

1. Main Theme (2.25)

Night Passage (Dimitri Tiomkin)

2. Follow The River (2.08)

Old Gringo (Lee Holdridge)

3. Main Themes (5.05) Excellent Track

Once Upon A Time In The West (Ennio Morricone)

4. Man With The Harmonica / Jill's Theme (9.56) Excellent Track

The Outlaw Josey Wales (Jerry Fielding)

5. The War Is Over (4.27)

The Professionals (Maurice Jarre)

6. Overture (5.25)

Rawhide (Dimitri Tiomkin)

7. Ned Washington (2.18)

The Rare Breed (John Williams)

8. Suite (8.34)

Red River (Dimitri Tiomkin)

9. River Crossing (3.28)

Rio Bravo (Dimitri Tiomkin)

10. Rio Bravo / De Guello (5.06)

The Scalphunters (Elmer Bernstein)

11. The Scalphunters (2.53)

The Searchers (Max Steiner)

12. Suite (7.21)

Shane (Victor Young)

13. Call Of The Faraway Hills (2.37)

Silverado (Bruce Broughton)

14. Main Themes (4.08) Excellent Track

CD 4: 63.32

The Shootist (Elmer Bernstein)

1. Main Theme (3.22)

The Sons Of Katie Elder (Elmer Bernstein)

2. Main Theme (2.14)

Stagecoach (Richard Hagerman)

3. Suite (6.39)

True Grit (Elmer Bernstein)

4. Rooster And Le Boeuf / Warm Wrap-Up (4.59)

Two Mules For Sister Sara (Ennio Morricone)

5. Main Theme (5.22)

Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)

6. Claudia's Theme (6.19)

The Unforgiven (Dimitri Tiomkin)

7. Suite (5.36)

Viva Zapata (Alex North)

8. Gathering Forces (3.28)

The Virginian (Percy Faith)

9. The Virginian (1.34)

Villa Rides (Maurice Jarre)

10. Main Theme (3.30)

Wagon Train (Jerome Moross)

11. Wagon Train (3.09)

The Wild Bunch (Jerry Fielding)

12. Suite (10.31)

Wild Rovers (Jerry Goldsmith)

13. Bronco Bustin' (2.10) Excellent Track

Wyatt Earp (James Newton Howard)

14. Main Title (4.52) Excellent Track

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons