Class of '61 / In Pursuit of Honor (Promo)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Of all the John Debney scores we heard of him, I guess war scores were not expected at all in his career, even if they were for TV instead of cinema. But I guess we didn't search for it all that much since a wonderful collection of 2 war scores is right there found on the Promotheus Label's site and praised by people for bringing color to the career of Debney early on. Of course we needed a slap of Cutthroat Island first to recognize John Debney's talent, but only then did we start to search for the other treasures. White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf was a wonderful start but even before that and after that we had more to find, with 2 Television productions receiving a John Debney Glory affair. Its to say, 1 war based and one western based and more to say is that the scores don't blow you away with their orchestral presence but especially Class of '61 brings wonderful moving soft music instead, and it starts the score with its 18 minutes just right. The 'Main Theme' of Class of '61 is an ode to Glory, a noble theme and choir don't overdo the theme but stray it gentle throughout the short release. John Debney's voice here is especially lovely because it all stays subdued to the brink that you would question if Debney actually wrote it in the first place. 'Saying Goodbye' sees the choir return and 'The Battle' is a wonderful Apollo 13 based noble moment of music where the drums and choir lightly grow over a noble trumpet, it especially sounds chilling because its not powerful orchestrally speaking but powerful emotionally. '"Steal Away" (spiritual)' is a church hymn while '1st Regiment / Fallen Hero' uses light tension music ala Sudden Death in a lovely affair nonetheless. 'For Honor and Glory' has the theme being performed by choir, drums and that noble trumpet while softer yet elegant performances on piano are heard throughout the other tracks. The violin and piano round out the score in 'To Fallen Comrades'.

Followed immediately by In Pursuit of Honor, it actually fits so wonderfully together with the previous score. While being a western and having a little more orchestral power, it all stays to the boundaries of what you heard before. The drums immediately set the same tone as heard before in Class of '61, and 'Main Theme' sounds like Apollo 13 with its noble calling. And while the highlights were not mentioned in the previous score (even though it was close at times), In Pursuit of Honor has more to offer at that regard. 'The Pit' has an orchestral build up and is tension based (Sudden Death like) but it is so good because Debney has interesting ideas at hand here. 'The Journey' has more theme fanfares (and signals the soldiers crossing the landscapes) and is simply better to enjoy each time, 'Flags' presents great ideas around the main theme while the best and biggest highlight is 'The Running', having rushing strings circling the main theme and these especially on 1.30 make all the fuzz, very easy to enjoy for orchestral lovers without resorting to bombastic music all the same. The main theme at the end of the score sounds so much more then in the begin and its noble but beautiful color expands the line in 'Safe Haven / Honor Call', finishing it with a breeze. The rest mingles a bit Texan style (harmonica version of the main theme in track 20), with soldier marches (drums in many tracks) and basically it all stays good to listen to, just the highlights spring to mind, with the amazing orchestral theme in 'The Army Advances' tipping the mountain. Together with Class of '61, In Pursuit of Honor is a wonderful addition to the John Debney cannon of soundtracks, having more then most of the Television films and simply the themes and performances of them are enough for a recommendation on my part. I didn't write a two score review (as I do with most of the double score releases on 1 CD), because these 2 scores fit so well together, they make 1 whole of the listening experience and therefore impression. And even though In Pursuit of Honor has the highlights, the noble soft attitude of Class of '61 easily is as strong as the next one, making 1 excellent present for loyal Debney fans!

Class of '61: ***
In Pursuit of Honor: ****

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Tracks

Single Disc

Class of '61

1. Main Theme (1.30)

2. Saying Goodbye (0.59)

3. Simple Dignity (1.08)

4. "Steal Away" (spiritual) (1.11)

5. 1st Regiment / Fallen Hero (2.26)

6. Two Old Friends (1.58)

7. The Battle (1.48)

8. An Irish Girl (0.58)

9. Oh Shannon (1.00)

10. For Honor And Glory (1.52)

11. "Where You Go, I Follow" (2.01)

12. To Fallen Comrades (1.46)

Total Length: 18.37

In Pursuit of Honor

13. Main Theme (3.01)

14. The Horses (2.58)

15. "Of Honor, Of Truth" (3.04)

16. Fateful Decision (1.06)

17. The Pit (4.38) Excellent Track

18. The Price Of Honor (1.11)

19. The Army Advances (2.17) Excellent Track

20. Campfire (1.56)

21. Signals (1.28)

22. Shooting The Horse (1.27)

23. The Journey (3.13) Excellent Track

24. Chase Through Dry Gulch (2.47)

25. Death Of A Soldier (1.08)

26. To Canada (1.34)

27. Flags (2.49) Excellent Track

28. "It's Time!" (1.11)

29. The Running (3.48) Excellent Track

30. Safe Haven / Honor Call (4.31) Excellent Track

Total Length: 44:07

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=== Link to Composer Site: John Debney ===