For over a decade, Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops have been recording music of all kinds --from classical to jazz, gospel to big band, Christmas carols to film music. As Filmtracks' January, 1997, Theme of the Month, we'd like to show our appreciation for these magnificent artists. Their contributions to the recording of film music have been overwhelming, with compilations featuring selections from over one-hundred film scores. These compiled performances are a treasure still to be discovered by soundtrack fans of all types.

Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops, under the Telarc label, have recorded tracks from a very diverse field of scores. Their most famous albums include such titles as Star Wars, The Ten Commandments, The Hunt for Red October, El Cid, Jurassic Park, Ben-Hur, Star Trek, The Wild Bunch, Willow, and the James Bond films. Mixed in with solid, fully orchestral performances of these tracks are special treats for the listener. Vocal appearances, such as Gene Autry in a western collection and Leonard Nimoy in a Star Trek collection, are sprinkled about the releases. Also, a unique trademark of Kunzel CDs are the innovative and sometimes mind-boggling special sound effects that carry the theme of the albums.

As part of this special tribute, Filmtracks will present an introduction to many of the Kunzel/Cincinnati Pops CDs, provide a biography of Erich Kunzel, and hopefully spark some interest in these wonderful releases. Reviews will be provided for most albums (although most of them are excellent!). You can obtain even more information about each individual release -including releases unrelated to film music- from the official Telarc website.

• A biography of Erich Kunzel and his association with the Cincinnati Pops.
• The official site of Telarc, the company that produces these CDs.
• Reviews, information, and track listings: (sound effects are in red)

  • Star Tracks I and Star Tracks II: Star Wars Trilogy, Star Trek II, III, and IV, Back to the Future, E.T, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Right Stuff, Superman, Cocoon, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
    
  • The Magical Music of Disney: The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.
    
  • Symphonic Star Trek: Star Trek I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII - Next Generation - Voyager - DS9.
    
  • Round-Up and Happy Trails (Round-Up 2): The Magnificent Seven, Gunfight at the OK Corrall, High Noon, Silverado, The Wild Bunch, Lonesome Dove, Giant, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
    
  • Movie Love Themes: Ghost, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Flashdance, Dick Tracy, Cousins, The Deer Hunter, On Golden Pond.
    
  • The Great Fantasy Adventure Album: Jurassic Park, Willow, The Hunt for Red October, Total Recall, Beetlejuice, The Abyss, Hook, The Princess Bride, Henry V, Clash of the Titans, El Cid, The Rocketeer.
    
  • Fantastic Journey: Batman, Star Wars, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Last Starfighter, Poltergeist, Star Trek V, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Black Hole, The Beastmaster.
    
  • Victory at Sea and Hollywood's Greatest Hits II: Victory at Sea, War and Remeberance, Casablanca, The Battle of Brittain, The Longest Day, Dances with Wolves, Ben-Hur, Sparticus, The Godfather, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
    
  • Bond and Beyond: Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, The Untouchables, Rambo, Dick Tracy, Leathal Weapon, Darkman.
    
  • Chiller: Psycho, Poltergeist, The Twilight Zone, Sleuth, Peer Gynt, The Phantom of the Opera (broadway).
    

• Other Kunzel/Cincinnati Pops film music releases.
  
• A tribute to the Sound Effects on these releases (includes a list of all effects, and reviews of the best).

You're the 17,720th person to view this page.