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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you want a fantastic performance of a suite from She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and some of the remaining selections are of interest to you. Avoid it... if you conversely lack interest in the highly varied and somewhat unpredictable series of inclusions. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Lonesome Dove: Classic Western Film Scores II: (Compilation) The Silva Screen Records label released two Western-themed compilations in 1996 as part of their continued push to become a force in the film music re-recording business. Silva had just begun to contract the City of Prague Philharmonic a few years earlier for these performances of well-known score themes, and during these years of trial & error discovery, the quality of the performances varied significantly. After 2000, the City of Prague Philharmonic rarely produced substandard recordings with abundant blatant mistakes, but the compilations of their renderings in the mid-1990's often require a bit more scrutiny. While many of these recordings would be recycled on other Silva compilations, there were occasional circumstances in which the group would take a second attempt at a piece. Some of the original attempts can still be heard on these compilations of the mid-1990's, and in light of the lengthy history that Silva has had of improving their compilations over the years, keep in mind that these older albums have an inherent disadvantage. This "Classic Western Film Scores II" product followed a compilation of similar scores from Silva earlier in 1996. That first album had a more expected lineup of selections (given popular expectations), which is why, by default, the second album is a bit more interesting to film score collectors who have likely heard the usual round of classics all too often. The second installment begins with its title piece, Lonesome Dove, the famous 1992 television series for which Basil Poledouris' pastoral score would receive considerable praise. A lengthy suite of the score's major themes is finished by a performance of the humorous, rhythmic motif that would shine in Quigley Down Under. The following two cues from Heaven's Gate are probably worthy inclusions, but David Mansfield's minimalistic score is far too Southern European in sound to really fit with the surrounding pieces. It's one of those scores, especially in the adaptations of traditional dance pieces, that has to be appreciated in its own context to be tolerable. The following suite of music from Old Gringo is intriguing in its arrangement. Lee Holdridge's usual orchestrator has rearranged the "Finale" from the film into a suite that includes the "Tres Pelonas" source cue that Holdridge had used in the film. The arrangement may seem a bit awkward, but given that the performers in Prague seem to have missed the lush touch that the original featured, the original recording would have benefited from such an arrangement. For those of you who can't get enough of that stereotypical Western sound, the next two tracks are for you. Elmer Bernstein's The Sons of Katie Elder picks up right where The Magnificent Seven left off, and Western veteran Jerome Moross' The Proud Rebel stirs the same adventurous pot. Maurice Jarre's usual spinoff Western style from The Professionals is expanded upon in the percussion section for El Condor. The highlight of the album for many listeners back in 1996 was the inclusion of over seven minutes from Richard Hagerman's She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, a score that had not been released on CD at the time. The performers in Prague were top notch for this suite, leading the U.S. Cavalry with an outstanding job given by the brass section. Even the sound quality seems to stand out as superior in this cue. After a somewhat mundane rhythmic piece from Manos Hadjidakis' 1968 Blue score, we hear a more spirited selection from Dimitri Tiomkin's Red River; in "River Crossing," a banjo joins the ensemble in the triumphant rendition of the famous theme. In pure Morricone style, Dominic Frontiere's Hang 'Em High lurches along with pastiche, with notable trumpet solos here (open and muted) that are mixed very well. A lengthy suite from Jarre's Red Sun was arranged by the composer himself and is easier on the ears than the previous two Jarre selections in this Silva series. Jerry Fielding's obnoxious, militaristic marches from The Outlaw Josey Wales end the album in a rude note, but it doesn't stop the product from being an interesting and worthy collection. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the two Western compilations from Silva in 1996 was the relative lack of Jerry Goldsmith and John Barry material, especially given the recording group's success in performing their scores throughout the years. Overall, this album could be worth your money for the fantastic suite from She Wore a Yellow Ribbon alone. ***
The insert includes extensive information about the scores and films. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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