Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #932
Written 10/31/99, Revised 10/21/07
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Buy it... if you're a collector of Alfred Hitchcock's films and are
interested in a superior collection of re-recorded themes and suites
from the scores for those films.
Avoid it... if you are primarily interested in the Bernard Herrmann
cues that dominate the second CD in this set, for they are available
alone on a concurrent set from the same label.
Psycho: The Essential Alfred Hitchcock:
(Compilation) No director has been the subject of as many film music
compilations as Alfred Hitchcock, partly due to his famous collaboration
with Bernard Herrmann during the later and more memorable series of
suspense and horror films that reached their height in the 1960's. The
shelves of record stores were overflowing with albums offering the music
of Alfred Hitchcock films in 1999, and certainly there is overlap
between most of these albums. Some record labels put forth items that
featured original cues both used and unused in the original films, while
others have presented all new re-recordings of the most famous cues.
Even others have offered a combination of the above through the years.
This late 1999 compilation from Silva Screen, titled 'Psycho: The
Essential Alfred Hitchcock,' comes after many of the other entries of
the year and includes fresh re-recordings of a vast amount of material
(over 130 minutes) from many of Hitchcock's films. With the sonic
clarity that always accompanies these Silva compilations, this is a
chance to hear your favorite Hitchcock cues in resounding surround sound
stereo. For astute collectors of Silva products, you'll note immediately
that much of the material on the second CD has been released previously
by the label. All of the selections by Bernard Herrmann can be heard on
the Herrmann-only compilation by Silva earlier in the year; the tracks
on both products feature the exact same performances. Working against
some of the Herrmann material, as good as it is, is the fact that so
many film music collectors have heard so many different renditions of
the "Hitchcock/Herrmann" variety of scores that they potentially become
tedious. The exceptions to this tendency are the Vertigo cues,
which are difficult to neglect under any circumstance, and Herrmann's
rejected suite of material from Torn Curtain, which is always an
fascinating study for those interested in how the composer's
unwillingness to conform to studio expectations brought the famed
collaboration to an abrupt halt.
The John Williams' selection from
Family Plot,
with its haunting choral elements, can also be heard on the
Williams-only compilation from Silva, much like the Herrmann one. This
leaves the only new highlight of the second CD to be Ron Goodwin's
"London Theme" from
Frenzy, a deceptively upbeat and hearty
piece. On the other hand, the first CD is where the true beauty of this
compilation is revealed. Featuring new performances by the City of
Prague Philharmonic for almost all of the selections, this CD offers an
opportunity to enjoy the grand and epic styles that blessed so many of
Hitchcock's Golden Age films. His collaborations with Franz Waxman,
Miklós Rózsa, and others well grounded in the studios at
the time led to a series of films that each boasts a fully energized and
elegant prelude cue. From Rózsa's classically complex
Spellbound to the warm grandeur of
The Lady Vanishes, the
first CD is a masterful collection of strong cues. The re-arrangement of
Louis Levy and Charles Williams' title theme for
The Lady
Vanishes into a concerto with a gorgeous rolling piano makes for a
truly remarkable piece and the highlight of the entire set. Only Dimitri
Tiomkin's rather stale two entries at the end of the first CD hinders
its listenability. Important to note is that Silva Screen offered
performances of roughly the same material on two volumes back in the
early 1990's, and these albums featured older performances that were a
bit sketchy in quality. For this 1999 set, there have been some vastly
improved, new re-recordings. Inevitably, there are still some flubs here
and there, particularly in the brass section, but they don't come at
crucial times during the best tracks (and you have to expect some of
that with Herrmann's more complicated works). If you're looking for the
best compilation of original recordings of the music from the same
collection of films, investigate the "Signatures in Suspense" album
produced by the Hip-O label earlier in 1999. However, if you seek the
same music for Hitchcock films performed by a large ensemble in
impressive surround sound, this 2-CD album is recommended above all
others.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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