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.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download