I've just kind of "burned out" on newer soundtracks. While looking around, I picked up two scores from the 60's: Patton/Tora! Tora! Tora! & The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. I was floored by both. Listening to samples of some Bernstein scores, and a little bit of Rosza...I realize that my burn out is over. So, I was wondering what are some REALLY good "Golden Age" scores? I have no knowledge of any of the composers from this time. I know names, but filmography is scarce. Thanks a lot ! I had no idea there was this much amazing stuff out there...phew...

I'd suggest Rozsa's Ben Hur. (Many feel this may be the finest score ever composed.) Try his El Cid and King of Kings.

Two that almost everyone enjoys are Bernstein's Magnificent Seven and Moross' A Big Country. They will truly "blow you away." I always suggest you rent the movies first to hear the scores as we all have different tastes.

Well-made compilations used to be made for soundtrack recordings, as opposed to the mostly-lousy ones done today, and they give you great music in a format that allows you to broaden your scope immediattely. Some of these are:

The two John Wayne compilations released by Varese Sarabande -- music by Bernstein -- which are sensational; "Great British Film Scores" conducted by Herrmann has some exquisite music in a different style from American music. Every second is classy and beautifully composed; The Bernard Herrmann-conducted London CD with his "Jane Eyre" -- not the Marco Polo re-recording; David Raksin's "The Bad And The Beautiful" -- the RCA version that also has "Laura" and "Forever Amber." What a sensational recording of some exceptional music, the quality of which very few modern film composers could come close to conceiving, let alone executing; "Creature From The Black Lagoon (and other jungle pictures) by Monstrous Movie Music.

More works devoted to a single film include: Bernstein's "Hawaii" on Varese, "The Magnificent Seven" (original tracks); the "X" label (or is it Southern Cross?) re-recording of Friedhofer's "The Best Years Of Our Lives" (and rent the tilm -- one of the greatest in the history of Hollywood); Goldsmith's "Star Trek" and "Under Fire"; Korngold's "Kings Row"; lots of Mancini discs, although there have been very few compilations that showcase his tremendous underscoring capabilities as opposed to his "lighter" fare; the Moross "Big Country," but I prefer the original mono tracks to the Silva re-recording; Rozsa's "Ivanhoe" (the Intrada re-recording); FMC's "Knights Of The Round Table," "Providence" on DRG; "Time After Time" on Southern Cross; "Jungle Book/Thief Of Baghdad" on Varese and then on a German label; Salter's "House Of Frankenstein" on Marco Polo; John Scott's "Antony And Cleopatra" on his JOS label; Max Steiner's "King Kong" -- either the Marco Polo re-recording or the Fred Steiner "re-recording" (different animals, but both landmark releases; Leith Stevens' "Destination Moon" on Citadel; Tiomkin's "Lost Horizon" on BYU's label; Waxman's "Taras Bulba"; Herrmann's "The Ghost And Mrs. Muir" (either version); the glorious Rozsa "Ben-Hur" box-set; "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Elmer Bernstein, although the best version if the one he recoded in '75 or so -- not on CD yet, and many, many more.

These aren't just suggestions from somebody pushing his own personal taste -- almost all of these are widely considered to be landmark scores and presentations, and I think you'll be blown away by all the superb music you had no idea existed. Just don't make the mistake of buying lousy versions of these scores and thinking it's the MUSIC that's bad. I didn't want to trash the bad ones, but there are plenty of them -- many failing from the standpoint of presentation, whether it's poorly mastered original tapes or poorly-presented re-recordings. I tried to list releases that are ones it will be tough finding fault with -- unless it turns out you really hate well-conceived, composed, and orchestrated dramatic film music!

Oh, and my 'now playing' is an absolute classic as well...

You might want to wait until September (November?) for Hood though, as that's when I think Marco Polo's new recording (by Morgan & Stromberg) will be released, as well as the DVD with iso score.

In particular:

Jason and the Argonauts
Vertigo
North by Northwest
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Psycho

Just a few... but you can't go wrong with whatever you find.

PS
you ain't a real member of the movie music priesthood unless you know your Golden Age; get crackin' boy

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PS
you ain't a real member of the movie music priesthood unless you know your Golden Age; get crackin' boy

I also looked into The Great Escape by Bernstein. I was almost as blown away as I was with the Mag7.

Also, Henry Mancini has REALLY piqued my interest after watching "Return Of The Pink Panther" this morning.

NP-Back To The Future (Silvestri)

As mentioned earlier, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is fantastic, but it took a while to grow on me. I like the original 1947 tracks a bit more than the out of print re-recording of this score. Also try out the Herrmann compilation on Sony Classical in addition to the Gerhardt disc mentioned earlier, though the latter disc may be fairly hard to find these days. North by Northwest is great, too. I have some issues with the sound quality on this album, but for the most part it doesn't prevent me from enjoying the score.

NP: Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (Herrmann)

Some consider Herrmann an acquired taste, and I think for many of us the appreciation came in bits and pieces... No harm in checking him out, though! You could hardly do better than to go through the Silver Age and Golden Age releases over at FSM for some great ideas.

Like I said, re-add it!

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quote:

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Originally posted by Howard L:
Hey Dana, should we dare add a masterpiece like Mr. Freidhofer's [b]The Best Years Of Our Lives to the list?

...re-recording of Friedhofer's "The Best Years Of Our Lives" (and rent the tilm -- one of the greatest in the history of Hollywood)...

Like I said, re-add it!

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[Message edited by Howard L on 07-22-2003][/B]

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Yes, NORTH BY NORTHWEST by Herrmann is a great suggestion. VERTIGO as well. Some of the others appeal to genre lovers, and I'd recommend them only after somebody became a Herrmann freak, which anyone with good ears should eventually become.

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS is an acquired taste, I'm afraid. It has so many quotes from so many sources that it's not as rewarding to me as, say, Steiner's GONE WITH THE WIND, which also quotes from other sources but the sheer number of memorable themes is incredible, as well as how they're developed. The Steiner disc by Gerhardt is a great introduction to the composer, and the newbie can go from there.

As much as I love Alex North, he's really not for the beginner. SPARTACUS is probably one of his more accessible scores, and it's a fabulous work. I think CLEOPATRA is for those already accustomed to the sounds of North. He's one of the giants, but face it -- not everybody loves him.

I find the four Varese discs of Waxman music to be a wasted opportunity. No dynamics in the orchestra, and very muddily recorded. It sounds like one big four-hour orchestral swash. Compare the sound of these discs to the Gerhardt disc -- NO COMPARISON!
Similarly, THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN is okay, but it's NOTHING like the original score. It lacks the vitality of the original and sounds bloated to me. If you're a fan of the original film, you might be disappointed. I recommend Silva's Hammer re-recording of James Bernard music over THE BRIDE. And Silva's THE VALLEY OF GWANGI is a great album as well, and a good introduction to Moross, if you actually need an introduction after hearing THE BIG COUNTRY. GWANGI isn't always faithful to the original, but the spirit is there, and that's what made the Gerhardt discs so fabulous -- the energy and enthusiasm and love for the music just blasts forth on every track.

>>>What?! There were really film composers before Hans Zimmer?

Yes, and they actually studied music from the masters and were steeped in all sorts of culture -- not just raised on television -- one reason why their scores have lasted 60 years and Zimmer will be a quaint footnote in film music history 20 years from now.

The Academy's ignorance in this area was displayed in fine form when Elmer Bernstein won for "Thoroughly Modern Millie" -- everybody thought he wrote the song! While Young DID write the song in ATWIED, it still doesn't make it a great score. And Young probably also won because he had recently died. The Academy loves awarding people when it's too late.

Time has shown it was NOT a great film -- it's one of the worst "Best Pictures" ever made. And it wasn't a fabulous score. Young wrote many scores better than that one. The film scores nominated that year were rather weak, although if I had voted I would have gone for Tiomkin's "Giant."

If you love the score, that's fine, but to many of us who have almost every recording of every Golden Age score ever released, this score just rarely gets played. I know because it's been a topic of conversation that has come up in the past. It's good score with a lot of really boring spots, unlike Rozsa's equally-long "Ben-Hur," which is non-stop inspiration.

Had it not been for the popularity of the film itself and the fact that the pop song was recorded by everybody, the score wouldn't have been held in as high regard as it was at the time. There are not many people today clamoring for a re-recording or a longer release (the tracks for a two-CD set do exist). That doesn't mean that some people don't like the score, such as Howard, but I'm afraid many Golden Age fans don't consider it as brilliant as he does.

That doesn't mean that some people don't like the score, such as Howard, but I'm afraid many Golden Age fans don't consider it as brilliant as he does.

Please note that my original entry specifically refers to "stand alone soundtrack". The score vis-a-vis film is irrelevant within this context.

...unlike Rozsa's equally-long "Ben-Hur," which is non-stop inspiration.

Great film, great score, great stand alone soundtrack IMHO. But again, irrelevant.

You need not justify your dislike, taste is not at issue and we all know it's a subjective thing. And I'm sure others have another that they consider the finest stand alone soundtrack. My latest response merely challenged a statement you made concerning musical quotes.

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Audacity

Have you listened to the expanded version of the score and not the re-recording of the score from the MCA album re-release?

It is a revelation. Very nice score.

I would agree that it probably isn't his best, but it's still damn good.

I would second the recommendations of many of the above, but I would put a special word in for the Gerhardt recordings. Not only do they expose you to a large number of different Golden Age composers and scores through extremely well recorded and performed (for the most part), but even if every score was available as a full release, these compilations are worth owning for their own merit.

These recordings re-introduced the Golden Age to a whole new audience in the 70’s. In a world before home video, many of the scores and pictures had not been heard or seen in decades. The Gerhardt recordings were a wake up call for a whole new generation of film score fans to cast their nets further back for treasure. Many of the Golden Ager’s who are avid fans cut their teeth on these records. In fact, these releases sparked renewed interest in film scores, period. I don’t think it is going too far to say that the film score world would be very different without these landmark recordings.

Here a few highlights and personal favorites from the series:

The Caine Mutiny March – A rousing martial piece that shows Max Steiner at his best. His gift for melody is clear and despite aspersions about “drippiness” it is crisp and well executed. Much better than the silva re-recording which has some sour notes and forsakes the tempo.

The Thing Suite – Only music available from this landmark SF film, it shows Tiomkin working in unfamiliar territory with eerie otherworldly strains that show Herrmann was not the only one who could work with a Theremin.

All About Eve - A nicely preformed version of the Main Title. The FSM release does release the original tracks, but the verve that is in this version is well worth hearing. One of the better Newman performed recordings from Mr. Gerhardt.

Beneath the 12 Mile Reef - A revelation. What a great score and Herrmann’s use of harps to evoke water is masterful. Perhaps eclipsed by the FSM release of the score, this is fun and involving version.

Casablanca - The Classic Film Scores for Humphrey Bogart - I love almost every piece on this CD. Casablanca, The Big Sleep, Sabrina, just too many to name. Masterfully performed and catches the essences that made the Golden Age scores so distinctive.

Some of them may be difficult to track down (Tiomkin’s disc is particularly difficult) but are well worth it. Here is a list of the titles:

The Sea Hawk - Classic Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
Now, Voyager - Classic Film Scores of Max Steiner
Citizen Kane - Classic Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann
Casablanca - The Classic Film Scores for Humphrey Bogart
Captain Blood - Classic Film Scores for Errol Flynn
Classic Film Scores - Max Steiner's Gone With The Wind
Captain From Castile - Classic Film Scores of Alfred Newmann
Spellbound - The Classic Film Scores of Miklós Rózsa
Classic Film Scores for Bette Davis
Elizabeth and Essex - The Classic Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Lost Horizon - The Classic Film Scores Of Dimitri Tiomkin
The Spectacular World of Classic Film Scores

Here is a link that talks about each release in depth:
http://classicalcdreview.com/cfs.htm

The Magnificent Seven
The Great Escape
Vertigo
North By Northwest

I'm REALLY looking forward to the mentioned Bernstein titles. The clips I heard really blew me away. Vertigo and North By Northwest seem to be much different than the other two, but its Herrmann and I've not heard a single note of his music outside of the Psycho and Vertigo films themselves. After that, I'll go back to the Gerdhart re-recordings.

But, if it counts, I give a giant yell for the late Ron Grainer's The Omega Man.

"...AND I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT!!!!!"

quote:

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Originally posted by justin boggan:
North By Northwest isn't that impressive.

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Not...sure...what...to...say....

I think that North by Northwest is probably one of Herrmann's most accessible scores. I'm basing that opinion on my personal experience, since it's a score that didn't take much time to "warm up to" at all.

What would be "impressive" music, Justin? "CHiPs?"

NP: You Only Live Twice (or so it seems...)

P.S. As much as I love it, The Omega Man (1971) is not "golden age" music.

A quick listen to the opening credits for North by Northwest will tell you what you need to know about that score. It will tell you that it is simply awesome and one of Herrmann’s best.

I have read a few reviews that mention that the sound on the CD is not as good as the isolated score on the DVD, but I haven’t compared them. The CD sounds very good to these ears.

Ron Grainer’s score for the Omega Man is pretty hard to find at a reasonable price. So good luck if your tastes run that way. I have to confess, that I don’t get the attraction. It’s not bad, but it didn’t inspire me the way it does others. I may put it in for another spin and try again. Oh well, each to his own, said the lady as she kissed the cow!

When you get some of the Gerhardt, let us know if you liked it or not.

quote:

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Originally posted by MWRuger:
I have read a few reviews that mention that the sound on the CD is not as good as the isolated score on the DVD, but I haven’t compared them. The CD sounds very good to these ears.

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I've spent some time examining the isolated score on the DVD and the two tracks with the most improved sound quality are the "Overture" and "The Wild Ride." I think "The Knife" actually sounds better on CD than it does on the DVD. I don't remember any significant difference in sound quality for any of the other tracks. The DVD isolated score track unfortunately also has some repeated or deleted measures and other fairly minor edits not on the soundtrack album but heard in the film. The isolated score fails to include any of the source music, such as Andre Previn's "Fashion Show."

Even with the audio issues, I still think the Rhino CD is probably the best listen.

How somebody who is supposed to be a film music fan can say something like that is beyond me. It's a dazzling score -- one of Herrmann's best. And Herrmann was quite simply one of the greatest (if not the greatest) musical-dramatists of the last century. I would love to know what scores the poster considers "impressive." I have a feeling I wouldn't be able to tolerate listening to more than five seconds of any of them...

I will give North By Northwest a second shot tonight, maybe I was hasty.

"CHiPs" is some of the best tv music I have ever heard.

What is impressive? JAWS, Star Trek 2 and others, I won't bore you.

quote:

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Originally posted by Howard L:
And then there's the old standby, M. Steiner's [b]Gone With The Wind. Talk about 'fundamental', how many individual themes could one composer create. Whew! Caught a good portion the other night on TCM; incredible print and the music never sounded greater. [/B]

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Thank you for mentioning this incredible score, Howard. For its naysayers, yes it's true, the song "My Own True Love" (Mack David's 1954 lyricized version of "Tara's Theme") was recorded and played ad nauseum in the 50's, that Civil War era music was incorporated into the score, that a few cues were written by Hugo Friedhofer and a few more were taken from library stock... And YET -- never was a film so lushly carpeted from wall to wall by lovely music, with seemingly dozens of themes (most of them Steiner originals, clever and immensely "hummable") that give so much life and warmth to the story and its characters. I was turned off to the score in my youth courtesy of the thinly orchestrated LP-length Muir Mathieson suite, but years later transformed into a fan by Charles Gerhardt's RCA rerecording of score highlights. It is because of that recording that I can listen to the Rhino OST restoration and truly appreciate the quality of the score, despite the sound difficulties inherent in the 60+ year old tapes. There are few better-scored films in the history of talkies (IMHO, of course).

I'm with you all the way on AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, by the way -- a great score that stands on its own far better than many. Victor Young's score and the popularity of the theme had a lot to do with the "event" quality of the film. If the film itself was not necessarily a transcendent work of art, it was unquestionably well served, indeed lifted, by its musical score. More than that, no film maker can ask of a composer.