Best Of The West: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtracks (Anthology)

.com It's a brave compilation that bookends its contents with two of the greatest main titles in the western canon--Jerome Moross's soaring score to The Big Country and The Magnificent Seven, Elmer Bernstein's Oscar-winning triumph. But it's also a compilation that ultimately falls short by failing to live up to the ridiculously high standards those masterworks set. Admirably, Rykodisc has steered mostly clear of the tried-and-true on this collection of MGM/UA-released western music. With the exception of Dominic Frontiere's familiar Morricone ripoff, Hang 'Em High (Clint Eastwood's first American star-vehicle), most of the other themes (The Scalphunters, Young Billy Young, Return of a Man Called Horse) will be unfamiliar to casual listeners. Sadly, with exceptions like the revealing overture to The Wonderful Country, they don't offer enough to recommend. A dip into United Artists' rich crazy-quilt collection of spaghetti western scores might be a more rewarding endeavor for Rykodisc next time around. --Jerry McCulley From the Label The Rykodisc and MGM co-venture to produce, launch and promote a new series of high quality original soundtracks continues with a new compilation: BEST OF THE WEST, MGM Soundtracks Presents Great Western Movie Themes (RCD/RAC 10721) from the legendary library of United Artists Pictures, now a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.The very first narrative film, THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY, was a Western, and since then legions of loyal fans have remained enchanted by the genre. But imagine a silent gallop through a gorgeous Texan plain, or a shoot-out without the appropriate musical crescendo to keep the adrenaline rushing. The glory of the Western film was made even more glorious by the powerful music that nearly always accompanied it. Indeed, some of cinema's most memorable compositions have emerged from the scores of Western movies. The compilation includes tunes from adventures, revenge melodramas, psychological studies, even comic romps, all bearing the unmistakable sound of the open frontier. C'mon and saddle up your horse for a journey that celebrates some of the most classic Western themes ever written!

Great Western Movie Themes: Best Of The West Soundtrack