Max Steiner Albums (6)
What The Critics Say
John Ford's 1956 western The Searchers, starring John Wayne, was eventually recognized as a classic of American cinema, as well as one that was very influential on subsequent generations of successful directors. Yet as Christopher Evans points out in his liner notes to the 2007 CD of this soundtrack on El Records, "of all the factors in that success which have been tirelessly analyzed by filmmakers, critics, and academics, one has remained relatively unsung: the score by Max Steiner." The original score is on this 68-minute disc, unobscured by dialogue or other incidental non-musical noise from the movie. In common with some other scores for major pictures, this isn't as impressive on its own as it is when paired with celluloid images, but there's plenty of tension in both the passages accompanying battle scenes and the ones underscoring dramas taking place between the characters. In keeping with the ambivalent tone of the film -- in which there were some unsavory undercurrents to Wayne's apparently heroic quest to save a niece from the clutches of Native Americans -- it's darker than the typical western soundtrack, and less focused on amplifying grand charges than helping set the pace for a journey that's both epic and uneasy. The main reason this CD doesn't get a higher rating is that the sound quality doesn't seem quite like it was taken from the original or best source. Perhaps such a source was not available, but the fidelity is only good, not great. Still, for serious fans and students of the film, it's an important release, allowing listeners to hear the music fully under its own power, rather than as background to onscreen action. And while it's mostly instrumental, there are a few vocal harmony cowboy ballads serving as the main themes that are undoubtedly the highlights, as well as being songs that could be appreciated by any general pop music listener, especially in the context of a best-of for American cowboy music. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
'Adventures of Mark Twain'
Release Date 1/1/2004
Tracks 29
Label Naxos
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What The Critics Say
Reconstructed for CD release by John Morgan and performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Max Steiner's score for the 1944 motion picture The Adventures of Mark Twain remains a vivid portrait of the kind of wry, folksy Americana the author virtually defines. Steiner's muscular melodies draw much of their inspiration from Twain's beloved Mississippi River, employing strings and woodwinds to communicate the down-home charms of life on the water. The overall mood is light, with only the gorgeously pensive love theme "The Squirrel-Livy" and the self-explanatory "Sorrow" digging deeper into the author's interior world. Naxos's DVD-Audio 5.1 Surround Sound version is a sonic marvel, but even the standard CD edition sounds wonderful. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Damned if this isn't one of the most gorgeous soundtrack recordings ever released, or that anyone is ever likely to hear -- and it's the first complete edition of Max Steiner's score for A Summer Place, 34 years after the release of the movie. That's downright astonishing when one considers that Steiner's music yielded up that perennial '50s pop instrumental favorite the "Theme From 'A Summer Place'," as arranged and recorded by Percy Faith, which is one of the most profitable copyrights in the Warner Music library. Somehow, the 76 minutes of other music that the aging film music giant authored for the film was never issued until Brigham Young University's Film Music Archives label did it with this CD. So this release has time and importance on its side -- additionally, anyone who has ever seen the movie and knows the aching beauty of the string- and harp-dominated "Sylvia" theme, or the lush "Pine Island" theme (which Steiner originated in the 1940s Bette Davis title A Stolen Life) and how rich the rest of Steiner's score was, will have to own this CD. As with Steiner's classic scores of the 1930s and 1940s, this is film music that is meant to be heard, not merely perceived subliminally -- working in his best late Mahler/Wagner mode, he created an enveloping body of music, richly scored throughout and even including a few surprises in the latter category that are revealed on this CD, such as the presence of a moody clarinet at the core of the "Theme From 'A Summer Place'" in its initial appearance, or an electric guitar on a latter appearance of the theme. The score holds up amazingly well as straight listening, largely due to the sheer diversity of the moods captured and underscored from the script across two hours of screen time -- though some of the shifts can be jarring at times, the whole listening experience is entertaining and fulfilling, Steiner exploring some of the finest melodies of his career in myriad forms and variations. The CD sound is excellent -- the original tapes from the scoring sessions have survived with only minor damage (which has been repaired seamlessly) and were well made to begin with. The fidelity on this CD is, thus, a match for any other body of professionally recorded and properly preserved music from 1959, with lots of depth and presence, and soaring highs -- the ominous piano chords on "Hiding in the Rocks" sound almost like the instrument is in the room. The annotation is extremely thorough, providing a complete pre-production history of the film going back to the birth of original author Sloan Wilson. Indeed, one of the great ironies of this soundtrack is that the music from the film has been treated far better than the movie itself has been treated by Warner Bros., which hasn't released it on DVD as of the start of 2004 and allowed it to be ridiculed in a public screening by American Movie Classics in the late '90s. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
'Young Man with a Horn'
Release Date 3/27/2001
Tracks 16
Label Disconforme
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What The Critics Say
The soundtrack to Michael Curtiz's 1950 film starring Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, and Doris Day is a landmark in the career of Harry James & His Orchestra. The film was a drama loosely based on the life of Bix Beiderbecke -- though not his death -- this one has a redemptive ending, whereas Beiderbecke died from alcoholism at the age of 28. James himself plays all of the trumpet solos here, and he sounds magnificent in the high register. The music is a mix of popular American tunes from both the standards and jazz canons of the 1930s and early 1940s. Here, Sammy Cahn's "Melancholy Rhapsody," shot through with film dialogue, precedes "Chinatown, My Chinatown," "Moaning Low," and is juxtaposed with Harold Arlen's "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues," and Doris Day crooning ever so sweetly on "The Very Thought of You," all in the first five minutes of the disc. The dialogue creates a narrative through the music, and vice versa, and the entire thing swings beautifully. After the soundtrack is played through, the producers clipped on excerpts -- sans dialogue -- as if the cuts from the film were played in earnest by the James band. Yes, it does make for a choppy little ride at first, but the listener quickly becomes accustomed to the drama in the set. The soundtrack factory has done a first-class job of restoring a seminal movie soundtrack to CD, and it stands on its own. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'They Died with Their Boots On'
Release Date 6/22/1999
Tracks 25
Label Marco Polo
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