Double Feature: The Dirty Dozen (1967 Film) / Dirty Dingus Magee (1970 Film) [Original recording remastered, Import]

Jeff Alexander, Chapter III Classics (Series), Frank DeVol | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 25, 2000)
• Original Release Date: July 25, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered, Import
• Label: Chapter III Records
• ASIN: B00004U060
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,161 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Main Title

2. Building the Barracks

3. The Battle Begins

4. Girls of the Evening

5. The Dirty Dozen

6. Erinsam

7. Mission Accomplished

8. The Bramble Bush

9. Col. Breed's Folly

10. The Sham Battle

11. The Chateau

12. Switch-Hitters

13. Finale & End Title

14. Rip Snortin' (Main Title)

15. The Rounders

16. Strum

17. A Very Square Dance

18. Indian Made

19. Trouble at Yerkey's Hole

20. Dirty Dingus Magee

See all 26 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Hard to believe, but the composer of the driving, action-packed score to Robert Aldrich's World War II-themed hit, The Dirty Dozen, is the same Frank DeVol responsible for such bubbly TV fare as Family Affair and My Three Sons. The composer's light, playful touch can be felt throughout the Dozen score, too, giving the adventure and dramatic action a welcome human dimension. Jeff Alexander has a comparably eclectic résumé, having scored Elvis films, worked with Frank Sinatra, served as an arranger on Singin' in the Rain and done a slew of TV work (including a stint alongside DeVol at Family Affair). His efforts here for Burt Kennedy (a director renowned for his masterful comic touch in the Western genre) and the Sinatra-starring romp Dirty Dingus Magee are frequently nothing short of an open comic delight, a lighthearted lampoon of hoary clichés. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Two good comic scores; missing material from earlier releases, January 11, 2008

By 

Scott Andrew Hutchins (Bronx, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Double Feature: The Dirty Dozen (1967 Film) / Dirty Dingus Magee (1970 Film) (Audio CD)

I hadn't seen The Dirty Dozen, but I found DeVol's lighthearted score delightful and perfectly fitting with its companion in more than just title. I have Jeff Alexander's Dirty Dingus Magee on a cassette that became sun-damaged that I wanted to replace with a CD, and I was disappointed that the two tracks featuring the Mike Curb Congregation have been deleted. Many soundtracks omit material that appeared in the film, and I've seen the film and know this one does, but the original album included both the end title that appeared in the film and an album version of the title song that appears briefly in that track. This material is simply deleted and not even replaced with other material. I realize licensing issues come up, but the song is the basis for much of the score, whereas the two pop songs on The Dirty Dozen, which are included, do not seem to be integral to the score. The last track on the album ends with a conclusion that almost insults the listener in its context of denying us the finale (it ends with low brass notes played with a rubber stopper). On the plus side, relocating the main title to the beginning and more or less laying out the score in film order rather than album order are an improvement that at least indicates some care in what was done.

To add insult to injury, the covers to both albums are identical to their cassette releases, but make no note of the deletion (it might be in the liner notes, which I have only glanced at thus far), although that would not matter so much because I have never seen a copy in a physical store.

I don't want to discourage anyone from buying the album, but it is important to know that it is less complete than previous pre-CD releases.

Jeff Alexander may not be the best known of composers, but he was masterful with the comic western, and seems to have been quite an influences on Roger Miller and George Bruns's work on Disney's Robin Hood. The cassette credits did not note it, but he did not write the title song (by Mack David), which may also account for the omission, but what he did with it is comparable to what Michael Kamen did with Brazil, and the scores mean less without including from where they were derived, much the way Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring would without Simple Gifts.

Since this CD is already discontinued, one can only hope for a better release in the future. At least one other Chapter III soundtrack, Ennio Morricone's Guns for San Sebastian, which I also have on a sun-damaged cassette, has been issued by Film Score Monthly in a complete form, while Chapter III's was only the original album, assuming there were no omissions.