The Great Fantasy Adventure Album

Miklos Rozsa (Composer), John [Film Composer] Williams (Composer), Recorded Sound (Composer), Michael Kamen (Composer), Patrick Doyle (Composer), James Horner (Composer), Bernard Herrmann (Composer), Alan Silvestri (Composer), Laurence Rosenthal (Composer), Danny Elfman (Composer), Jerry Goldsmith (Composer), Mark Knopfler (Composer), Lee Holdridge (Composer), Basil Poledouris (Composer), Brad Fiedel (Composer), Erich Kunzel (Conductor), Cincinnati Pops Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
• Conductor: Erich Kunzel
• Composer: Miklos Rozsa, John [Film Composer] Williams, Recorded Sound, Michael Kamen, Patrick Doyle, et al.
• Audio CD (April 26, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B000003CZH
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,813 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Fanfare and Entry of the Nobles

2. Main Themes

3. T. Rex

4. Main Themes

5. Splitting Hairs

6. Main Titles

7. Opening and Closing Titles

8. Main Themes

9. Overture

10. End Titles

11. Main Titles, Love Theme and End Titles

12. To the Rescue and End Titles

13. Main Titles

14. Main Titles

15. Main Titles

16. Main Titles

17. Anvil of Crom

18. Hymn to Red October

19. Cybergenesis

20. Theme

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Only Demonstration Disc You'll Ever Need, June 9, 2006

By 

DAK (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Fantasy Adventure Album (Audio CD)

Well, I suppose that depends on the type of music you're testing your equipment for. However, go to almost any online discussion of audio equipment, particularly subwoofers, and you'll come across this disc. Sure, most of the other reviewers mention the sound effects in less than glowing terms. It remains though that this disc contains some of the crazy lowest signals one can buy on disc. The T rex footsteps shake the entire house despite being below my hearing range with my Martin Logan Descent sub. Incredible stuff. And the glass shattering sound effects in the Terminator theme can melt your tweeters too if turned up too loud. Don't take yourself too seriously for a few minutes and enjoy the noise!
Beyond that, musically this is one of the Cincinatti Pops' finest soundtrack collections. Perhaps the best. Almost all of their recordings are sonically of the highest quality (Copland: Music of America won a Grammy for best engineering), but all too often in recent years the releases have not met the standard of this album. Arrangers that don't begin to care what the composer's intent was or tacking on pre-fab endings are the worst offenders, but most of the selections here meet or exceed the quality of the original soundtracks. All around, a great soundtrack collection.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blows Away All Other Such Compilations!, April 2, 2003

By 

Reginald D. Garrard "the G-man" (Camilla, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Fantasy Adventure Album (Audio CD)

"Caution: Digital Sound Effects of high levels with intrasonic frequencies to 5 Hz. Please establish safe playback levels before playing tracks [3], [5], [19], [20], and [21]. Excessive playback levels could result in damage to equipment."

The above quote is found prominantly on the back cover and is a warning not to be taken lightly. The respective tracks are awesome and should be played, as well as listened to, with great care.

A 20-bit digital recording that is perfect for surround-sound systems, "The Great Fantasy Adventure Album" is a wonder for fans of the sci-fi/fantasy film genre. Highlighting some truly landmark films, the 1994 release showcases compositions from the legends of past and contemporary film scoring. Themes from the likes of Rosza, Williams, Horner, Herrmann, and Elfman are grandiosely featured here.

The best cuts are Goldsmith's "Total Recall: Main Title", "Conan the Barbarian: Anvil of Crom" (Poledouris), and Brad Fiedel's "Terminator: Theme".

Upon hearing this trio, chills will not just go up the spine but will permeate every ounce of one's body

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Collection of Diverse Themes from the Fantasy Genre, November 30, 2008

By 

musicmanblue1975 (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Fantasy Adventure Album (Audio CD)

I bought this album several years ago and continue to enjoy it to this day. The recording is professional and the orchestra is quite good. My only complaint is that I don't care for the stylistic changes effected by the arranger for some of the themes. The most notable example of this can be found in 'The Anvil of Crom' (theme from Conan the Barbarian) where the music is too fast, too crisp, and has a completely altered (and rather trite) ending that falls flat compared to Basil Poledouris' original composition for the film. But with that caveat aside, I would recommend this album to anyone who enjoys fantasy adventure music who doesn't have the $$$ to buy each and every soundtrack album separately.

WARNING: The sound effects tracks are UNBELIEVABLY LOUD. They will ruin your ears and your speakers. Proceed with caution if you choose to play them...