Customer Reviews

The Power And The Glory: The Original Music & Voices Of NFL Films

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There is no better sport in the world than American football and the NFL is undoubtedly the greatest league on earth. While the Patriots and the concept of "team" have been an incredible story the last few years, The Power and The Glory forcefully reminds us that the NFL peaked in one important area decades ago. The music that was produced in the 1960s for NFL Films' specials surpasses everything we hear today. The CD never lets us forget the golden age of Butkis, Schimdt, and Bart Starr.

There are 36 tracks on the album and the odd ones contain verbal snippets from actual NFL films episodes while the even ones contain the music. I must say the overall effect is stunning.

The voice over tracks let the players, our heroes, talk. Even though I hate the Packers, number 21 is devoted to Lombardi and deservedly so. The same could be said about "Heroes of the 60s" where you hear Dandy Don Meredith give a pep talk before a final drive. At times, it feels like you're practically in the huddle--except you don't get beat up.

What can one say about this music? I listened to it over and over again as a child. I used to run inside early on Sundays just to catch the highlights from the week before, even if it meant putting up with Brent Musberger and Phyllis George for a half hour beforehand. This is fanfare for the vigrous man.

Perhaps the most picturesque tune is "The Final Quest" although "Golden Boy" is a close second. When I heard "Up She Rises" at an Irish bar in 1998, I told somebody that the band stole the song from NFL films. They responded by saying NFL films stole it from Ireland. Well they were right, but what an anthem! The Raiders are the only team with their own composition and this fact is not lost on Al Davis as one can hear it on the television during simulcasts from their stadium.

The Power and Glory is worthy of Graham Greene's title as it symbolizes the nobility of the physical life. It's also one of the few power CDs suitable for the workplace--which is saying a lot.

Most of us football fans have heard, many a time, ESPN's Chris Berman belt out in his best baritone: "LAMBEAU FIELD, THE FROZEN TUNDRA, THE GREEN BAY PACKERS..." Isn't it great? Just like the old NFL films we used to see on TV. Well, forget that! This CD, with the legendary John Facenda, is THE REAL DEAL! Listen to the original voice of the NFL as we all knew it. Watching NFL Films, although still fun, just isn't the same anymore, not since Mr. Facenda passed away. That...and the music. Watching NFL football highlights set to the glorious sounds of that symphony, that was the best! It made NFL football seem like the greatest sports battles of mankind. You might like highly competitive baseball games in the summer. Or you might look forward to the NBA on a lazy Saturday afternoon in March. Others love the excitement of the NHL playoffs or maybe a big boxing match on a Saturday night. However, nothing, I mean NOTHING, comes close to matching the butterflies in your stomach that you get from sitting down in front of the TV on a FOOTBALL SUNDAY in November/December. The other reviews of this CD are correct: There are some great narrations and musical highlights missing here, but don't worry. The 36 tracks included here are more than enough. Some of the tracks that I've been blasting in my car going to work and back are: 1.The Power And The Glory 3.A Season Awaits 4.Round Up 6.The Lineman 11.The Autumn Wind 12.The Raiders 15.A Time For Glory 19.Brahma Bull ... and my two favorites ... 21.Lombardi and 22.The Final Quest (just to let you know, I'm not even a Packers fan). I would recommend more tracks, but I still can't stop listening to the ones I listed. You will not be disappointed.

Listen to this CD before any challenge. The music will make you feel invincible!

I was ecstatic when "Power and the Glory" was released a couple of years ago. I had always wondered if the great music behind NFL Films was available to the public - this answered my question and then some!

If you love NFL Films, this CD is a MUST!!! Containing tunes you've always heard but never knew the names to, e.g., "Up She Rises," "The Pony Soldiers," and "Round Up," to name only a few, "Power and the Glory" stirs up all those emotions you have when watching your favorite team do battle on the gridiron. I think of my team's most memorable plays, and listening to this CD makes those plays come to life in my head clearer than when I witnessed them live!

As great as this CD is, both the music and Mr. Facenda's commentary, it still leaves you craving for more - it's not hard to become addicted to this music!!! Of the many NFL Films musical tunes I've heard over the years, there are scores of them which I consider my favorite that were not on this CD. No doubt, NFL Films is attempting to tease us in hopes of generating enough demand for a volume 2, 3, 4 and so forth. Even after I learned about and acquired the "Music of NFL Films" record albums not too long ago, made in the 1970s, there are STILL more of my favorite tunes that they have never released!

If NFL Films put out a multiple CD set of ALL, yes, every single piece of music ever used for their programs, I would almost guarantee you that all of us NFL Films fans would gobble that set up in no time! The scary part is that we would STILL be craving for more - even with the complete set! NFL Films, and Steve Sabol, if you're reading this, DO US A FAVOR - release ALL your music on a CD collection!!! Create CDs for the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and present. If you have unreleased material - release it!!! You're sitting on a gold mine - feed us that NFL Films Music!!!

Bottom line - this CD is the best, but be forewarned, it will leave you craving for more. Until Mr. Sabol, Tommy Boy records, and the folks at NFL Films release their complete line, you will go through some serious withdrawls - but this music is so awesome that it's worth it!!!

I've always loved the background music in the NFL greatest moments highlight shows on ESPN, but was frustrated that these great tunes were never released as a commercial recording, until recently. It's a sure-fire attention-getter and conversation-starter during the pro season at the comics and sports collectibles shop I work at.

Although I wasn't too keen about the CD's format- half music, half spoken words- the poetic discourses on the game of football by legendary NFL Films narrator John Facenda won me over. His words and the way he says them gives the fan a pretty good idea about what the game's all about.

But what I wanted to hear most from this CD was the music. I recognize and dearly enjoy just about all of the musical tracks, but there's many more that I've heard on those great highlights shows that are absent from this release. This CD contains but a small fraction of the NFL Films soundtrack library. Needless to say, I await Volume 2 with eager anticipation.

`Late...

My wife knows what a football freak I am. Anytime ESPN would run old highlight films with the music of Sam Spence I would talk about the 70s hightlight shows, This is the NFL and the NFL game of the week that I used to watch as a kid and how nostalgic they were for me. This CD brings back all those wonderful memories. When this CD came out my wife went on a mission calling all the music stores to get one and thankfully succeeded. We both love it and cant wait till more music is released. As mentioned on earlier posts some tracks were left out. I suppose that was done on purpose to generate interest for the next CD.....Bring it on!!!!! In addition it would be nice if the soundbites by the coaches and players were identified. Most are recognizable however some bar room trivia disputes would be settled easier with the info included. I am sure police departments and insurance companies like it too. My right foot has a mind of its own while this is on in my car!!!!!!!!

I remember when this album was first advertised on ESPN, all the football fans that I knew rushed to the stores to buy it. Not only that, the album was sold out in every major record store that I went too. The only reason why I didn't give this album 5 stars is because some of the musical selections that were in this album were snipets in the background to Facenda's commentary. But those were some of Spences' best works! But that's okay, because they have just released AUTUMN THUNDER: 40 YEARS OF NFL FILMS MUSIC which has "ALL" of Spences' complete works plus Tom Hedden and a couple of others. If you loved this album (which I did) Autumn Thunder will blow you away!!!!! It might be a little pricey for roughly 90 bucks, but for a 10 CD box set with about 180 songs, IT'S MORE THAN WORTH IT!

When driving to the game on Sunday it is magnificant to listen to the CD. It gets you totally ready to cheer on your team at the game. And when at home listening you feel as if you were at the game. The music brings reminds me of all the NFL footage on TV. When I first listened to this CD I was completely delighted!

This is the greatest CD I ever bought. I feel like I have entered into a time machine and traveled back to the 70's and 80's when these films were still on TV. It reminds me of watching and listening to the great players like Ken "the Snake" Stabler QB of the LA Raiders, Gayle Sayres of the Chicago Bears, Bart Starr, and of course "Mean" Joe Greene. And of course this would be nothing without the commentary of the "Voice" John Facenda and the great music.

This CD is really good. I'd forgotten the chill you get from listening to a person with a voice like John Facenda's.

It really took me back to those days in the late '60s and early '70s when I camped out in front of the TV and thrilled to the best sports highlights ever committed to film. I'll always remember the feeling of watching a violent ballet in slow motion, set to inspired orchestral music and with poetic narration delivered by a master orator.

If you're too young to have heard John Facenda and to have seen the NFL highlights of the '60s and '70s, buy this CD and listen to some of the best music and the finest narration that has ever graced sports broadcasting.

The only things that disappointed me were that (1) they included some music that I thought was relatively pedestrian (and that I'd never heard before) and (2) they didn't include some of my favorite music, selections that they played a lot on the show. If I knew their names, I'd tell you what was missing.

I'll still give this CD five stars--if the CD had included the other two or three selections I wanted, it'd be a six.