Tom Sawyer (1973 Movie Soundtrack) [Soundtrack]

Robert B. Sherman (Composer), Richard M. Sherman (Composer), John Williams (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: John Williams
• Composer: Robert B. Sherman, Richard M. Sherman
• Audio CD (August 31, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B0002M5T3Y
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,069 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Overture

2. Tom Sawyer, film score: Main Title and River Song (The Theme from Tom Sawyer)

3. Tom Sawyer, film score: Tom Sawyer!

4. Tom Sawyer, film score: Gratification

5. Tom Sawyer, film score: A Man's Gotta Be (What He Was Born To Be)

6. Tom Sawyer, film score: How Come?

7. Tom Sawyer, film score: If'n I Was God

8. Tom Sawyer, film score: Freebootin'

9. Tom Sawyer, film score: Aunt Polly's Soliloquy

10. Tom Sawyer, film score: Hannibal Mo-(Zouree)!

11. Tom Sawyer, film score: River Song (The Theme from Tom Sawyer) (Reprise)

12. Tom Sawyer, film score: Finale

13. Freedom [from Huckleberry Finn]

14. Huckleberry Finn, film score: Huckleberry Finn

15. Huckleberry Finn, film score: Someday, Honey Darlin'

16. Huckleberry Finn, film score: Cairo, Illinois

17. Huckleberry Finn, film score: A Rose In A Bible

18. Huckleberry Finn, film score: Royalty

19. Huckleberry Finn, film score: The Royal Nonesuch

20. Huckleberry Finn, film score: What's Right - What's Wrong

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sherman Brothers and John Williams, September 14, 2004

By 

Staysun "staysun" (Downers Grove, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tom Sawyer (1973 Movie Soundtrack) (Audio CD)

After 30 years of oblivion, the Sherman Brothers' musical film versions of two Mark Twain classics comes to CD, thanks to the visionaries at Varese Sarabande. The 1973 version was intended as a return of the live-action family musical and was very successful at the box office. John Williams was fresh from his Oscar win for the spectacular adaptation of the songs from "Fiddler on the Roof". Williams provided the same pristine, dramatic arrangements for the Sherman Brothers songs which sound Broadway-worthy in the splendid, catchy orchestrations that Williams provided. The music sounded so good that Williams and the Sherman Brothers picked up an Oscar nomination. At closer inspection, the songs appear inspired by Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" but the lyrics are sometimes awkward and ill-fitting. The tunes are all terrific, especially "Gratifaction" and "Freebootin'". "The River Song" bears a connection to Jerome Kern's "Old Man River" and while it may seem trifling at first hearing, it deserves additional attention as a carefully crafted melancholy song that sets the tone for the whole score. Hopefully, the Sherman Brothers will dust off the rejected songs and expand this score for the stage (as they recently did for "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang") so that we can fully appreciate what is probably a much larger and more varied and interesting series of songs.
The 1974 "Huckleberry Finn" was a financial and critical disaster and brought a quick end to the idea of a series of Reader's Digest sponsored family musicals. This was most unfortunate since it starred the great Jeff East who would have brought depth and excellence to a better film version. The Sherman Brothers were rushed and the entire project seems half-baked and overwhelmed by the complexity of the material. Nevertheless, the songs are fun, especially "Cairo, Illinois" and the terrific song for Jeff East, "What's Right, What's Wrong". John Williams did not participate in this production. This CD set includes all the released songs and the lyrics to the "Tom Sawyer" songs are included in the liner notes as they were in the original LP.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Tom Sawyer" songs sound great 30 years later!, September 10, 2004

By 

Darryl M. Haase "dothehucklebuck" (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tom Sawyer (1973 Movie Soundtrack) (Audio CD)

It's easy to pigeonhole any family movie musical which cannot compete with the classics like "Wizard of Oz" and "Mary Poppins". Despite its occasional mediocrity, "Tom Sawyer" has some incredibly catchy tunes by the Sherman Brothers. The Shermans definitely had their own style and synchopation, and you can immediately tell a score of theirs after you listen to enough of them. "Huckleberry Finn" seems to have the most forgettable songs, but I'd like to see the movie again to judge more fairly. I hope these two movies will be put out on DVD soon, fully restored, letterboxed and in a double feature pack. Now that would be GRATIFACTION!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice surprise, October 25, 2011

By 

Nicholas A. Ziinojr (ridge, new york United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tom Sawyer (OST) (Audio CD)

Two of the Shermans' better scores are at last on CD."Tom Sawyer" is one of their best,with its bouncy,tuneful songs beautifully perfromed under the superb baton of John Williams.Charley Pride's moving "The River Song" is the standout
tune.I can't give this CD five stars because the "Huckelberry Finn" score is not as good,but it is tuneful and pleasant.
Roberta Flack's "Freedom" is the top song there.This is a highly enjoyable CD full of good music.Tom SawyerHuckleberry FinnBig River: The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (1985 Original Broadway Cast)