Customer Reviews

Victory at Sea

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Although Richard Rodgers will always be remembered for his brilliant musical theater collaborations with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II, particularly with the latter (South Pacific, The Sound of Music), he also had a successful career as a composer of incidental music, and Victory at Sea is perhaps his best-known orchestral score.

Rodgers composed 13 hours' worth of music for "Victory at Sea," NBC-TV's 26-episode documentary which premiered in 1952 and was a staple of the pre-cable late night hours on independent televisions such as WCIX-TV in Miami. Each episode ran for 30 minutes and focused primarily on the U.S. Navy's participation in the then-still recent Second World War, from the fight against German U-boats in the North Atlantic to the fierce struggle for domination of the Pacific between American and Japanese fleets.

Renowned conductor and arranger Robert Russell Bennett's name has forever been linked with Rodgers' Victory at Sea score, for it was Bennett who conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra during the original soundtrack's recording, and early LP and cassette editions of the score were credited to this now defunct ensemble. Later recordings, including this 1992 BMG re-issue, were later performed by the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, but still under the energetic and expert baton of conductor Bennett.

This first of two Victory at Sea BMG CDs contains all of the tracks contained in the 1950s-era RCA LP album, starting with the iconic "sweep of wind and wave" motif that started each episode. Even without the visual input, if you listen to "The Song of the High Seas," you can conjure up mental images of windswept white-capped waves as warships large and small sail across the oceans. Track one also features the menacing "U-boat" motif, which is played in the minor keys and conveys a sense of "danger down below" as a German submarine tracks its prey -- more than likely an Allied cargo ship -- and sinks it with a salvo of torpedoes.

Rodgers portrays various battles and aspects of naval warfare magnificently, capturing the emotional impact of Japan's early victories in "The Pacific Boils Over" (track 2), the resolute comeback of the Americans after Midway and the long struggle for a South Pacific island in the rousing "Guadalcanal March" (track 3), the "Hard Work and Horseplay" that were part of the sailors' and Marines' daily lives (track 5), and the awesome power of American naval aviation in "Theme of the Fast Carriers" (track 6), a stirring motif that conveys not only the big carriers and the air groups that fought so many crucial battles, but the awful price paid in blood as planes and ships were lost in action in such engagements as the Battle of the Coral Sea, "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot," and the bloody campaigns for Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Perhaps the most popular piece from Victory at Sea is "Beneath the Southern Cross," (track 7), a strangely sensuous and romantic tango-like composition. It was such a lovely and evocative melody that Rodgers later "borrowed" it and transformed it into a hit song ("No Other Love"), which would be covered by Perry Como.

There are also several tracks ("Fire on the Waters," "Danger Down Deep," "Mediterranean Mosaic," and "Magnetic North") that were not in any previous recording that I'd owned, and even though they feel tacked on (the producers should have placed them before track 9, in my opinion), they are still very powerful compositions. I would recommend this album to any fan of either film/television scores or American music of the 20th Century.

This CD contains selections from the 1950's television series by the same name. The music was not only perfect for the series, it is just as spectacular by itself.

Rodger's score is strong, demanding, and ever changing. The first track, "The Song of the High Seas," is a perfect example of a diverse style blended perfectly. The track begins strong, then hits hard, and ends with a very solid but noticeably lighter ending. It is a good track to show off the talent of every section of this orchestra.

It has been said that this CD is all march. That statement would be in error. "Guadalcanal March" is a good example of Rodger's ability to compose marches. However, on the opposite side of the spectrum, "The Magnetic North" is nothing like a march. That track ends with one of the most quiet, controlled endings that one might hear in modern music. There is a wide variety of styles on this CD.

Technically, the CD was recorded before 1972 in the A D D format. Those two facts made me hesitate before purchasing this CD. Don't let those two factors stop you from buying this CD. The recordings may be old, and in analog, but the CD sounds crisp and clear. You should have no trouble hearing the details of the music and enjoying this recording.

Richard Rodgers has successfully captured the tragedy of defeat and elation of victory in this album.

His passages not only tell a story, they convey powerful emotions, best felt by those who were there. The recurring themes vividly identify the elements in the passages.

I loved the Victory At Sea score as a kid, and I still do today. It is truly a contemporary classical masterpiece.

I have been listening to and enjoying the powerful music of Victory at Sea ever since it was on TV back in the 50's. Anyone who loves colorful, rousing music, wrapped in genius will love this album. Due to the Dolby process, this CD version is so clear and life-like that it's almost like listening to the score for the first time. I saw the show...purchased the LPs...enjoyed the cassettes and now have the CD. It doesn't get any better than this!

This album is fine for individuals who may want to savor their actual days at sea, which is why I went ahead and gave it three stars. But what I really wanted it for was to be THE actual recorded music of the TV series, not a re-recording. While this is a very nice set of recordings, it is probably done with a larger orchestra, and for some reason it is all played a lot slower than the score of the original TV series. I was really hoping for the EXACT recording and this is not it.

I have read the previous comments about this recording and I am somewhat confused. I own an older RCA CD #6660-2-RC with a copyright of 1987. It's an ADD recording with a total playing time of 72:24 that includes 14 tracks. The order is different from the CD showcased on Amazon.com which only shows 13 tracks.

One previous reviewer stated that the original vinyl recordings featured the NBC Symphony Orchestra rather than the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra. That well may be but the vinyl recording that I have now was recorded in 1959 and features the RCA Orchestra and sounds identical to the tracks on the CD that I own.

I used to have all three VAS records but have long since lost track of them so I can't compare the originals with the versions currently on CD. I do remember that the 3rd LP had a lot of sound effects on it besides the music and I wonder if that is the case on the second CD that is now available. I would hope that RCA would release in the future a double CD that includes the original recordings from all three LPs. Then I would be able to award the full 5 stars.

The Victory At Sea recordings were the first LPs that I ever owned and were instrumental in leading me into an appreciation of music. Before I heard this score, my only contact with music had been through top 40 radio (AM) and the Richard Rodgers score enticed me to listen to works by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven. From there I moved on to Mozart, Bach, Prokofiev, and Wagner. Later on, I rediscovered Richard Rodgers while listening to the great jazz reditions of his collaborations with Lorenz Hart.

So, I have a fondness for this great score and still listen to it after almost 50 years. I hope that others will take the time to listen to it as well.

In addition to this release, purists might want to hunt for RCA Red Seal CD #6660-2. This earlier CD of Victory at Sea boasts a different printed insert, 14 tracks instead of the 13 on #60963 (some different) and in different order. They are: 1)Song of the High Seas 2)The Pacific Boils Over 3)Fire on the Waters 4)Guadacanal March 5)Peleliu 6)Theme of the Fast Carriers 7)Hard Work and Horseplay 8)Mare Nostrum 9)Beneath the Southern Cross 10)Mediterranean March 11)Allies on the March 12D-Day...and finishing more appropriately with 13)The Sound of Victory 14)Victory at Sea.
This CD says "Recorded in December 1957 and February 1959 in Manhattan Center", "Reissue editon" and "Digitally remastered"...but goes on to state "The analog recording for this compact disc was made before noise-reduction methods such as Dolby were available. In the digital remastering, some effort to minimize the inherent tape hiss was made; RADICAL METHODS HAVE NOT BEEN USED IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE FULL-FREQUENCY CONTENT OF THE ORIGINAL RECORDINGS (caps. mine).
Good luck, all, finding a copy.

Richard Rodgers, the musical one-half of the Rodgers & Hammerstein team, composed the thirteen-hour score for the 26 one-half hour editions comprising the Victory at Sea television series aired first in 1952 by NBC, long before stereophonic recordings were released to the public. His score was arranged by Robert Russell Bennett, and then rearranged by Robert Russell Bennett for the motion picture subsequently released because of the popularity of the television series. Whether this score is from the arrangement for the TV series or that for the motion picture is not clear. Either way, let's face it, a television series based on compilations of spliced black and white film footage from the only recently concluded World War II was not the cause for the incredible success of this television series; it was this very music! The score contains a myriad of motifs akin to Peter and the Wolf, but far more subtle and ingenious. Included in the Rodgers' actual musical composition are motifs of waves swelling and crashing, torpedoes launching, running and exploding, Morse code signaling, aerial searches and dives by fighters and dive bombers, storms at sea followed by clearing skies and dripping rain, horseplay by sailors, burials at sea, loneliness of crewmen, long naval runs under the Southern Cross, and reunion with loved ones in jubilation at war's end. The music is magnificent and well worth the listen, notwithstanding the addition of actual sound effects by a well-intended producer apparently unfamiliar with the motifs already existent in the score. I only wish more score could have been included in the collection!

Well, they certainly DO get "Better than This" (in response to a previous reviewer). I grew up listening to the original score and soundtrack from the 1952 TV series.

This re-arrangement for the movie fall short of the depth, excitement, and vision of R. Roger's original composition.

Athough the music on this CD is still wonderful to listen to, it doesn't capture the same feeling for someone like myself who expected to hear the fine nuances in the spectacular music I grew up with nearly 50 years ago.

Unfortunately, I don't think the original soundtrack is available on CD, only on the upcoming original TV series to be released on DVD this fall.

Having been a fan of the original "Victory At Sea" series on the TV documentary version, and having owned the original LP versions of both Victory At Sea, Volume I and Volume II, as well as the cassette versions, I have to say that this CD version is, at best, mediocre. Somehow in the process of "remixing" this CD with Dolby Sound, the quality of the music is much less satisfying than the original versions. I realize that the listening public today wants to hear their music via CD and in stereo format, but the original mono versions of Victory At Sea as released by RCA Victor many years ago had a power and crispness that this version sorely lacks. Even the order of the tracks is different than the original. Bottom line, to me, is that this CD was a "good try, but no cigar".