Customer Reviews

Way Out West

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the second collection by SilvaScreen, who are also responsible for The Wild West: The Essential Western Film Music Collection (see my review). And it's just as good as the first. There are themes in here that everyone will recognize ("Bonanza," "A Fistful of Dollars"), themes that may not be so familiar ("Duel in the Sun," "The Hanging Tree," the lively "Blazing Saddles"), and even themes you may not associate with Westerns at all ("The Friendly Persuasion"). And no duplication either: when this disc includes a piece from one of the same sources covered in its predecessor, it's a different piece. One great treat: the full lyrics to "Gunfight at OK Corral," which I've never heard outside the soundtrack of the movie itself. The arrangement from "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid" includes not only the familiar song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" but an overview of the music--seguing almost seamlessly into Bernstein's magnificent "The Comancheros," a rare find indeed. An expensive item, but if you love Western film music, well worth it.

This CD has a number of great western themes that are not in some of the standard lists. For example it includes "The Hallejuah Trail", "Blazing Saddles", and "Giant". This CD also has what I consider the true theme of "The Comancheros". I have been disappointed with some other CDs I have purchased listing "The Comancheros" which had a song rather than this theme. Many of the tracks on this two disk CD go beyond the main theme music and are actually suites. The "Big Country" and "How the West Was Won" are just a couple of examples. It may be a little more expense than some CDs, but not bad for a two disk set. I am really happy with my purchase.

Believe I'll stroll down to the corral, rope a bronc, saddle up, ride into town and meet the
latest two CD's released from Silva Screen Records Ltd ~ "Way Out West:The Essential
Film Music Collection 2", featuring some of the best (as they say on trail drives) "burning
daylight" scores ever composed...faithful to the original soundtracks, under the watchful eye of
conductor Nic Raine...performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (world
reowned)...no surprise on the arrangements, chuck full of orchestrations...tapped for beautiful
voices is David Temple (Choir Master) and his always dynamically sounding ~ Crouch End
Festival Chorus...with added enjoyment from soloist Charlotte Kinder (soprano), Jason
Howard (baritone), Keith Ferreira (baritone) with vocals...Steve Lockwood (harmonica),
Nick Watson (guitar/banjo) and Gareth Williams (keyboard/percussion/sound
effects)...musically inclusive sprinkled with lingering familiarity of excellence...performances
are over-the-top.

Silva Screen brings together legendary composers of film music ~ Burt Bacharach (BUTCH
CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID)...Elmer Bernstein (THE HALLELUJAH
TRAIL/THE COMANCHEROS/THE SCALPHUNTERS/THE SHOOTIST)...George
Duning (THE BIG VALLEY-TV SERIES)...Ray Evans/Jay Livingston (BONANZA-TV
SERIES)...Percy Faith (THE VIRGINIAN-TV SERIES)...Hugo Friedhofer (ONE-EYED
JACKS)...Dominic Frontiere (HANG 'EM HIGH)...Lee Holdridge (OLD
GRINGO)...Jerome Moross (THE BIG COUNTRY/THE JAYHAWKERS/THE PROUD
REBEL)...Ennio Morricone (FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE/A FISTFUL OF
DYNAMITE/THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY/ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE
WEST)...Alfred Newman (HOW THE WEST WAS WON/NEVADA SMITH)...Alex
North (VIVA ZAPATA)...Basil Poledouris (QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER)...David Rose
(THE HIGH CHAPARRAL-TV SERIES)...Gioacchino Rossini (THE LONE RANGER-TV
SERIES-WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE)...Alan Silvestri (THE QUICK & THE
DEAD)...Max Steiner (THE HANGING TREE)...Dimitri Tiomkin (THE ALAMO/DUEL IN
THE SUN/FRIENDLY PERSUASION/GIANT/GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K.
CORRAL/HIGH NOON/RIO BRAVO/THE UNFORGIVEN)...Victor Young
(SHANE)...flawless impeccable award winning scores journey down dusty trails over
snow-capped mountains...traveling through homesteads, land barons, hired guns, Indian
villages, railroad workers, cavalrymen, sodbusters, broncbusters and Mexican
revolutionaries...each an epic recounting real events of the "Early American West" and the
fight for freedom on the side of right.

Mr. James Fitzpatrick (producer), along with other Silva Screen staff ~ Reynold da Silva
(executive producer), Rickie Clark (associate producer), single-handedly revived "Essential
Western Film Music" with the avid "film-score-buff" collector in mind, each selection manages
to be respectful of their cinematic roots and the soundtracks we've come to love and
cherish...as we remember the first release ~ "The Wild West:The Essential Western Film
Music Collection Vol. 1" (SSD-1099/2CD Set), rousing triumphant success for the
listener...it's no wonder the second installment is right up there with the first...absolutely
first-rate!

Total Time: Disc One 72:16 on 19 Tracks & Disc Two 67:52 on 19 Tracks ~ Silva Screen
Records SSD-1136 ~ (2002)

I have been a Western Reenactor over 23 years,22 years as a Yuma
Vigilante and almost 1 year as a Tombstone Vigilante. For those 23 years I have been involved in gunfights, barroom brawls,train hold-ups,stage robberies and a variety of other acts associated with Western Movies and the "Old Wild West".Back in the 1980's and into the mid 1990's most western reenactment groups had slim pickens,(no relation to that great Character Actor Slim Pickens)of good western music to play before or during a skit,(or reenactment if you wish)back about a year or so ago I bought a CD set called "The West",and it had the soundtracks on it that were really associated with the western movies that we all learned to enjoy time and time again. I then purchased the CD,The Wild West,and I knew my prayers were being answered.On my way to shows or special events I play my Western music to put myself in character,(or in the mood)and before shows we would play the western music to get the audience in the mood for real
"Wild West"action and during breaks the music would again be played. And now I purchased "Way Out West",which filled in the gaps of the music that I did not have,I have already played the CD's several times and some of the selections are outstanding,a
couple were not that great, but the good outweighted the bad.I now have another CD on order from the "Alamo to El Dorado" and I am now waiting for its arrival.No matter what critics say, the Westerns are here to stay, and the music will live on.

I enjoy this CD. It has many familiar melodies. Good background for reading, nice to listen while driving. It is also the only CD I've ever found that has the great theme from the movie "Giant."

Excellent. I listen to the sounds of old and classic Western themes while on my frequent and long car travel for contract work, and driving through the country side listening to these wonderful old sounds is a great experience. I remember some of the great classic images,cinematography, and acting, and see them in my mind. Great collection. The only draw back is that some of the soundtracks are not the original ones, but the memory is still there.

For anyone who likes movie/tv music from westerns should purchase this CD. What a wonderful collection of both film and tv with great renditions of each piece. I'm about to purchase Vol. 1 to complete my collection.

"Way Out West" is the second offering of "The Essential Western Film Music Collection" as performed by the City of Prague Orchestra. Thirty-eight items are on offer here, none duplicated from the first collection, "The Wild West".

The selection is wide and deep, with theme music ranging from television's "The Big Valley" and "Bonanza" to spaghetti westerns "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" to more recent films such as "The Quick and The Dead" and "Unforgiven." The quality of the music is good to excellent. Total running time is well over two hours for the two disks. "Way Out West" is very highly recommended to fans of Western TV and film theme music.

This is an exceptional collection of Western music spanning the range from dramas like "Shane" to comedies like "Blazing Saddles". This is by far one of the best collections of music from this genre I have heard. If you enjoy Westerns, this is a must have for those long drives. My only complaint is they didn't use original vocalists for the movies requiring vocals. Jason Howard does a decent rendition of all the songs, but you will know it isn't B.J. Thomas singing "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" along with others. Good quality and plenty of replayability.

CA Luster

Who can listen to the theme from Bonanza, Blazing Saddles or the Shootout at Ok Corral without going back in time and reliving some old memories? I got this CD as a gift for someone and they were delighted with it. I listened to it with them in their home and it was everything I hoped it would be.

You don't usually hear these songs played by the City Of Prague Philharmonic and I have to tell you, the sound quality is full and dramatic. It's also a little unusual to see a collection like this which makes it nice as a gift because it's something the country and western fans on your list probably don't already have. I also liked the price, 38 songs on two discs for under $20. How can you beat that?