How the West Was Won [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

by Alfred Newman

Overview

This double CD has generally superior sound to the 1992 Sony Music release, but its more than two-hours of music may be a classic case of overkill. The essential problem is that How the West Was Won is rooted in two separate bodies of music, the Alfred Newman instrumental and orchestral material (including the rousing main title theme), spiced with a few traditional (i.e. folk) and traditional-style tunes; and the songs sung by Debbie Reynolds in her various set pieces as an entertainer, principally "Home in the Meadow" (adapted from "Greensleeves"). The Alfred Newman material generally recalls Aaron Copland's musical Americana (especially the "Lincoln Portrait") at its best and most accessible, and the folk songs handled by the choir or Dave Guard's Whiskeyhill Singers come off well -- but then there are those numbers done by Reynolds, which sort of break the spell. It's not that she's a bad singer, it's just that her voice doesn't fit within the surrounding musical settings. One guesses the producers had no choice but to give full play to this part of the score, but one wishes there'd been a way around it. The annotation is very thorough, the photographs (including some behind-the-scenes shots of co-director John Ford) are a nice treat, and anyone who likes the movie or Newman's music is sure to enjoy this. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	03/24/2017
Label:	Soundtrack Factory
UPC:	8436563180972
Rank:	81613

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Alfred Newman   Primary Artist,Conductor
Laurindo Almeida   Primary Artist
Whiskeyhill Quartet   Primary Artist
Alfred Newman Orchestra   Primary Artist
Dave Guard   Primary Artist
Spencer Tracy   Primary Artist
Carroll Baker   Primary Artist
Salli Terri   Primary Artist
Imogene Clark   Primary Artist
Ken Darby Singers   Primary Artist,Choir/Chorus
Ken Darby Chorus   Primary Artist
Debbie Reynolds   Primary Artist,Vocals
George Peppard   Primary Artist
Judy Henske   Primary Artist
Tommy Morgan   Primary Artist
MGM Studio Chorus   Primary Artist
MGM Studio Orchestra   Primary Artist
Carl Fortina   Primary Artist
Dave Guard & The Whiskeyhill Singers   Primary Artist,Vocal Ensemble
Robert E. Dolan   Conductor
Robert Armbruster   Conductor

Technical Credits

Robert Emmett Dolan   Composer
Lorie Line   Composer
Sammy Cahn   Composer
Robert E. Dolan   Adaptation
Martha E. Koenig   Composer
David "Buck" Wheat   Composer
Greensleeves   Composer
Ken Darby   Composer
Dave Guard   Composer
Jesse Kaye   Producer
Julia Ward Howe   Composer
Judy Henske   Composer
Johnny Mercer   Adaptation,Composer
Louis Lambert   Composer
W.C. Handy   Composer
Cyrus Faryar   Composer
Bob Dylan   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Patrick S. Gilmore   Composer
Spencer Williams   Composer
Alfred Newman   Adaptation,Composer