Search - Elmer Bernstein, Ennio Morricone, Ray / Livingston, Jay Evans :: The Greatest Western Themes

Great Stuff...Just, Not Enough

L. Shirley | fountain valley, ca United States | 03/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Well, I not only love films from the Western genre, but I also love the music that goes along with it. Morricone,Tiomkin, Bernstein,Rose...if you are also a lover of the themes and songs from the great Westerns, you know you could hardly go wrong when all those names turn up on the same album. "The Greatest Western Themes" performed by The Ghost Rider Orchestra includes all those guys mentioned above on this album. And not only that, but the renditions and performance is terrific. The sound quality of this little album is also very good. The only problem is there's just not enough!



There are 10 tracks of mostly instrumental great stuff.(okay, 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is not entirely instrumental, but who has ever understood the words anyway?).

Opening with the Theme from "The Magnificent 7"(Bernstein), right away it gets you in that Western mood. Three great from Morricone include, "For A Few Dollars More",G,B&U, and a real treat for spaghetti Western lovers, "Once Upon A Time In The West". A rousing rendition of "Bonanza" will make you want to saddle up with 'Pa' and the boys, and a sweet sounding "Shenandoah", may bring a good nostalgic feeling. Also included is "Ghost Riders In The Sky", "Streets of Laredo", "High Chaparral" and the beautiful theme from "High Noon"(Do not forsake me...)



These are a pretty good selection and representation of the Western themes from films(and TV) we loved, but at only 25 minutes, it's just not enough. This album was originally produced in 1986(most recently 2004), so let's just stick with some that could have been added from before the original production. A few that come to mind are the sentimental Green Leaves of Summer" from John Wayne's "The Alamo",theme from "Red River", "Oh My Darling" from "My Darling Clementine" for Ford fans, and even along more recent lines, anything of Bob Dylan"s from Peckinpah's "Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid", would have been a nice addition as well.



So a short but sweet album for Western lovers. Might get the mood right for a Western style party or Bar-b-que, or nice to take you away for a little bit while stuck in traffic(those who live in So. Cal will know what I mean when I say..stuck on the 405 Freeway!)



Saddle Up and "Happy Trails To You"(Oh - That would have been another good one!)...Laurie



"

Westerns were the rage

Anne Lagache | Orinda, CA, USA | 09/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I grew up when Western movies were the rage, and I always loved the music. This CD is a compilation of the soundtracks of those movies. It's great to hear the music again. I listen to the music regularly. I recommend this CD."