Adventure Begins: King Kong/Jungle Dance - Max Steiner, Steiner, Max
Aboard Ship
Arrival at Skull Island: A Boat in the Frog/The R
Ship at Night: Sea at Night/Stolen Love/Forgotten
Bride for Kong: Jungle Dance/King Kong/Stolen Lov
Log Sequence: The Sailors/Log Sequence/Cryptic Sh
Deham's Escape: The Sailors/King Kong/Stolen Love
Kong Attacks the Village: The Escape/Stolen Love/
Kong in New York: King Kong March/Fanfare No. 1/F
Kong Escapes: King Kong/Stolen Love/Agitato/Eleva
Death of King King: The Aeroplane/King Kong/Stole
Main Title [#]
Boat in the Fog [#]
Forgotten Island I [#]
Forgotten Island II [#]
Jungle Dance [#]
Sailors [#]
Bronte [#]
Stolen Love/Humorous Ape [#]
Aeroplane/Finale [#]
Max Steiner's score for Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace's King Kong is rightfully considered a classic. Until the 1933 thriller, movie soundtracks were mere background accompaniment. But Steiner's grand, Wagnerian score... more »--filled with crashing notes, dissonant chords, and plenty of thunder--gave King Kong a unique tension, influencing every action and adventure soundtrack to follow. A few years later, Steiner--RKO's musical director--would go on to score another pivotal soundtrack, Gone with the Wind. But this is where his soundtrack magic really began. Rhino's reissue treatment here is luxurious and gorgeous, with great sound remastering. Copious liner notes explain some of this soundtrack's magic: Audio engineer Murray Spivack mixed a tiger growl at forward and backward speeds to create Kong's trademark vocals; Steiner knew precisely when to silence his 46-player orchestra and let the sound effects take over; and the small ensemble were often forced to serve double duty on multiple instruments. Filled with sound effects and movie dialogue, this CD sounds more like a vintage radio show than a standard soundtrack. But its impact--even today--can be easily heard. Great stuff. --Jason Verlinde« less
Max Steiner's score for Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace's King Kong is rightfully considered a classic. Until the 1933 thriller, movie soundtracks were mere background accompaniment. But Steiner's grand, Wagnerian score--filled with crashing notes, dissonant chords, and plenty of thunder--gave King Kong a unique tension, influencing every action and adventure soundtrack to follow. A few years later, Steiner--RKO's musical director--would go on to score another pivotal soundtrack, Gone with the Wind. But this is where his soundtrack magic really began. Rhino's reissue treatment here is luxurious and gorgeous, with great sound remastering. Copious liner notes explain some of this soundtrack's magic: Audio engineer Murray Spivack mixed a tiger growl at forward and backward speeds to create Kong's trademark vocals; Steiner knew precisely when to silence his 46-player orchestra and let the sound effects take over; and the small ensemble were often forced to serve double duty on multiple instruments. Filled with sound effects and movie dialogue, this CD sounds more like a vintage radio show than a standard soundtrack. But its impact--even today--can be easily heard. Great stuff. --Jason Verlinde
CD Reviews
Archival tracks make this CD a real treasure
09/23/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The first eleven sequences on this CD represent a condensed version of the entire film, complete with dialogue, sound effects and of course Max Steiner's classic music score. The real heart of this CD, however, begins at sequence #12 (Main Title) and ends with #20 (The Aeroplane/Finale) This part is pure isolated score and is wonderful to hear without all of the sound effects. Originally, some of the score had survived from the Max Steiner archives (Boat in the Fog, The Forgotten Island I, The Aeroplane/Finale) However, the best part of score (the music scored for the jungle sequences with the Stegosaur and Brontosaurus) has somehow miraculously surfaced and everything has been skillfully blended into one terrific 24 minute suite. The packaging is also top notch with great liner notes, art and photos. A must have for film buffs and fans of Max Steiner's music."
Good audio presentation of movie
Joe NY | 09/21/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Good audio presentation of the great classic movie. The CD producers have succeeded in presenting KING KONG as an "old radio show" by condensing the dialog,music and sound effects to 50 min. The sound is surprisingly good. The dialog, sound effects and score are remarkably clear. But this does not surpass actully viewing the movie which is readily available to home video.The real highlight of this album is the 25 min suite of original soundtrack music recordings of Max Stiener's landmark score. Unfortunatly only portions of the original "unmixed" recordings survived the years, but what is available is presented here in very good achival sound. Another big highlight of this package is the lavish 40 page booklet."
Not the Greatest, But Still Good
Joe NY | 09/23/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I liked the way Rhino included movie dialogue (very similar to what they did with "Casablanca"), but it hardly conveys the entire "Kong" story. Some of the best music is for scenes where Kong fights monsters, scenes without dialogue (unless you count grunting and screaming, which may pass for dialogue these days, but doesn't help us here). For the most complete collection of "Kong" music, get the Marco Polo release from 1997. The new Rhino CD is an excellent starter, though, with extra kudos for the text booklet inside the case."
Chilling music score!
Nigel D. | 04/09/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one of the greatest scores of them all. The music goes right along with the film in each and every way. I got this CD for a Christmas present, and when I opened it up... "WOW, theres a whole book inside here" I thought to myself. There are pictures in here that are very, very rare. This music will send chills down your spine as you listen. Max Steiner did a wonderful job! If you have never seen this movie... BUY IT NOW!"
Essential
John Michlig | Wisconsin | 04/30/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Fans of the Eighth Wonder of the World or movie music in general will love this lovingly-crafted soundtrack reissue. The interior booklet is wonderful, and the addition of an audio story summary (dialogue and all) makes repeated listenings a pleasure (who can get enough of Carl Denham?).- JOHN MICHLIG, author of IT CAME FROM BOB'S BASEMENT"
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1