With a running time of just under 40 minutes this one flies by quickly. There’s a lot of compilation favorites here… “Parade of Charioteers” from BEN-HUR, “Overture” from NORTH BY NORTHWEST and “The Ride of the Cossacks” from TARAS BULBA. Also included is the rousing “Conquest” from CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE by Alfred Newman — one of the best marches I’ve ever heard — and there’s a three track suite from Alex North’s superb CLEOPATRA. The love theme is one of North’s best pieces.
The only non-Golden Age track is “Raisuli Attacks” from Jerry Goldsmith’s classic, THE WIND AND THE LION. When I first listened to this compilation I thought that this would be the “Oooooh Noooooo” track. There is no way in hell that anyone could perform this thing to perfection never mind duplicating the wonderful and aggressive performance from the original recording. Well, the Seattle Symphony surprised me. They knock this one out of the park! Conductor Cliff Eidleman, even though at the beginning of the piece slows things down a bit, picks up the break neck speed pace of the composition during the latter half. Awesome stuff!
Elmer Bernstien’s THE TEN COMANDMENTS gets a generous seven and a half minute suite and the album ends off with the brilliant MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY “Overture” by Bronislau Kaper. I personally would have ended this with Waxman’s show stopper, “The Ride of the Cossacks,” but that would be my only change. A surprisingly entertaining and well performed album. A solid sampler of “Parades, Processionals and Attacks from Hollywood’s most epic films.”
BLOOD & THUNDER | Varese Sarabande VSD 5561 | 1995
