Special Notes:

Even when perusing used LPs online, one quickly discovers Victor Young released an awful lot of compilation albums during the fifties – 36, according to Didier C. Deutsch, who penned the lengthy and informative liner notes for this new CD that features a sampling of major themes by Young, plus a few non-Young tunes he arranged for a modestly sized orchestra.

Starting this 22 track album is the 45 RPM single for his famous theme for Around the World in 80 Days, and is followed by the film's cue “India Country Side,” itself lifted from the original soundtrack recording. Both recordings are in stereo, and are among 5 themes presented from stereo sources.

The hi-fi other cuts are Young's own arrangements of “When I Fall in Love,” “Love Letters,” and Stella by Starlight,“ as performed by Richard Hayman and His Orchestra. The Hayman cuts are vintage easy listening arrangements that emphasize a discreet intimacy amid slickly orchestrated themes for strings, with short solos.

A harmonica carries the famous “When I Fall in Love” theme, written for the film One Minute to Zero, which Nat King Cole also performed in an iconic vocal rendition. Each of the themes on this CD are instrumental, and emphasize the plastic nature of Young's melodies which usually have a gentle intro, a smooth build, and a slight twist of sadness, all repeated before the end of a roughly 3 min. arrangement, as with this famous tune.

Unlike Ketty Lester's country-blues version of the theme from Love Letters, used by David Lynch in Blue Velvet, the Hayman version uses strings, harmonica, and harp, and later acoustic guitar. The design of the song is pretty indicative of Young's structure, which emphasizes the repetition of melody, and varies solo instruments rather than the actual theme. “Stella by Starlight” has a more dramatic introduction, but shifts into romance when piano and distant strings follow the famous theme from The Uninvited through its heavily melodramatic permutations, before the cue closes with harmonica set to a slow but danceable beat.

Of the stereo cuts, the Hayman samples show their age, but besides some very mild roughness when the whole orchestra climaxes, they're nicely mastered from analogue sources. The remaining cues on the CD are a mix of single versions, and extracts from the original soundtrack recordings.

Young's version of Dimitri Tiomkin's High and the Mighty theme naturally uses solo whistling for the melody, plus some intriguing emotional constructs for the strings, with rising waves punctuated by double bass hits.

The Alfred Newman conducted theme from Written on the Wind is typically drippy, with romantic piano and stretches of sustained strings to emphasize prolonged states of emotional obsession. (The score itself, with previously unreleased material, was reissued on LP by Varese Sarabande, coupled with Alex North's Four Girls in Town.)

One of the loveliest themes on the CD is “Alone at Last,” from the sappily titled Something to Live For. Less orgiastic than other cuts, Young's theme is gently performed on piano, with a lush string version in the centre, culminating in a violin solo with supportive woodwinds.

“Moonlight Serenade,” written for The Star, is more classically structured, and the melody has a reflective Parisian quality, with gentle vibes adding a short burst of dreaminess. “Change of Heart,” from Forever Female emphasizes violins and celli, and is similar less heavy on the romance. Both cuts offer a good example of Young's penchant for intimate, musically translated emotions, and while they seem overwrought at times, if not schmaltzy, they're written in a style that suits specific moods when a listener wants themes that pretty much force some personal reflection.

Other classic themes on the CD include themes from My Foolish Heart, Shane, Thunderbirds, and a less chromatic version of East of Eden (although even Leonard Rosenman loosened up his theme for its inclusion on the composer's Chapman Report soundtrack album).

Excerpted from score-only LPs are two theme extracts from Samson & Delilah (released as an edited suite by Decca and Varese, and coupled with themes from The Quiet Man in pseudo-stereo), The Quiet Man, “Massacre and Love Theme (Overture)” from Young's stunning For Whom the Bell Tolls (released as re-corded suites by Decca, and re-issued by MCA), and the “Prelude” from Golden Earrings (also from Decca, and reissued by Varese with Vicente Gomez' guitar solos from Blood & Sand).

The only qualms with this compilation is the lack of source info for each cue's original vinyl appearance, so collectors can track down the albums which featured the single versions. The mastering is clean, and the use of noise reduction for some of the more archival mono sources doesn't clip the high-end as happens in some compilation releases.

Cinema Rhapsodies: The Musical Genius of Victor Young is distributed by Eric Records, and joins Hit Parade's other Young CD, the expanded release of Around the World in 80 Days.

Other vintage Victor Young themes & arrangements available on CD include Love Letters, and The Best of Victor Young and the Brunswick Studio Orchestra 1932-1934.

© 2007 Mark R. Hasan