I enjoy the few Moross scores I have. The Big Country is a grand score - the main title music along w the shots of the approaching stagecoach are magical. Another recording that hasn't been mentioned is "Grizzly," which is from the 60s NatGeo TV series, and it was released by Intrada.
I am very interested in the Moross LP RPhile mentions, but I'm not having any luck finding it, although I did see a more recent performance on New World records. OT: RPhile, are there Rozsa works for string bass that I should hear? I have a recent guitar works CD that is very excellent, but I'd like anything for string bass too.
Here's the rundown of existing and potential Moross film score releases, from an earlier thread. There aren’t too many likely possibilities for new releases.
Close-Up (1948, Eagle-Lion Films) – This seems unlikely, since all music tracks from that budget studio seem to have vanished. Kritzerland was recently able to find Hugo Friedhofer’s score from Eagle-Lion’s “The Adventures of Casanova” from the same year. But that recording came from the composer’s own acetates, and I haven’t heard that the Moross estate contains many recordings. The Silva Screen Moross set has a 9-minute suite.
When I Grow Up (1951, Eagle-Lion Films) – Same situation as above, but no coverage on the Silva Screen set.
The Captive City (1953, United Artists) – Has anything from this early period survived from UA? There’s a 7-minute suite on Silva Screen.
Seven Wonders of the World (1956, Cinerama Corp.) – No one’s yet been able to crack the Cinerama Corp. vaults for any releases from the original tracks. All we’ve had are CD releases of various LPs. “Seven Wonders” had a 10-inch LP and a German 45 EP with about 15 minutes of music, but since up to four composers worked on the film, it’s unclear how much of Moross’ music is contained therein. A 5-minute cue is on Silva Screen.
The Sharkfighters (1956, United Artists) – This is still from the ‘lost” UA years. A combined 15 minutes appear on two different Silva Screen compilations.
Wagon Train (TV) (1957-65, Revue/Universal) – With the Varese release of the Hitchcock scores, maybe getting early TV music out of Universal isn’t as farfetched as it once seemed. Reportedly, Moross did scores for 12 episodes of the series. For now, there is only about 4 minutes of Moross’ music on the Mercury Records LP and the 3-minute theme on Silva Screen. If there are no surviving score elements, some producer should try releasing that LP, from Universal Music Group.
The Big Country (1958, United Artists) – Now we’re getting into the period where UA scores have survived, and indeed, we’ve got all of this one.
The Proud Rebel (1958, Samuel Goldwyn) – This received a decent sounding 56-minute release on LP and CD on the Screen Classics label (in which SAE’s Craig Spaulding was involved) and a 19-minute re-recording of some cues on Silva Screen. According to the liner notes, the Screen Classics CD was “mastered from a direct digital transfer of the original scoring session tapes recorded at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios sound facility, final monaural mix achieved on April 7, 1958.” That CD is long out of print. Since we’re not likely to see anything better come along, a re-issue would seem in order.
The Jayhawkers! (1959, Paramount) – I think we can still hold out hope for this one, given this year’s release of “Last Train From Gun Hill,” also from Paramount in 1959. For now, there is a 17-minute re-recording of cues on Silva Screen.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1960, MGM) – FSM released the complete score in 2003.
The Mountain Road (1960, Columbia) – Complete original tracks from Columbia films of this era are rare, but we’re starting to get some. Intrada has released “City of Fear” (1959) and “Raisin In the Sun/Requiem for a Heavyweight” (1961/1962). Nevertheless, this one is a long-shot. Six minutes appear on Silva Screen.
Five Finger Exercise (1962, Columbia) – See “The Mountain Road” above. Five minutes on Silva Screen.
The Cardinal (1963, Columbia) – Between the various CD issues of the 40-minute RCA LP, and the 23 minutes re-recorded on Silva Screen, this relatively short score is well-represented. The film itself seems to have fallen into the hands of Warner Bros. (the DVD appeared on that label), so perhaps that is where to look for original score elements.
The War Lord (1965, Universal) – The 30-minute Decca LP and Varese CD includes 5 minutes of Hans Salter’s music. I’m sure the labels have been looking for this one at Universal.
National Geographic Special – Grizzly (1967, David L. Wolper Prod.) – Intrada released Moross’ 30-minute score for this TV production in 2003.
Rachel, Rachel (1968, Warner Bros.) – No doubt FSM or one of the other labels would have located this at Warners if it existed. This was Paul Newman’s directorial debut, which he produced for his own company. Perhaps something exists in the Newman estate. Six minutes appear on a Silva Screen re-recording.
The Valley of Gwangi (1969, Warner Bros.) – As mentioned in a number of posts, the original tracks for this have gone missing. The film itself was produced in Spain. Where were the recording sessions conducted? The film was a production of Charles H. Schneer’s Morningside Productions. Coincidentally, Sheer’s next Morningside production, 1970’s “Land Raiders,” was also produced in Spain. The complete score for that film was found in Italy and was released last year by Digitmovies. Could “Gwangi” have been recorded in Italy as well, or was “Land Raiders” done there simply because composer Bruno Nicolai was Italian?
Hail, Hero (1969, National General) – This Cinema Center Films production is part of the CBS library, and any score materials should be in their archive. But nothing appeared in the on-line listing of CBS holdings to which Lukas linked us a while back.
La La Land's release is the original tracks, which were mono, and is the one to have IMO. Glad you're enjoying this great score!
Well Dana of course would say that but the re-recording I produced for Silva Screen with the Philharmonia is pretty darn good.
Yeah, it's not too bad, for a re-recording. But since Barryfan already has the real thing...
Plus of course the CDs of suites from many of his scores I did with the City of Prague Phil are still among my own favourites with music from THE CARDINAL, THEWAR LORD, 5 FINGER EXERCISE, VALLEY OF GWANGI, RACHEL RACHEL, JAYHAWKERS, ADVENTURES OF HICK FINN etc....
...as I recommended in my first posting here. A good way to sample a variety of Moross' work.
.....The Jayhawkers! (1959, Paramount) – I think we can still hold out hope for this one, given this year’s release of “Last Train From Gun Hill,” also from Paramount in 1959......
I think you are quite correct about this. Didn't someone identify the main title from THE JAYHAWKERS being accidentally included in Kritzerland's bonus material for Friedhofer's ONE EYED JACKS release last year?
There is, of course, an irony in this Moross piece of music being somewhat mistaken for Friedhofer in that Moross was Friedhofer's orchestrator for some years at Goldwyn.
I must say I agree with you on THE GOLDEN APPLE - an absolute masterwork of American theatre. An absolutely ingenious creation far above many of the "blockbuster" musicals that pass as masterpieces today. If you get a chance, shoot me an email at:
The Moross recording for NatGeo's 1967 "Grizzly" on Intrada was mentioned, and it is classic Moross-Americana for sure - I really like it.
I made a special iPod cover for the "Grizzly" portion of the Intrada CD, which I based on the VHS cover from the 1967 NatGeo special. It's pretty cool, definitely yellow in a retro 70s-marigold-yellow way, and available to anyone that wants it. Download the 15mb ZipFile at the link, and presto... Not anything too excellent folks, but good enough so it can be in a separate Moross music folder. https://hotfile.com/dl/176472360/ae9dbb8/Grizzly_Pix.zip.html
[edit]I think you can tick-off "The JayHawkers" BobD, bc it got released by Intrada just after this post. It's an excellent record also.
Here's the rundown of existing and potential Moross film score releases, from an earlier thread. There aren’t too many likely possibilities for new releases.
Close-Up (1948, Eagle-Lion Films) – This seems unlikely, since all music tracks from that budget studio seem to have vanished. Kritzerland was recently able to find Hugo Friedhofer’s score from Eagle-Lion’s “The Adventures of Casanova” from the same year. But that recording came from the composer’s own acetates, and I haven’t heard that the Moross estate contains many recordings. The Silva Screen Moross set has a 9-minute suite.
When I Grow Up (1951, Eagle-Lion Films) – Same situation as above, but no coverage on the Silva Screen set.
The Captive City (1953, United Artists) – Has anything from this early period survived from UA? There’s a 7-minute suite on Silva Screen.
Seven Wonders of the World (1956, Cinerama Corp.) – No one’s yet been able to crack the Cinerama Corp. vaults for any releases from the original tracks. All we’ve had are CD releases of various LPs. “Seven Wonders” had a 10-inch LP and a German 45 EP with about 15 minutes of music, but since up to four composers worked on the film, it’s unclear how much of Moross’ music is contained therein. A 5-minute cue is on Silva Screen.
The Sharkfighters (1956, United Artists) – This is still from the ‘lost” UA years. A combined 15 minutes appear on two different Silva Screen compilations.
Wagon Train (TV) (1957-65, Revue/Universal) – With the Varese release of the Hitchcock scores, maybe getting early TV music out of Universal isn’t as farfetched as it once seemed. Reportedly, Moross did scores for 12 episodes of the series. For now, there is only about 4 minutes of Moross’ music on the Mercury Records LP and the 3-minute theme on Silva Screen. If there are no surviving score elements, some producer should try releasing that LP, from Universal Music Group.
The Big Country (1958, United Artists) – Now we’re getting into the period where UA scores have survived, and indeed, we’ve got all of this one.
The Proud Rebel (1958, Samuel Goldwyn) – This received a decent sounding 56-minute release on LP and CD on the Screen Classics label (in which SAE’s Craig Spaulding was involved) and a 19-minute re-recording of some cues on Silva Screen. According to the liner notes, the Screen Classics CD was “mastered from a direct digital transfer of the original scoring session tapes recorded at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios sound facility, final monaural mix achieved on April 7, 1958.” That CD is long out of print. Since we’re not likely to see anything better come along, a re-issue would seem in order.
The Jayhawkers! (1959, Paramount) – I think we can still hold out hope for this one, given this year’s release of “Last Train From Gun Hill,” also from Paramount in 1959. For now, there is a 17-minute re-recording of cues on Silva Screen.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1960, MGM) – FSM released the complete score in 2003.
The Mountain Road (1960, Columbia) – Complete original tracks from Columbia films of this era are rare, but we’re starting to get some. Intrada has released “City of Fear” (1959) and “Raisin In the Sun/Requiem for a Heavyweight” (1961/1962). Nevertheless, this one is a long-shot. Six minutes appear on Silva Screen.
Five Finger Exercise (1962, Columbia) – See “The Mountain Road” above. Five minutes on Silva Screen.
The Cardinal (1963, Columbia) – Between the various CD issues of the 40-minute RCA LP, and the 23 minutes re-recorded on Silva Screen, this relatively short score is well-represented. The film itself seems to have fallen into the hands of Warner Bros. (the DVD appeared on that label), so perhaps that is where to look for original score elements.
The War Lord (1965, Universal) – The 30-minute Decca LP and Varese CD includes 5 minutes of Hans Salter’s music. I’m sure the labels have been looking for this one at Universal.
National Geographic Special – Grizzly (1967, David L. Wolper Prod.) – Intrada released Moross’ 30-minute score for this TV production in 2003.
Rachel, Rachel (1968, Warner Bros.) – No doubt FSM or one of the other labels would have located this at Warners if it existed. This was Paul Newman’s directorial debut, which he produced for his own company. Perhaps something exists in the Newman estate. Six minutes appear on a Silva Screen re-recording.
The Valley of Gwangi (1969, Warner Bros.) – As mentioned in a number of posts, the original tracks for this have gone missing. The film itself was produced in Spain. Where were the recording sessions conducted? The film was a production of Charles H. Schneer’s Morningside Productions. Coincidentally, Sheer’s next Morningside production, 1970’s “Land Raiders,” was also produced in Spain. The complete score for that film was found in Italy and was released last year by Digitmovies. Could “Gwangi” have been recorded in Italy as well, or was “Land Raiders” done there simply because composer Bruno Nicolai was Italian?
Hail, Hero (1969, National General) – This Cinema Center Films production is part of the CBS library, and any score materials should be in their archive. But nothing appeared in the on-line listing of CBS holdings to which Lukas linked us a while back.
There's also the music he did for the television series "Lancer".
There's also some of Moross' music from Gunsmoke in the Film Music Society's CBS Westerns CD (2002), with ten minutes from the episode "Stolen Horses". Other composers on that CD are Herrmann (Gunsmoke and Cimarron Strip), Waxman (Gunsmoke) and Friedhofer (Rawhide).
In looking at the list now, I'm pleased to report that I was mistaken about HAIL, HERO. The CBS collection contains 5 open-reel audio tapes of materials (hopefully the music score) from HAIL, HERO.
As it happens, the holy grail I happened to be hoping for is not listed there, but I'm crossing my fingers that it may yet turn up in one of those many "unprocessed" boxes. I certainly hope they're continuing to make good on their pledge to keep cataloguing and updating...
There's probably an answer to this question somewhere but what's the difference between La-La Land's and SAE's release of this score? Both original, both mono, right? Did LLL do some sort of remastering?
Or to put it bluntly: Which one is the one to get? (Apart from the fact that both are OOP.)
There's probably an answer to this question somewhere but what's the difference between La-La Land's and SAE's release of this score? Both original, both mono, right? Did LLL do some sort of remastering?
Or to put it bluntly: Which one is the one to get? (Apart from the fact that both are OOP.)
They're both very good. LLL did remaster however, and many prefer that. I'm fine on both.
I came to the realization earlier this week, that of all the western scores I love, this one ranks at the very top (I have the Bremner rerecording, btw).
But since Barryfan already has the real thing...
