Go West, Young Man: Two More Classic Westerns Arrive on CD

September 14, 2010 By Joe Marchese — 2 Comments

While much of the rest of the catalogue world is kicking into overdrive in time for the holiday season, at least one group of labels seems to keep busy year-round: that of the soundtrack reissue specialists. Our friends at Kritzerland yesterday announced their latest two-on-one CD release bringing two classic United Artists film soundtrack LPs back into print. These soundtracks were the work of true titans of the field: Dmitri Tiomkin, Bronislau Kaper and Andre Previn, from films starring the legendary likes of Audrey Hepburn and Burt Lancaster; and Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum.

John Huston’s 1960 The Unforgiven featured a score by Tiomkin, the Academy Award-winning composer of such classic westerns as High Noon, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and The Alamo, and in addition to stars Hepburn and Lancaster, had Audie Murphy and Lillian Gish among its cast. 1967’s The Way West had Bronislau Kaper in the composer’s chair (whose work has already been anthologized this year in a Film Score Monthly box set, to which this release is a perfect companion) and no less a luminary than Andre Previn conducting. Stubby Kaye and Sally Field, in her film debut, supported Douglas, Mitchum and Richard Widmark. Kaper’s score also features a title song with lyrics by Mack David performed by the Serendipity Singers, which is included on the soundtrack along with the group’s performances of “Mercy McBee” and the film’s finale.

Both titles have been issued on CD before; The Unforgiven appeared in FSM’s The Unforgiven: Classic Western Scores from United Artists box (FSM Vol. 10 No. 10) dedicated to the genre, and The Way West was released in a limited edition by Intrada (Vol. 92) but both CDs have been remastered under the supervision of producer Bruce Kimmel for this limited edition of 1,000 copies. Both releases are long sold out and fetch high prices on the collectors’ market, making this re-release particularly welcome.

Kritzerland’s edition is available at their usual single-CD price of $19.98 plus shipping and handling, and while CDs are guaranteed to ship by the second week of October, pre-orders are more likely to arrive at your doorstep later this month. The Unforgiven/The Way West features a 12-page full color booklet with new liner notes, and it can be pre-ordered here. The track listing follows after the jump!

Various Artists, The Unforgiven/The Way West: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtracks (Kritzerland, 2010)

Prologue
The Unforgiven – Main Title
Across the Texas Panhandle
Turkey in the Straw
The Horse Ballet
Search for Abe Kelsey
Charlie Courts Rachel
Kiowa Warpath
The Unforgiven Alone
Riding Back to the Soddy
Matilda Confesses
The Kiowas Attack
After the Battle – End Title
The Way West (featuring the Serendipity Singers)
Overture (Main Title)
Lige Celebrates
We’re Crossing First
Flowers for Mr. Mack
I Killed Him (Execution)
Water/Billy’s Death
Mercy McBee (featuring the Serendipity Singers)
Buffalos and Indians
Becky’s Theme
On to Crystal City/Tadlock’s End
Reluctant Mercy
Finale (featuring the Serendipity Singers)

Tracks 1-13 from Dimitri Tiomkin’s The Unforgiven: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – United Artists LP UAS-5068, 1960
Tracks 14-26 from Bronislau Kaper’s The Way West: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – United Artists LP UAS-5149, 1967

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Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.