|
|
Psycho: The Essential Alfred Hitchcock |
|
Music Composed by Various Artists Conducted by Paul Bateman Performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Produced by James Fitzpatrick Release Date: 1999
Purchase At
|
The “King of Compilations,” a.k.a. Silva Screen Records, has claimed another victim. I placed the Signatures in Suspense album from Hip-O as the best compilation in the small batch of new Hitchcock CDs that came out around the time of what would have been the famous director’s one-hundredth birthday. It was a good album, and the fact that it mostly utilized the originally recorded music cues might be a considerable factor to some people. This set uses re-recorded cues that have been digitally mastered in Dolby Surround and the result is excellent. Add that to the fact that this two CD set contains over 130 minutes of music from a wide variety of Hitchcock films, and you have a solid winner. The first CD begins with an extended version of the “Funeral March of the Marionette” piece that served as the title theme for the Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series. This cue, along with the other tracks on the first disc culminating with Rear Window, all utilize the concert music feel. This may not exactly excite some listeners, but I found these tracks to be really enjoyable. The excellent sound quality also goes a long way to enhancing the experience. The music takes in many different styles, but really never seems out of place with everything else. My only real complaint is that the suite from Under Capricorn tends to sound like the Blue Danube in spots. It’s not really that big of a deal though since this seems to be a style that is really hard to compose for to make it not sound like it is a rip-off of that famous piece of music. The second disc is what will probably be the most interesting for the Hitchcock fans. It contains the music from his most memorable films and includes lengthy suites from Bernhard Herrmann. Herrmann’s music is well represented here, and the suite from Psycho has to be the best-recorded version I’ve heard yet. Also included on this CD is a suite of the unused music from Torn Curtain. This is a must-have if you are a fan of Hitchcock film scores. The stunning sound quality, and the concert-like feel of the music on the first disc, all come together to form a defining album in the arena of compilations. This is the Hitchcock compilation to have. *****
|
|
Track Listing - CD 1 1 - The Alfred Hitchcock Theme (Funeral March of the Marionette) (4:18) 2 - The Thirty Nine Steps (Suite) (4:06) 3 - The Lady Vanishes (Prelude) (3:06) 4 - Rebecca (Suite) (7:09) 5 - Suspicion (Prelude / Sunday Morning) (4:41) 6 - Lifeboat (Disaster) (3:06) 7 - Spellbound (Concerto for Orchestra) (9:32) 8 - Rope (Main Titles) (2:11) 9 - Under Capricorn (Suite) (7:06) 10 - Stage Fright (Rhapsody) (5:01) 11 - Strangers On a Train (Suite) (7:48) 12 - Dial M For Murder (Suite) (7:20) 13 - Rear Window (Lisa) (3:50) Total Running Time: 69:23 Track Listing - CD 2 1 - To Catch a Thief (Suite) (5:54) 2 - The Trouble With Harry (A Portrait of Hitch) (8:49) 3 - The Man Who Knew Too Much (Prelude) (2:17) 4 - Vertigo (Prelude/ The Nightmare) (5:01) 5 - Vertigo (Scene D'Amour) (5:11) 6 - North By Northwest (Prelude) (3:21) 7 - North By Northwest (Conversation Piece) (4:43) 8 - Psycho (Suite for String Orchestra) (7:26) 9 - Marnie (Prelude) (3:01) 10 - Torn Curtain (Suite From the Unused Score) (6:08) 11 - Torn Curtain (Main Title) (2:21) 12 - Topaz (The London Theme) (2:30) 13 - Family Plot (Finale) (4:00) Total Running Time: 63:26 |
