Keeping Score with New Releases by Intrada and Kritzerland

The last few weeks have seen some great catalogue soundtracks released, including a set of LPs from a beloved Golden Age composer and a pair of heavy hitters at 20th Century-Fox.

Last week saw Intrada release two score titles. The first is the world premiere of Maurice Jarre’s score to Distant Thunder, from the 1988 John Lithgow-Ralph Macchio film about a Vietnam War veteran uneasily returning to his family after a decade spent in the American wilderness. Jarre’s small-scale electronic ensemble balances the tentativeness of Lithgow and Macchio’s burgeoning father-son relationship with sudden bursts representing the fear and violence that Lithgow’s Mark Lambert so often lived with.

Elsewhere, Intrada unleashes no less than six albums on three discs from acclaimed composer Elmer Bernstein’s tenure on the MGM-distributed label Ava Records. Recorded and released between 1962 and 1965, The Ava Collection features original soundtrack albums from such classics as The Carpetbaggers, To Kill a Mockingbird and Walk on the Wild Side, as well as a compilation of stray movie and television themes by Bernstein. Not only is this the first collection of all six of these releases, it’s also the first time all six of them have been mastered from the original first generation stereo masters! This mix of quality and quantity make it a must-have for not only Bernstein fans, but for fans of great ’60s film scoring.

Last, but certainly not least, Kritzerland uncovers two classics from the scoring sessions of 20th Century-Fox: Alfred Newman’s O. Henry’s Full House (1952) and Cyril Holdridge’s The Luck of the Irish (1948). Full House is quite an interesting picture: five adaptations of short stories by the popular American author, including “The Last Leaf,” “The Ransom of Red Chief” and the enduring “The Gift of the Magi” – all put on by five different directors and five different casts (including Charles Laughton, Marilyn Monroe, Farley Granger and others) and narrated by John Steinbeck, in a rare film appearance. Newman’s five mini-scores, ably arranged by Ken Darby, are treats for any fan of his work. Full House is paired with the score to The Luck of the Irish, a fantasy about a man (Tyrone Power) torn between his wealthy fiancé in New York and a beautiful stranger he met on the Emerald Isle. His journey is guided by Cecil Kellaway as Horace, an honest-to-goodness leprechaun he also makes the acquaintance of.

The Kritzerland two-fer is limited to 1,000 copies, while the Intrada sets are available “while quantities and interest remain.” Make your orders and check out the track lists after the jump!

Maurice Jarre, Distant Thunder: Music from the Motion Picture (Intrada Special Collection Vol. 271, 2014 – original film released 1988)

1. Main Title
2. Mark in Pond
3. Louis Walks the Track
4. Louis Kisses the Train
5. Mark Leaves Mountains – Insert
6. Char Meets Mark
7. It’s a Deal
8. Mark in the Park/Jack Gets Letter
9. Haircut
10. Mark Leaves Town
11. Headlines/To the Mountains (Revised)/The Forest At Night
12. Larry and Jack (After Shooting)/Mark and Jack Meet (Revised)
13. Mark and Jack Meet (Original Version)
14. Larry Consoles Mark
15. Remember Billy
16. No Trespassing
17. Looking for Nitz
18. Down the Hill
19. You’re a Real Amigo
20. Mark in Hospital/It’s Not Your Fault
21. After the Train Has Passed (Revised)/Mark and Jack Reunion
22. To the Mountains (Original Version)
23. After the Train Has Passed (Original Version)/Mark and Jack Reunion

All tracks previously unreleased

Elmer Bernstein, The Ava Collection (Intrada Special Collection Vol. 262, 2014)

Disc 1: Walk on the Wild Side and The Carpetbaggers

1. Walk on the Wild Side
2. Somewhere in the Used to Be
3. Hallie’s Jazz
4. Rejected
5. Doll House
6. Teresina
7. Night Theme
8. Walk on the Wild Side Jazz
9. Dove
10. Kitty
11. Oliver
12. Reminiscence
13. Finale
14. The Carpetbaggers
15. Love Theme from The Carpetbaggers
16. Speak of the Devil
17. Forbidden Room
18. The Carpetbaggers Blues
19. Main Title from The Carpetbaggers
20. New Star
21. The Producer Asks for a Divorce
22. Jonas Hits Bottom
23. Finale

Disc 2: The Caretakers and Baby the Rain Must Fall

1. Black Straight-Jacket
2. Blues for a 4-String Guitar
3. Take Care
4. Birdito
5. Party in the Ward
6. The Caretakers (Main Title)
7. The Cage
8. Electrotherapy
9. Day Hospital
10. Seclusion
11. Finale
12. Baby the Rain Must Fall
13. Henry’s Heap
14. Shine for Me – The We Three Trio
15. Travelin’ Lady
16. Treat Me Right – Jim and Johnny
17. Gospel Time
18. Pecan Grove Rock
19. Baby the Rain Must Fall – The We Three Trio
20. Wagon Wheel Watusi
21. Main Title Theme from Baby the Rain Must Fall 

Disc 3: To Kill a Mockingbird and Movie and TV Themes Composed and Conducted by Elmer Bernstein 

 

1. Main Title
2. Roll in the Tire
3. The Search for Boo
4. Jem’s Discovery
5. To Kill a Mockingbird
6. Tree Treasure
7. Lynch Mob
8. Footsteps in the Dark
9. Children Attacked
10. Scout & Boo
11. Summer’s End
12. Rat Race (from the Paramount Picture)
13. Three Time Blueser (from the TV Show Take Five)
14. Radio Hysteria (from the R.K.O. Picture Sudden Fear)
15. Anna Lucasta (from the United Artists Picture)
16. Hop, Skip But Jump
17. Saints and Sinners (from the Four Star TV Production)
18. Sweet Smell of Success (from the United Artists Picture)
19. The Man with the Golden Arm (from the United Artists Picture)
20. Jubilation
21. Walk on the Wild Side (from the Columbia Picture)

Disc 1, Tracks 1-13 released as Ava LP AS-4ST, 1962
Disc 1, Tracks 14-23 released as Ava LP AS-45ST, 1964
Disc 2, Tracks 1-11 released as Ava LP AS-31, 1963
Disc 2, Tracks 12-21 released as Ava LP AS-53ST, 1965
Disc 3, Tracks 1-11 released as Ava LP AS-20ST, 1963
Disc 3, Tracks 12-21 released as Ava LP AS-11ST, 1962

Alred Newman/Cyril Mockridge, O. Henry’s Full House/The Luck of the Irish: Original Motion Picture Soundtracks (Kritzerland KR 20027-9, 2014 – original films released 1952/1948)

1. O. Henry’s Full House: Main Title
2. Concerning O. Henry
3. “The Last Leaf” – Love Ends
4. Joanna
5. The Will to Die
6. The Good Samaritan
7. Holding On
8. A Great Artist/Finale
9. “The Cop and the Anthem” – The Windy Street
10. Softly and Tenderly/Finale
11. “The Clarion Call” – A Gambler’s Honor
12. Love’s Dream After the Ball
13. De Camptown Races/Finale
14. “The Ransom of Red Chief” – Hill Billy Tune/Finale
15. “The Gift of the Magi” – The Lovers
16. Heartbroken
17. The Perfect Gifts
18. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/Finale
19. Henry’s Full House: End Titles
20. The Luck of the Irish: Main Title
21. The Leprechaun
22. Fitz
23. The Little Man
24. The Waterfall
25. The Coin
26. Goodbye, Fitz
27. New York
28. Frances
29. The Drink
30. Horace
31. Courage
32. Old Tricks
33. The Bottle
34. A Gift for an Old Friend
35. In a Thicket
36. Finale