Search - Robert Townson, Joel McNeely Jerry Goldsmith, Royal Scottish National Orchestra :: In Session: Film Music Celebration

"the man behind Varese Sarabande ~ Robert Townson"

J. Lovins | Missouri-USA | 04/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The music that this label releases is without a doubt in a class by themselves, always perfection. Here we have the 500th CD release from ~ "The Man Behind The Music" ~ Mr. Robert Townson. So much care is taken with each album, that you feel you are witnessing the birth of a newborn baby, and that may be just what it is.For those of us who buy each album ~ people who work to create them ~ the artwork ~ musicians ~ and a list of some of the most talented composers and conductors ~ John Barry, Elmer Bernstein, John Debney, Georges Delerue, Cliff Eidelman, Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, Michael Lang, Henry Mancini, Joel McNeely, Alfred Newman, Alex North, Miklos Rozsa, Dimitri Shostakovich, Frederic Talgorn, Franz Waxman, Rick Wentworth and John Williams ~ and as always the sound quality and performances by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and National Philharmonic Orchestra is dynamically flawless and simply superb.This economically priced 2-CD-Set ~ pure film score sampling ~ is worth it's weight in gold. One should not have a favorite from this vast collection, but if asked ~ it would be "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" (1962) composer Elmer Bernstein took it to the limit and beyond, the story-line, cast and score was the perfect marriage.A big, big thank you to ~ Matthew Joseph Peak (cover/session photography) ~ Jonathan Allen, Geoff Foster, Bernie Kirsh, Mike Ross, Mike Sheady and Al Swanson (recording engineers) ~ Rich Breen (mastering engineer) ~ and for the extensive 28 page liner-note booklet featuring "behind the scenes" memories of these past 500 albums, may we look forward to future classics on the next 500 CD's from producer...ROBERT TOWNSON! Total Time: Disc One 71:20 on 19 Tracks & Disc Two 71:24 on 17 Tracks...Varese Sarabande 302 066 225 2...(2001)"

A sampler feat. some of the greatest film scores in history.

J. Lovins | 09/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Words cannot convey what a collection like this means to a film music collector such as myself. Varese Saraband has been releasing quality film scores and music for the last 20 plus years. My vinyl and CD collections burst with so much great stuff from Varese. One day I was looking in the bins of my local record store and noticed this little gem of a collection. I looked at it and saw a virtual cornucopia of the great film score cues for only $ (and 2 discs). So I purchased it and opened it up. Much to my surprise, the booklet is chock full of information about each scoring session and pictures to boot. I also learned more about some of these wonderful pieces as well. Well thanks to Mr. Townson and this nice collection, I plan to purchase some of the recordings these cues were released on since I don't own classics like Viva Zapata, Alex North's 2001, Superman (not the Varese version, I do have the other release), and Patton. Guess I will have to save a few pennies, but it will be worth it. I recommend this collection to anybody who wants to discover and learn about the history of film music. I also think it's a great listen from the first song to the last on both discs. My compliments to Varese on a great collection of classics (and keeping it under $)."

A copy in every household . . .

Malcolm Young | Minneapolis, MN United States | 02/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc is so chock-full of classic scores from classic films that every movie-and-music lover should own a copy. Thanks to Robert Townson for producing this collection and the entire Varese film score catalog. My favorite tracks from this disc are "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"; "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"; and "Midway"."