Search - William Stromberg :: Salter / Skinner: Sherlock Homes And The Voice Of Terror

Way over the top!

William F. Flanigan Jr. | North Potomac, MD USA | 06/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This music is far and away beyond being exceptional! Messrs. John Morgan and William Stromberg have yet again exceed their past triumphs (I have no clue how they keep doing this!). Where to begin? Perhaps, with some numbers: five stars (out of five) for restoration, arrangement/re-arrangement, and cue selection/editing; five stars for presentation (conducting and orchestral performance); five stars for recording and mastering; and five stars for the fascinating (and huge!) CD booklet courtesy of Messrs. Bill Whitaker and John Morgan (the photo on page 33 is worth the price of admission alone!). With a new orchestral venue and technical crew, Mr. Stromberg has once again "come into his own," acoustically speaking; the technical aspects of past recordings with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra has often been ham handed and uneven to the point of distraction. But the sound on these tracks is definitely 21st Century in quality! For those new to the neighborhood, just who are these two film composer folks--Frank Skinner and Hans J. Salter? Well, among other notable achievements, they saved many a Universal programmer during the late 30's and early-to-mid 40's (and very likely the studios's bacon to boot). When you view Universal's "second wave" of horror films even today, two things instantly grab your attention: the stunning photography and the inventive, pulsating music. "(These) pictures were a great challenge, because ... before scoring they didn't seem to have much fright about them or cohesion either. They'd screen one of those pictures for us without the music, and it would be nothing. The challenge was in creating the sense of terror and suspense, and that is something music can do. All the pictures we saved for them!" Mr. Salter is quoted as saying in the CD booklet. Like many of the film scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Salter and Skinner's music transcends and is enormously superior to the films for which they composed. Until Messrs. Morgan and Stromberg got the bit in their teeth, Salter and Skinner's film scores had served to elevate fair-to middling films, but, in turn, it was the poor reputation of these movies that served to suppress vastly underrated film music! NONE of this music has ever been heard like it is presented here. The Universal studio orchestra had barely 40 players; this CD uses a full symphony. Also, Mr. Morgan was able to work extensively with Mr. Salter on restorations during the final year's of the latter's long life. To quote Mr. Salter once more from the CD booklet, the executives at Universal "never knew what they had" in the way of music talent. I strongly recommend that you don't make the same mistake. Latch on to this CD while you still can!"

Much of this shows its classical roots

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 05/16/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Some music is great fun, either in itself or by personal associations or both. So when Marco Polo issued selections from the Salter/Skinner scores to "Son of Frankenstein," "The Invisible Man Returns," and "The Wolf Man" back in 1995 and followed up with the complete film score to "House of Frankenstein" by Salter and Dessau, I could not keep from grinning foolishly hearing it, all the time realizing how good some of it really was. Now we have (8.225124) that treat us to 22 cuts from "The Ghost of Frankenstein," 8 from "Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror," and a taste of three other films. The very generous program notes tell the whole story, with good lobbycard illustrations, of how this team worked together--one slept as the other worked--and I leave it to you to read all about it for yourself. As for the music itself, listen to the "Monster Theme" in the first suite and think if you will of how Wagner treated the "Dragon Leitmotif" in "Siegfried" to appreciate how classically grounded much of this music is in the tradition of Weber, Wagner, and even Richard Strauss. Not all of the selections are of high quality, but enough are to merit this offering a high rating. Happy and spooky listening, folks."

Naxos Repressing

Gary A. Smith | Los Angeles, ca USA | 09/16/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I wondered why this previously out of print and expensive CD was suddenly so inexpensive. It is a Naxos repressing of the original CD and, the copy I got from Amazon, is unmistakably a CD-R at that. The music is great and it's good to see it back in print but it should be noted here that it is not the original pressing. Also the extensive booklet mentioned in a previous review is not included with the Naxos release."