THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY – A CENTURY OF FLIGHT

VARIOUS

Rating:

Golden Age Review by Tom Kiefner: Don't be mislead by the title The High and the Mighty! While there is a 6˝-minute suite from Tiomkin's 1954 Oscar winning score, including the very popular whistling theme from the film, this CD is a compilation with flying as the common thread. The century of flight spans the beginning of flying, in Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines, to Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

According to the notes in the producer's perspective section the list was formed over pastrami sandwiches in about 10 minutes! Perhaps this was the reason why the Superman Theme was not chosen for this compilation. Somehow, it doesn't feel complete without it. Yet Airplane was chosen and Airport was omitted? This release was produced for a store like Borders Book Store which someone will see and grab, as opposed to the hard core collector who would much prefer the original soundtrack release. Even so, the selections chosen does afford one the opportunity to listen to soundtracks such as "Ireland" from The Spirit of St. Louis or the "Main Theme" from The Boy Who Could Fly for the first time. Compilations are excellent venues to listen to small little snips, and if the interest is piqued in any way one can further pursue a more complete version such of the original soundtrack if available. Occasionally, as is the case with this release, A Century of Flight, commissioned by producer Paul Stilwell and written by Brian Shyer is a first recording. The five plus minute suite is a smooth representation of a soaring flight complete with brass fanfare and a melody nicely carried by the LSO string section. The birdlike qualities of the small plane gliding over the terrain in North Carolina for the first time are nicely reproduced by this selection. And the five minutes allows Brian to nicely develop his catchy theme. This is one of the highlights this recording has to offer, along with the nicely played The High and the Mighty Suite.

Themes from the films Out of Africa and E.T., once heard on the OST, have a tendency to disappoint your ear for anything but the original. These selections are just played from the sheet music by the LSO. There is little vibrancy or excitement in the quality of the playing. Star Trek: The Motion Picture was even worse. There are many superior recordings available in the marketplace. Time Warp (CD 80106) from Telarc with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops gives you the enthusiasm and vigour necessary in a recording of the Goldsmith composition. Being stoic and conservative works just fine on Walton's Spitfire, but not on this one. Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines, The Great Waldo Pepper, and 633 Squadron are pleasant enough but are played more like a Sunday afternoon pops concert, and the Airplane! selection is just plain out of place on this CD.

On the plus side are the liner notes by Jim Brown. There is a lot of interesting and valuable information about the films and the composers, especially for the newcomer to the world of soundtracks. The digital recording is well done, and mastered with good mike placement. Is there enough material on this CD to please the soundtrack collector? If you couple A Century of Flight with a couple of other selections like The Tuskegee Airmen or The Last Starfighter, ones you are not familiar with, then yes. Otherwis,e wait for it to go into the cutout or clearance section where you shop. This is a release which, even with the help of John Waxman, should go back to the drawing board!

Track Listing: Running Time: 66 minutes 46 seconds

Varése Sarabande 302-066-704-2 (2006)

Music performed by The London Symphony Orchestra. Conducted by Richard Kaufman. Recorded and mixed by Robert Hadley. Album produced by Paul Stilwell.

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