MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (AND OTHER RAY HARRYHAUSEN CLASSICS)

Label: Monstrous Movie Music MMM 1953
Date: 1949
Tracks: 66
Time = 61:48

World premiere recordings from three movies featuring Ray Harryhausen animation. Has lengthy suites from MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949/Roy Webb/35:44); 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957/Mischa Bakaleinikoff, Davis Raksin, George Duning, etc./21:07) plus two selections from THE ANIMAL WORLD (1956/Paul Sawtell, Frederick Hollander/4:03). Webb provides MIGHTY JOE YOUNG with busy score melding African origin, big-city glitz, evocative action. Stephen Foster tune ("Beautiful Dreamer") plays prominent role as well. 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH offers music by Bakaleinikoff intended for movie plus plethora of music used in movie but originally scored for other Columbia projects. ANIMAL WORLD offers brief glimpse of Sawtell score, emphasizing colorful orchestral devices: string trills, flutter-tongued brass, violin harmonics, xylophone accents, other neat ideas. CD wraps with longer reprise of Frederick Hollander cue originally written for HERE COMES MR. JORDAN, herein re-used for 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH. Customary for label, lengthy booklet (barely fits jewel box) offers virtual essay on everything related to original movies including behind-the-scenes production info, various composer bios, artists, individual cues, more. Exhaustive! Masatoshi Mitsumoto conducts Radio Symphony Orchestra of Slovakia. Exciting album, lovingly presented!