Search - Various Artists :: Waterloo

The sound is rough and congested in places, but I still give

Alan Majeska | Bad Axe, MI, USA | 03/31/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc brings back memories. I pestered my dear mother to buy me the LP when it came out in August, 1971, via the Columbia Record Club she was enrolled in at the time. She paid something like $6.99 (worth alot more in 1971 than it is today!) for this 34 minute LP, and I listened to it again and again, until the surfaces were no longer playable: scratches, pops and ticks marred the surface from repeated listenings. I looked for Nino Rota's WATERLOO score on CD, but until now was not able to find it. This music should be more available - it is dramatic, intense, and very appropriate to the battle scenes, ball, or whatever scene the movie depicts.



The recording, made originally in 1971 and transferred to CD by Legends (an Italian company, presumably, since the titles are listed in Italian) is in stereo, but the sound is rough and congested. A sonic upgrade/remastering is in order. Still, there is much to enjoy here. The trombones and horns of the studio orchestra really rasp to heighten the drama - the din of the charge of the Old Guard, Napoleon's select troupe, and the defenses of the British forces under Wellington. The orchestra is a studio orchestra, and the musicians play well under Bruno Nicolai's direction. Some of Rota's film score is original, in other scenes he borrows from French military band music of the period, and the Handel chorus "See the Conquering Hero Comes" from JUDAS MACCABEAUS opens the track depicting Wellington and his officers at a ball a few days before the Battle of Waterloo happened.



I hope this film score will be offered in a remastered version, or perhaps an enterprising label like Naxos or Chandos will record this music in digital sound with a better, full orchestra. Another idea: perhaps an enterprising video company will release WATERLOO on DVD, with remastered sound and picture quality. I would think something made in 1971 would transfer well, and do service to the great acting of Rod Steiger (Napoleon), Christopher Plummer (Wellington), and Orson Welles (Louis XVIII) among the other actors in this film.



The current disc under discussion is recommended with reservations."

Nino rota, pre godfather but post romeo and juliet

James Wilson | Burlington, Vermont | 09/22/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I owned the LP of the this CD in college. My friends thought I was a little peculiar for liking the music. (I'm also one of the few people who liked the movie). It's a pastiche, but stylishly done, and at times stirring. My only two gripes are the length (only 34 minutes) and, in places, the poor sound quality, which might be due to the relatively low regard people had for soundtracks in the 1960s."