Boris Karloff - How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966 TV Film)
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Boris KarloffEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Soundtrack
CD Release Date: 1995-10-03
Music Label: Mercury/Polygram
Soundtracks:
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- Welcome Christmas
- Trim Up the Tree
- You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch
- Welcome Christmas (Reprise)
Free Music Notes for How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966 TV Film)
Free Music Review: Totally different from the TV soundtrack!
Hit: 5 Stars
Here it is FORTY years after its premiere---and the "Grinch" soundtrack stands as one of the last of a great musical tradition that extends all the way from the 30's: completely scored in a colorful, very "legit" technical manner, based on a thorough grounding in classic song-writing and background scoring/orchestration. And this cd presents it all in bright, clean and detailed sound.
What is puzzling and fascinating is this: considering that the production of "How the Grinch..." in 1966 was apparently not an especially lavish one, how is it that the soundtrack exists in TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VERSIONS, each with its own similar but different background music, and each with DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT arrangements of the three songs??
It's too bad that all of the major musical figures---Albert Hague (composer), Eugene Poddany (the guy who did the intense work of scoring the whole thing TWICE) and Thurl Ravenscroft (singer of "You're a Mean One..")---have all passed on; as institutional memory goes, we may never know why the work was scored and recorded one way for the film and another completely different way for the MGM soundtrack album. I can see some cutting and patching together of the film soundtrack and an EXPANSION of the songs for the LP---that would be logical---but an ENTIRELY new score?
I know I sound like a broken (LP) record, but I will continue to wonder about this. In any case, the 21-minute version of the soundtrack contained on this cd is great. And I must say that Boris KArloff's narration is absolutely BRILLIANT; it's so easy to take it for granted, since we all know it practically by heart. But take the time to really listen to Karloff's reading---the subtlety, the nuance, the pacing---the amazing RANGE of sound and vocal color--and the sensitivity of "the Grinch's small heart grew 3 sizes that day"......GREAT stuff!
And to think, Karloff could pull off this tour de force barely a year or so before his own death. (You will notice a frequent change in the audio
quality of the narration--sometimes with much low rumble and surface noise; sounds like it was assembled from a variety of audio sources).
The cd also contains the songs themselves WITHOUT narration as additional tracks---so you can really enjoy the tunes and lyrics of Hague and Suess AND the fabulous work of Mr. Poddany.
Yes, the CHORAL work is quite different from the TV version too. The women's voices are really pretty raw in this soundtrack version (Thurl says they only used 4 women total in the session), but at least you don't have to put up with that raucous, out-of-tune kiddie chorus which was looped over the adult voices in the TV soundtrack.
All-in-all a delight, and a great tribute to the talent of the people who created and performed it.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966 TV Film) Poster
The Grinch is the Darth Vader of our sugarplum visions. With Boris Karloff reading the beloved fable, generations of kids have been enthralled to hear the tale of how the Grinch almost ripped off the odd folks of Whoville by taking their presents and plundering their decorative booty with help from his hapless dog. And yet he can't dash Whoville's spirit. With songs from the show, including that timeless ode to nastiness "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," this colorful compact version of the story belongs in every seasonal collection. --Martin KellerBroadway & Vocalists Music CDs
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