Charlie Chaplin - The Essential Film Music Collection

Artist: Charles Chaplin & Carl Davis
Title Of Album: Charlie Chaplin - The Essential Film Music Collection
Year Of Release: 2006
Label: Silva Screen SILCD1198
Genre: Original Soundtrack
Type: CD
Quality: MP3
Bitrate: 320 kbps
Total Time: 151m40s
Total Size: 349 MB

The author, actor and director of over 80 films, the cinematic giant of the 20th Century also composed the music for his 18 feature films. Chaplin’s standards include Smile, Eternally and This Is My Song. This 2 CD set features music from the feature films and also Carl Davis’ new scores for the magnificent Mutual Films shorts. This collection celebrates his finest work and has the full blessing of the Chaplin Estate.

DISC 1 – CHAPLIN BY CHAPLIN
01. - The Reel Chaplin – A Symphonic Adventure (Part 1) (12:47)
includes: A Woman of Paris, The Kid, The Chaplin Revue, Sunnyside, The Gentleman Tramp and Limelight.
02. - The Kid (1921) - Suite (8:46)
03. - Pay Day (1922) - (4:21)
04. - The Gold Rush (1925) - (4:23)
05. - The Circus (1928) - (6:15)
06. - City Lights (1931) - (5:15)
07. - Modern Times (1936) - (3:52)
08. - The Great Dictator (1940) - Suite - (5:40)
09. - Monsieur Verdoux (1940) - Paris Boulevard - (2:15)
10. - Monsieur Verdoux (1940) - Bitter Tango - (2:51)
11. - A King In New York (1957) - Mandolin Serenade - (3:48)
12. - A King In New York (1957) - Weeping Willow - (1:48)
13. - A Countess From Hong Kong (1967) - Prelude/This Is My Song - (6:40)
14. - The Reel Chaplin - A Symphonic Adventure (Part 2) - (6:05)
includes: The Chaplin Revue (like from A Dog's Life), Modern Times, including 'Smile!'

Total Minutes Disc One: (74:48)

DISC 2 – CHAPLIN BY DAVIS
01. - The Floorwalker (1916) - (3:34)
02. - The Firemen (1916) - (4:53)
03. - The Vagabond (1916) - (5:42)
04. - One A.M. (1916) - (6:28)
05. - The Count (1916) - (7:37)
06. - The Pawnshop - (8:28)
07. - Behind The Screen (1916) - (6:29)
08. - The Rink (1916) - (7:47)
09. - Easy Street (1917) - (6:52)
10. - The Cure (1917) - (7:30)
11. - The Immigrant (1917) - (8:57)
12. - The Adventurer (1917) - (6:33)

Total Minutes Disc Two: (76:51)

Album Review by Uncle Dave Lewis
The Essential Film Music Collection is both a retrospective of Charlie Chaplin's own scores and those written by Carl Davis for earlier Mutual Film Corporation productions that Chaplin did not score because he couldn't secure the uncontested rights to them. Sometimes Chaplin's music conflicts a little with what's onscreen, particularly in cases where he scores a film that seemed very old to him, as he was attempting to supply music for it some 50 or 60 years after it was made. He didn't regard some of his own films very highly, or simply didn't remember well, and the result is that some of his music is anachronistic or merely uncertain in its purpose. Even in such cases, on its own terms Chaplin's film music is always excellent, rich with quotations of familiar tunes, ragtime figures, and echoes of the English music hall that was an important part of his artistic heritage. Many scores have been written for the Mutual films; The Rink is one of the most frequently scored films in history, and sadly, not always with success. Although he focuses more on onscreen action than was Chaplin's own usual practice, Davis is familiar with Chaplin's own preferences and practices, and produced scores for Chaplin's 12-film Mutual cycle that are in his style but fit the films to a T. Davis leads the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, but it doesn't appear to be the full band, as little more than a theater orchestra was usually called for in most cases, and the Wihan Quartet joins in for passages that clearly only require a chamber group. The Chaplin disc is bookended by two suites collecting various cues and entitled "The Reel Chaplin"; taken together they last about 20 minutes. The rest is made up of single cues or smaller suites, and the result is a very fast-moving collection that never drags. The Davis disc consists of suites from all 12 Mutual productions, averaging about seven minutes each. Like most original recordings from Silva Screen, the sound quality is great. If your taste runs mainly to serious, challenging, and exploratory music, this might not be for you — it is sweet, sentimental, and heady with the vernacular of a time gone by. For everyone else, few recordings released in 2006 will prove as easy to listen to and enjoy as The Essential Film Music Collection.

Customer Reviews
Long overdue
by KHedgecock
Chaplin's music has been largely neglected by the music industry for decades. However, his music is absolutely sublime and enhances his movies more than many composers do to current films today. Many composers could learn a LOT about movie scoring from listening and watching Chaplin's films. This is a GREAT collection, performed masterfully and captures his films so perfectly it makes you wonder if they performed these while Chaplin's films were being viewed by the composer. Excellent, excellent, excellent.

There is no one that compares to Charlie Chaplin!
by idoljunkie
Years ago, I had the unique opportunity to see City Lights in a refurbished theater along with a live orchestra playing the entire musical score, and I tell you, it was fantastic. Outside of the performance area, they were selling Chaplin memorabilia, and I purchased the City Lights musical score that day, and I have been looking for more of his movie scores since. Since Michael Jackson died, it was mentioned that he, too, loved Charlie Chaplin, and especially "Smile" which I knew that Charlie Chaplin wrote, but Michael also sang it on one of his albums, and it is beautiful. I am so thankful, iTunes, that you have included all of the available Chaplin music for all of us to enjoy. I love him, his movies, AND all of his music. Thank you again!! P.S. I have kept Charlie's memory alive with all of MY memorabilia so my kids also know who he is, and they like him too!!

Fantastic!
by candyandcookiesandpringlesohmy
Classic Charlie Chaplin Music! :)