OST: Around The World in 80 Days

OST: Around The World in 80 Days / 2007 Hit Parade / 23 Tracks / Reviewed 18 April 2007

This is the score for the 1957 version of “Around The World in 80 Days”. The disc was re-released on the 50th anniversary of the film being released. In the last few years, copies of the CD version of this score became increasingly hard to find, as there was only one run of the discs. This album, which became the #1 album of 1957, had to be re-released to its adoring public. However, the individuals at Hit Parade thought they would go one step further and actually include some extra tracks on the disc.

Sure, many acts add a track or two to greatest hits albums or re-releases of earlier material, but this version of the score goes well beyond that. Specifically, over a half-hour of music is added to the CD. Another addition to this version of the CD is the lengthy liner notes, which give over twenty pages of context to individuals that may not have been alive or cognizant when the score was first released fifty years ago. Victor Young was the composer in charge of creating the score for “Around the World in 80 Days”, and many consider this work to be eir most impressive, which is a feat considering that Young scored over 300 albums in eir career. The production of the tracks on the disc are faithful to both the earlier CD and first LP versions, and the additional tracks will only seem out of place for those individuals that constantly listen in to the score. For fans of the movie, the extra inclusions will link scenes more easily into the music that Young scored for the album. Individuals that liked the movie or the music from the movie should do well to purchase this re-release.

It may be another 20 or 25 years before another version of the score is readily available. The added material make the purchase smart even for those individuals that already have other versions of the score. Hit Parade has a smart buy on their hands all around, and I know I will be looking at their release schedule much more closely in the months to come. This new interpretation on “Around the World in 80 Days” (new because this version of the score has not been heard on CD or LP before) is an expansion on the original score, and is just as strong as the original score was.

Top Tracks: Paris Arrival, The Descent

Rating: 6.0/10

[JMcQ]