{"product_id":"the-son-of-kong-the-most-dangerous-game-reconstructed-fil","title":"The Son of Kong \u0026 The Most Dangerous Game (Reconstructed Fil","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eSTEINER \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e(recons. Morgan) \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eThe Son of Kong. The Most Dangerous Game \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e• \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eWilliam Stromberg, cond; Moscow SO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e•\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e NAXOS 8.570183 (77:19) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThe informative program notes for this album present a vigorous case for these scores being as good as \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eKing Kong\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, and therefore ranking with Steiner’s best music. There is no doubt about the resemblance to \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eKing Kong. The Most Dangerous Game\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eThe Son of Kong \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003eimmediately preceded and followed that landmark picture and score. The music is typical of Steiner’s RKO years, but it certainly does not rank with his best scores. To be truthful, there are numerous Steiner scores worthier of being recorded, even to the extent that it is almost a shame that so much effort was devoted to the recording of this music. That said, \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eThe Son of Kong \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003eand \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eThe Most Dangerous Game\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e will still be a feast for Steiner zealots. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThis is another Naxos reissue from the “Marco Polo Golden Age Film Classics” series with identical sound but less snazzy program notes. For \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eThe Son of Kong\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, Steiner utilized much of the thematic material from \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eKing Kong \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003ein a fairly subtle way, but most of the score consists of new music in the same style. If you like \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eKing Kong\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, there is no reason why you won’t enjoy \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eThe Son of Kong. The Most Dangerous Game \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003eis stylistically similar with just as much rambunctious brass, but it doesn’t have the hook of being the offspring of a \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ebona fide\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e film classic. In both scores, there are plenty of stock Steiner suspense cues and braying brass that don’t quite reach the sense-numbing level of \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eKing Kong. The Son of Kong \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003econtains some luscious bluesy music that anticipates some of the thematic material for the 1950s \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eGone with the Wind \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003ewannabe that also starred Clark Gable, \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eBand of Angels \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e(which contains a remarkably good Steiner score for a really bad film). \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eFor budgetary reasons, \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eThe Son of Kong \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003eemployed a 28-piece orchestra including the grand total of six violins! In comparison, \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eKing Kong \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003eused 46 musicians on the original soundtrack, many of them playing multiple instruments. As in many other releases in this extremely valuable series, the importance of the work of John Morgan cannot be overstated. He fully reconstructed and orchestrated the music from Steiner’s original sketches. The result is a perfect reproduction of the well-known, full orchestral Steiner sound that is treasured by so many film music fans. Conducting the music is clearly a labor of love for William Stromberg, and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra is magnificent. It never fails to amaze me how this team manages to come so close to reproducing the authentic music of the Golden Age emanating from the legendary studio orchestras of Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, and to a lesser extent, MGM and RKO. The sound is big, fat, juicy, and refulgent. It perfectly suits Steiner’s style with an up-front aural perspective. There is plenty of inner detail, including the many instrumental doublings. Despite the volume of the brass instruments, they always remain focused in the back of the orchestra with a soundstage that doesn’t collapse at the massive climaxes. There is no chance that these scores will ever be better recorded or played. If you are a Steiner fan, nothing more needs to be said. If not, the relentless onslaught of decibels may wear you out despite the high quality of every aspect of the production. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Arthur Lintgen \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49000953610520,"sku":"747313018376","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/984724_7289a3cb-7a8d-40da-80e4-7798fecd06b1.jpg?v=1777575915","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/the-son-of-kong-the-most-dangerous-game-reconstructed-fil","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}