A spectacular orchestral dreadnought such as this requires mastering and pressing of the highest quality.
Herrmann’s music taxes the limits of LP playback itself, with deep organ notes (listen for the famous Decca rumble accompanying the organ if you have the deep bass reproduction to hear it); incredible dynamics from every area of the stage; masses of strings playing at the top of their registers with abandon; huge drums; powerful brass effects everywhere — every sound an orchestra can produce is found on this record, and then some.
You will hear plenty of sounds that defy description, that’s for sure. Some of the time I can’t even imagine what instrument could possibly make such a sound!
Your Hard Work Pays Off
A recording of this size and scope will bring virtually any stereo system to its knees. This is the real Power Of The Orchestra! You had better have a top quality front end if you want to play this record properly, not to mention plenty of power and big speakers.
This is not the record for the weekend budget audiophile. If you haven’t put in the years of effort and invested the tens of thousands of dollars in equipment and room treatments it takes to play records of great difficulty such as this one, your system is probably not up to the challenge this album represents.
If, on the other hand, you’ve done the work and spent the money, this is the album that will show you what you have achieved.
Side One
Journey to the Center of the Earth
All those lovely harps! You can practically feel the cool air of the cave as you descend into the blackness.
The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad
Side one boasts some wonderful material from Jason and the Argonauts, including the fight with the skeletons that we all remember from our Saturday matinee movie days. Who else could have orchestrated such a film?
Side Two
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Astonishingly powerful deep bass and drum sounds!
Fahrenheit 451
One of our key tests for side two is the string tone on the Fire Engine sequence.