It wouldn't be unreasonable to suggest that most compilations of music for war films tend to be a succession of Ron Goodwin (or similar) marches, which you probably either love or hate. Of course, Silva Screen has a slightly broader outlook in its approach and so this selection of music from war films (involving America specifically) is actually somewhat more wide ranging. Of course, many of the selections aren't terribly surprising. If you can fit something by John Williams onto a compilation, that's always a good start and so we have music from Empire of the Sun, Schindler's List, Born on the Fourth of July and so on, all given passable performances. However, I still think the City of Prague Philharmonic have some way to go before being as comfortable performing Williams as they are Barry. A bit of Jerry Goldsmith is also a welcome addition and so we get the brief, but well performed Prelude from The Blue Max. Also, a slightly ropey version of the General's Suite, which was made most popular from being performed in concerts conducted by Goldsmith himself. The inclusion of music from the first two Rambo films seems to spread the premise a little thin and the decision to include the love theme from In Harm's Way as well as The Rock and First Victory seems a little too much from a fairly obscure film and score, good though the two tracks are.
Elmer Bernstein gets in some good outings with the very rousing Prelude from The Buccaneer, even if The Great Escape is one of those themes that's you've heard almost to the point of distraction. A selection of music by more obscure composers does make it worth picking up for the more serious collector who will likely have a lot of the music already. Having said that, many of these are somewhat unimpressive. The couple of Max Steiner inclusions are rousing enough, but not terribly memorable. Paths of Glory by Gerald Fried is somewhat indistinct as is the Longest Day March by Paul Anka. On the other hand, The Sharkfighters and The Mountain Road by Jerome Moross are both quite superb; there are some stylistic traits that inevitably nod toward The Big Country, but that is more Moross' own style than anything else. Nice to have some wonderful music by a greatly underrated composer.
A few other token inclusions from more recent films are good enough, even Randy Edelman's "tries too hard" music from Gettysburg is actually quite memorable and the Gettysburg Address is delivered with suitable gravitas by Daniel Massey. Horner's Glory has always been a favourite with his fans and even if this arrangement lacks the lightness of touch of the original, it is still a great ending to a highlight score. Morricone's entire score to Casualties of War is perhaps too oppressive an experience to listen to in one go, being quite possibly the most haunting war score ever written. However, a small selection does show the genius of Morricone's more cerebral and intensely dramatic style. The Elegy for Brown is given a gorgeous performance here and compares well with Delerue's Platoon (sadly Delerue is ditched in favour of the dreaded Barber Adagio) or Williams' Schindler's List. The decision to conclude with Poledouris' Hymn to Red October seems rather strange given that the Hymn has a fairly abrupt ending; I would have suggested swapping the two disc around so that Williams' own Hymn to the Fallen brought things to a thoughtful conclusion.
The eclectic selection is a blessing and a curse. The selections are bundled together based on the conflict area or name of the conflict (ie. World War II, Vietnam, The Cold War etc.), but this doesn't mean the music will necessarily match suitably for a smooth album. It is this kind of compilation where you realise why some things are famous and some are not. While it's commendable that Silva have chosen to include a few more obscure selection, they often go some way to enhancing the respect for the more memorable ones rather than discovering some long lost treasure. Having said that, the less well known Bernstein and Moross inclusions are particularly welcome. All in all, a selection more diverse than it might have been, but probably less coherent as a result and while likely to please everyone to some extent, unlikely to please everyone fully.
Rating ~ 
Disc 1 ~
65:30
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Disc
2 ~ 62:30
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