I adore that theme. It must have signaled huge changes to the Western back then, especially coming off the splendid Percy Faith theme that was The Virginian for the previous eight seasons on TV.
Here's an ancient Virginian thread over on the "other side" of the board:
I adore that theme. It must have signaled huge changes to the Western back then, especially coming off the splendid Percy Faith theme that was The Virginian for the previous eight seasons on TV.
Here's an ancient Virginian thread over on the "other side" of the board:
I can remember vividly jumping out of my chair the evening I settled down to check out the new longer version of "The Virginian" expecting to hear the familiar theme and making a spectacle of myself yelling "Oh my God, it's Ennio Morricone! On a TV show!" Much to the bemusement of my parents. Like many, I had only recently had my Morricone epiphany thanks to the Leone films.
I can remember vividly jumping out of my chair the evening I settled down to check out the new longer version of "The Virginian" expecting to hear the familiar theme and making a spectacle of myself yelling "Oh my God, it's Ennio Morricone! On a TV show!" Much to the bemusement of my parents. Like many, I had only recently had my Morricone epiphany thanks to the Leone films.
As much as I enjoy the opening version of the theme, the ending theme rendition with full orchestra is even better. It lurches and sways in all that great off-kilter Morricone style, which I love. It used to be on YouTube but I can't find it presently.
As much as I enjoy the opening version of the theme, the ending theme rendition with full orchestra is even better. It lurches and sways in all that great off-kilter Morricone style, which I love. It used to be on YouTube but I can't find it presently.
Yes,I remember that. It was absolutely tremendous !
I also love how the whip-cracks "slash and bleed" !
I like many of Morricone's scores, but his his theme for the revamped VIRGINIAN series was just way out of touch with the series itself.
I think there was an attempt to embrace the gritty, "mud and blood" direction the genre was taking at the time. 1870s as well as 1970s muttonchops along with more explicit--for TV at that time--content was probably why the heroic-sounding Percy Faith theme was replaced with the then-current-sounding Morricone theme. Get a load of Doug McClure's facial hair.
As much as I enjoy the opening version of the theme, the ending theme rendition with full orchestra is even better. It lurches and sways in all that great off-kilter Morricone style, which I love. It used to be on YouTube but I can't find it presently.
Wow there are 3 versions of the theme here and none are the end title? Would love to hear that !
As much as I enjoy the opening version of the theme, the ending theme rendition with full orchestra is even better. It lurches and sways in all that great off-kilter Morricone style, which I love. It used to be on YouTube but I can't find it presently.
According to Jon Burlingame, who wrote a book on this subject, the end titles were not done by Morricone but cobbled together (possibly by Leo Shuken & Jack Hayes who did the score) based on his theme. Morricone only was paid to do the theme and main title. Still curious to hear it though.
As much as I enjoy the opening version of the theme, the ending theme rendition with full orchestra is even better. It lurches and sways in all that great off-kilter Morricone style, which I love. It used to be on YouTube but I can't find it presently.
According to Jon Burlingame, who wrote a book on this subject, the end titles were not done by Morricone but cobbled together (possibly by Leo Shuken & Jack Hayes who did the score) based on his theme. Morricone only was paid to do the theme and main title. Still curious to hear it though.
Really? I'm surpirsed it wasn't Ennio. If not, then Shuken and Hayes did a fine job getting that off-kilter Morricone feeling, as it's an excellent rendition of the theme.
The end credits as heard in the link is not the version played over the actual credits, or at least as heard in the version I sent Henry (Morricone) in the email in his profile.
