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.
The aforementioned "remix" of THE MEN FROM SHILOH, which starts with the end titles and then switches over to the stark, low-key opening version of the theme.
Ennio Morricone's composition is on my short list of all-time favorite TV series themes.
While the repurposed series was a (to me) disappointing--too many "solo adventures" and therefore the absence of the cast chemistry that made The Virginian so welcome a TV presence, Ennio Morricone's theme was absolutely pitch perfect. It manages to be both rousing and sad. In fact, I hear less of the "rousing" elements of this truly great theme and a lot more of the "hardships of life"/"end of the West"/ "end of a way of life" in this music now, and the theme is all the better for it.
