David Raksin (1912–2004) was one of the greatest composers of Hollywood’s Golden Age, and at long last there is a comprehensive collection of his work.

This lavish 5CD set is devoted to Raksin’s time at M-G-M from 1950–1952 and again in 1957. Eight complete scores are presented along with excerpts from five more—13 total. The discs are arranged loosely by genre:

Disc 1—Western: Across the Wide Missouri (1951)

Disc 2—Thriller: Kind Lady (1951) and The Man With a Cloak (1951)

Disc 3—Biopic: The Girl in White (1952) and The Magnificent Yankee (1950); also features cues from The Next Voice You Hear... (1950), Right Cross (1950) and Grounds for Marriage (1950)

Disc 4—Drama: The Vintage (1957) and A Lady Without Passport (1950)

Disc 5—Romance: Until They Sail (1957), Pat and Mike (1952) and The Reformer and the Redhead (1950)

Golden Age collectors may be familiar with Raksin’s style from his classic scores such as Laura, The Bad and the Beautiful and Forever Amber. However, given the paucity of his CD releases, it is understandable if many fans are not. Raksin was a highly advanced and modern composer with a gift for making complicated and dense orchestrations sound direct and accessible to the ear. Although highly intellectual, he was devoted to melody and the baker’s dozen of scores on this collection shine with beautiful tunes, from the romantic strains of The Vintage to the moody and captivating Man With a Cloak.

The CD booklet contains an essay by Raksin’s friend and scholar Marilee Bradford (with information from his personal papers) and producer’s note by Lukas Kendall.

This collection is almost entirely in monaural sound; extensive restoration work has been done to the magnetic film, optical film, and acetate sources for a smooth listening experience. The 5CD set is packaged in what would normally be a 3CD “butterfly” or “clamshell” jewel box with the additional discs stored on hinged trays. The 36-page booklet is illustrated not only with copious movie posters and stills but rare Raksin photographs for a “scrapbook” type of presentation.

For a composer who gave the best and demanded the best, we have hopefully given the best. This 5CD, six-hour presentation is limited to 1,500 copies.

Music Composed by David Raksin
Orchestra Conducted by David Raksin, except where noted

DISC 1:
Across the Wide Missouri (1951)
Orchestra Conducted by David Raksin and Johnny Green
Additional Music Composed by Al Sendry

1-1 Main Title (Film Version) 3:39
1-2 Pony Go Where Kamiah Go (Film Version) 0:37
1-3 Hunted / Hare And Hounds / Quarry Escapes / Rendezvous 5:46
1-4 Looking Glass Arrives / Wolves 2:48
1-5 Pony Go Where Kamiah Go (Original Version) 2:18
1-6 Kamiah Gets Ready / Where's Freddy 1:26
1-7 Now he's Ready / Rendezvous C'est Fini 3:38
1-8 Divide / Pass / Valley 6:15
1-9 Stockade 2:07
1-10 Du Nord, My Brother 0:53
1-11 Marauders / Flint Follows 2:46
1-12 Bear Ghost Dies 2:26
1-13 Printemps Au Cutting Room 0:57
1-14 Flint And Kamiah / Journey 4:08
1-15 Ironshirt Bites The Dust 1:08
1-16 Blackfoot Village / Flint Et Brecan 2:30
1-17 Boy / Maybe Next Year - End Title And Cast 3:37
Total Time: 47:31

Alternate Score
1-18 Main Title And Foreword (Original Version) 2:51
1-19 Creatures Of The Forest 2:42
1-20 Quarry Escapes (Revised) 2:33
1-21 Pony Go Where Kamiah Go (Intermediate Version) 2:15
1-22 Now he's Ready / Rendezvous C'est Fini 3:24
1-23 Trek 6:15
1-24 Flint Et Kamiah / Journey 2:57
1-25 Final Episode/ End Title And Cast 1:18
1-26 Main Title (Intermediate Version) 1:35
Total Time: 26:15

Total Disc Time: 73:52

DISC 2:
Kind Lady (1951)
2-1 Main Title 1:12
2-2 Miss Herries And Mr. Elcott 2:16
2-3 Cigarette Case 1:37
2-4 No Offense, Miss Herries 1:06
2-5 Elcott Plays A Pawn 1:31
2-6 The Plot Thickens 2:06
2-7 Elcott Revealed /Mrs. Edwards 3:48
2-8 The Note 1:47
2-9 The Portrait 3:12
2-10 Foster Again 1:19
2-11 Portrait Of Ada / Rose Goes 4:16
2-12 Checkmate / End Title And Cast 3:42
Total Time: 28:10

The Man With a Cloak (1951)
2-13 Main Title 2:40
2-14 About Thevenet 2:11
2-15 Tell Me About Paris /Such Single Tasters / Lorna And Madeline 3:41
2-16 Madeline And Thevenet 3:17
2-17 Suspicion / It Answers All Things 3:20
2-18 You Won't Be Lying 1:52
2-19 Party Is Over / Stalk For An Idea 5:14
2-20 Raven Mad / Dead For a Ducat 2:31
2-21 Shadow Of Doubt 1:44
2-22 Ratiocination #1 1:10
2-23 Thevenet Is Dead 2:17
2-24 Ratiocination #2 2:17
2-25 Someone Will And End Title 3:14
Total Time: 35:50

Bonus Tracks
2-26 Was There Never A Time 1:10
2-27 Madeline And Thevenet (Film Version) 3:14
2-28 Someone Will And End Title (Film Version) 3:21
Total Time: 7:49

Total Disc Time: 72:03

DISC 3:
The Girl in White (1952)
3-1 Main Title / The Children 2:28
3-2 Dr.Yeomans / The Baby 4:47
3-3 Bridge To Cornell / Amyl Nitrate / Cornell Montage 1:59
3-4 Medical School Montage 3:00
3-5 Ambulance Call 1:45
3-6 Night Fire 1:06
3-7 Petticoat Music / Bathtub 2:03
3-8 Radium 2:57
3-9 The Mollified Tantrum 1:24
3-10 The Beach / The Party 2:58
3-11 Coffee Time / Advice To the Lovelorn 4:58
3-12 Clinch And End Title / Cast Titles 4:53
Total Time: 34:39

The Magnificent Yankee (1950)
3-13 Main Title 2:13
3-14 Welcome To Washington 3:09
3-15 Spottsylvania 2:36
3-16 To The Supreme Court / First Secretary Sequence / Second Secretary Sequence 2:19
3-17 Third Secretary Sequence / Walz From Griebene Girl / The Fight For Brandeis 3:19
3-18 Holmes And Brandeis / Crocus 1:39
3-19 Auld Lang Syne 1:54
3-20 Fourth Secretary Sequence 1:22
3-21 Farewell / I Am Content 6:08
3-22 Day Comes /Holmes Retires 3:12
3-23 End And Cast Titles 0:59
3-24 Main Title (Original Version) 2:16
Total Time: 31:26

The Next Voice You Hear... (1950) Orchestra Conducted by David Raksin and Johnny Green
3-25 Main Title 1:36
3-26 Gary Gavery Radio Show / Amerikanischer Yotz Musik 0:22
3-27 End Title 0:45
Total Time: 2:46

Right Cross (1950) Orchestra Conducted by David Raksin and Johnny Green
3-28 Main Title (With Sound Effects) 1:18
3-29 Bridge B 0:56
3-30 End Title And Cast 0:54
Total Time: 3:11

Grounds for Marriage (1950)
3-31 The Concertino 2:09
Total Time: 2:09

Total Disc Time: 74:37

DISC 4:
The Vintage (1957)
4-1 Grape Stomp - Main Title 1:40
4-2 The Border 0:56
4-3 A Friendly Sound 0:44
4-4 Easy Brother / My Choice 2:24
4-5 My Name Is Lucienne / My Name Is Giancarlo 1:13
4-6 Not The same 2:39
4-7 Brothers - Sisters 2:07
4-8 Harvest 3:19
4-9 Something He Loves 2:44
4-10 A Strike 1:26
4-11 Coq Au Vin 1:33
4-12 Not Enough 3:15
4-13 The Dogs 1:45
4-14 The Sisters / This is Going To hurt 5:19
4-15 Looking For This / What Hurts You 3:21
4-16 It Didn't Happen 2:26
4-17 The Wine Press / The Vintage 4:05
4-18 I'll Follow You 1:55
4-19 Something To Decide 3:03
4-20 Farewell Ernesto 1:28
4-21 Not So Far 1:29
Total Time: 49:31

Bonus Tracks
4-22 Grape Stomp - Main Title / Figure On A Bridge 1:48
4-23 Two Of Us 0:49
4-24 Easy Brother / At The River / My Choice 1:44
4-25 Brothers - Sisters (Film Version) 2:08
4-26 Harvest (Film Version) 2:47
4-27 A Strike (Film Version) 1:10
4-28 What Hurts You (Film Version) 2:35
4-29 Farewell Ernesto (Film Version) 1:08
4-30 Theme From The Vintage 2:05
Total Time: 16:30

A Lady Without Passport (1950) Orchestra Conducted by Johnny Green
4-31 Mr.Gombos Takes A Walk 2:25
4-32 Josef And Marianne 3:53
4-33 Jungle Part 2 1:46
4-34 End Title 1:07
Total Time: 9:16

Total Disc Time: 75:30

DISC 5:
Until They Sail (1957)
Song: “Until They Sail” Performed by Eydie Gormé
5-1 Main Title 2:07
5-2 The Ship departs 0:55
5-3 Most Quiet Need / Passion Put To Use 2:08
5-4 The Gorge Rises 0:44
5-5 Bachiana Balloneira 1:41
5-6 Danger / Marines Landing 1:49
5-7 Wellington / A Mild Ferment 3:02
5-8 But Not Now 2:44
5-9 Farewell To Mark 0:39
5-10 I Wanted To Know / I Wonder 2:45
5-11 But If He Doesn't 2:26
5-12 Re-Encounter / Until They Sail Fox Trot / Okay, What's Yours? 5:09
5-13 Farewell To Dick 0:45
5-14 Ripples In The Sand 1:19
5-15 A Little Less Lonely / And Nothing More 4:08
5-16 Expeditious Enough 1:46
5-17 Banzai / Till Death Do Us In / Postlude 2:53
5-18 She's To Good For S.G. 3:38
Total Time: 41:12

Bonus Tracks
5-19 Until They Sail (Record Version) 2:56
5-20 Until They Sail (Orchestral Demo) 3:18
5-21 Until They Sail (Demo) 3:49
Total Time: 10:08

Pat and Mike (1952)
5-22 Main Title 1:45
5-23 Enter Sneezing / Exit frowning 1:16
5-24 On Her Own / Tennis, Anyone / Tennis, Everyone 1:08
5-25 Net Ballbusch 1:29
5-26 If Only You Were /Happy Hucko / Sweet Clarinade 2:34
5-27 Teed Off 2:41
5-28 End Title And Cast 0:43
Total Time: 11:47

The Reformer and the Redhead (1950)
5-29 Main Title - Revised 1:03
5-30 Kathy's Menagerie / Shep, Not herman / herman, Not Shep 2:30
5-31 Kathy Appears 1:32
5-32 A Little Something Cooking 0:53
5-33 All Nations Montage 0:52
5-34 Night Smooch 0:49
5-35 Band Montage 0:58
5-36 The Letters 3:50
5-37 End Title And Cast 0:32
Total Time: 13:12

Total Disc Time: 76:36