Paint Your Wagon [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Overview

The movie Paint Your Wagon was an attempt to update the plot of an old stage musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, with new songs by Andre Previn and Lerner. The soundtrack is a peculiar release; in purely musical terms, it would only be of interest to dedicated fans of Harve Presnell (who performs "They Call the Wind Maria") and Anita Gordon, who acquits herself well singing Jean Seberg's part on "A Million Miles Away Behind the Door." It is Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin, however, who do more of the singing here, and while they might not be of much interest musically, there is a certain "Golden Throats"-type allure to their songs. Neither reveals any hidden musical talents, though Eastwood does the better job of the two on his songs, particularly "I Still See Elisa." The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band also spent time working on the movie, both on camera and on the soundtrack, but their major surviving contribution is "Hand Me Down That Can O' Beans," in which they share the spotlight vocally with Lee Marvin and a male chorus; it adds nothing to their output. Harve Presnell's rendition of "They Call the Wind Maria" brings a suitably operatic approach to the piece, but it is marred by Nelson Riddle's overly busy orchestral arrangement. The original LP came with a souvenir booklet that made it an expensive release but didn't enhance its sales -- Paint Your Wagon was a perennial cutout album. The MCA CD sounds OK, but the souvenir booklet has been consigned to history. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	03/20/1999
Label:	Mca
UPC:	0008811931025
Rank:	93002

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jean Seberg   Primary Artist
Paint Your Wagon Cast Ensemble   Primary Artist
Harve Presnell   Primary Artist
Lee Marvin   Primary Artist
Roger Wagner   Conductor
Nelson Riddle   Conductor

Technical Credits

Tom Mack   Producer
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band   Performer
Thorne Nogar   Mixing
David Stone Martin   Illustrations
Chris Whorf   Art Direction
Kevin Cleary   Mixing,Engineer
Lee Marvin   Performer
Clint Eastwood   Performer
Frederick Loewe   Composer
Alan Jay Lerner   Composer