Roy Orbison The Fastest Guitar Alive - Your Cheatin' Heart - Soundtrack (LP)

(MGM/EMI) 10 tracks by Roy Orbison 13 tracks by Hank Williams JR. from the original 1966 MGM Motion Picture soundtracks. UK pressing.

Almost since its inception cinema has been at pains to reflect contemporary musical trends and lasso larger audiences - even the days of silent film produced mute epics
crammed with legions of frantic charlestoners! No sooner had sound film arrived in 1927 - significantly with a musical 'The Jazz Singer'- than filmdom plunged into a plethora of musical extravaganzas featuring the singing idols of the day - 'Show Of Show' 'King Of Jazz'and 'Hollywood Review' all queued up to make their mark, before 1930 was out. Short filmic 'promos' enshrining many notable talents -especially from the jazz arena - were shot from as early as 1925 - proving that pop videos are not exclusively a modern phenomenon. Each subsequent era of popular music has been enthusiastically - if selectively - embraced by film. But musical tastes change - and much of cinema's heritage of musical treasures has now passed' comfortably into the laded realm of nostalgia. Many of yesteryear's great vocal artists are all but forgotten - and even for those few who have attained legendary status - it is still difficult for today's young to view them as anything btit old-style and old-hat. Almost impossible,  for :nstance, for the present generation of youth to imagine Bing Crosby as being 'top of the pops' - but in effect, he was.

When following the trail of-Musical trends,stylistic turning points are easy to spot - none being more noticeable or significant as the sudden emergence of Rock and Roll in the early Fifties - the real birth of modern popular music. Since then films have faithfully charted the progression of pop - even to the extent of promoting the occasional excessively sanitised singer to the status of star - sometimes with whole series of movies dedicated to their talents - Elvis Presley, Frankie Avalon and Cliff Richard have been some of the lucky, acceptable few. But the very beginnings of Rock and Roll - the initial dynamic days - might never have been captured by a notoriously conservative film industry if not for the sharp intervention of one man - poverty-row producer Sam Katzman.

Sans Katzman learned his trade and refined the ability to pinch a penny in the low-budget world of early Fifties action series and serials including the original 'Superman' and the television opus 'Jungle Jim' with Johnny Weismüller. Katzman prudently kept his finger on the hot contemporary pulse and was quick to realise the commercial possibilities in exploiting the latest youth craze - the sudden emergence of the Rock and Roll music of Bill Haley and the Comets. Katzman's resulting 'Rock AroundThe Clock' was released in 1956 and caused a sensation - riots whenever and wherever it was shown and mass wild dancing in cinema aisles. Sam Katzman had cleverly captured the birth of Rock and Roll, and successfully packaged it. Katzman ,was to keep a watchful eye on developing trends in popular culture but over the years his youth movies were to become more infrequent and cheeseparing although two other interesting films - noteworthy for different reasons - did emerge from Katzman's stable — 'Your Cheatin' Heart' in 1964 and 'The Fastest Guitar Alive' in 1968.

'The Fastest Guitar Alive' has only retained a certain significance because of the continued popularity of its star - the now legendary Roy Orbison. The plot of this cheerful, cheaply mounted, meandering Civil War western has Orbison and Sammy Jackson as two inept Confederate spies who manage to steal a fortune from the government mint only to find they must surreptitiously replace the money when the war abruptly ends. This disappointingly handled film has an engaging song-score written by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees which helps the plot limp along by doubling as a narrative device. These songs remain the only salvageable asset from 'The Fastest Guitar Alive' - ten 'nnmbers which really constitute an unofficial rip album as they represent nothing less than vintage Roy Orbison. His unique vocal delivery carries the day - orchestrations and choral accompaniment are spare' and sparse - Orbison needs little more support than his'own guitar. From the folk-like 'Whirlwind' to the rhythmic patterns of 'Medicine Man' - from the simple phrasing, 'River' to the Mexicana flavour of 'Pistolero' and Good Time Party - the Orbison magic shines through.

Sam Katzman's films, although enthusiastically put together, were nevertheless usually bottom-of-the-barrel affairs but real critical recognition was achieved with 'Your Cheatin' Heart' which, with some artistic licence, chronicled the brief eventful life of the Country Music legend Hank Williams. The solid down-to-earth sincerity of Country Music has an appeal well outside its vast mid-western homeland and Hollywood has successfully reunited the lives of Country idols Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn - plus many fictional films with Country Music at their core have been produced - including 'Tender Mercies', 'Nashville' and 'Payday'. Hank Williams penned some five-hundred songs whilst slowly succumbing to alcoholism and tragically died before the age of thirty. Here was certainly the stuff of strong drama - a firm ground-base for 'Your Cheatin' Heart'. Actor George Hamilton effectively shed his tanned playboy image to tackle the demanding role of Hankl Williams and subsequently gained the greatest kudos uf his career. Susan Oliver also turned in a
memorable performance as William's long-suffering wife -- and able scene-stealing support was supplied by old pro's Red Buttons, Rex Ingram and Arthur O'Connell. In fact the quality of the acting in 'Your Cheatin' Heart' seems out of step with the usual level of performances expected in a Sam Katzman production - doubt contributable to the efforts of directorGene Nelson - himself an actor of considerable experience -and' a veteran handler of such Country films as 'Hootenanny Hoot'  and 'Kissin' Cousins'. The soundtrack of 'Your Cheatin' Heart' comprises no less than thirteen Hank Williams songs - faithfully recreated by his son. HankWilliams life may have been stormy and tragic but he has left a considerable legacy - just part of which can he appreciated on this album.
Notes by David Wishart