Marlon Brando actually sings on a few of these 17 tracks, the exceptions being a few numbers on which he duets (not very well) with Jean Simmons from Guys and Dolls. This CD does, however, offer excerpts from the soundtracks of half a dozen 1951-1955 films in which he starred during the early part of his career, including some of the most notable movies in which he's appeared, like A Streetcar Named Desire, The Wild One, and On the Waterfront. The three other soundtracks represented are those for Viva Zapata!, Julius Caesar, and Guys and Dolls, and regardless of the (often considerable) quality of the six movies themselves, it's fair to say that the music wasn't their biggest selling point. However, if you are a major Brando fan or serious fan of early- to mid-'50s soundtracks in general, you might find these worthwhile souvenirs, if hardly standouts in the 1950s soundtrack genre in general. All of the material from A Streetcar Named Desire and Viva Zapata! (the latter represented just by its main title) was composed by
Alex North, and lacks any signature style, instead just seeming like cues in the period soundtrack mold to fit the onscreen action. However,
Leith Stevens' compositions for The Wild One (played by
Shorty Rogers and His Orchestra), especially the theme and "Chino," are standouts for their cinematic jazz, which conveys a real ebullience with a hint of menace, as befitting a movie about a motorcycle gang. The dramatic, ominous "On the Waterfront Suite" is also worth hearing, written as it was by
Leonard Bernstein.
Frank Loesser's songs for Guys and Dolls, however, were probably not meant to be vocalized, even in part, by a non-singer such as Brando. Such is the disparity of approaches on the six soundtracks represented, however, that the disc doesn't make for the most edifying continuous listening, and the liner notes have nothing about the actual music on the CD, instead containing a cursory summary of Brando's life and career. ~ Richie Unterberger