Thorn Birds, The (CD)
This mini series covers 60 years in the lives of the Cleary family, brought from New Zealand to Australia to run their aunt Mary Carson's ranch. The story centers on their daughter Meggie, and her love for the family's priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart.
This previously unreleased double-disc soundtrack for the massively successful 1983 ABC-TV miniseries (second in viewership only to Roots) is a gratifying tribute to the American pop music icon's enduring legacy. Composer Henry Mancini skillfully keeps the emotional core focused via some of the most subtly romantic and elegantly understated writing of his career. His sublime melodic gifts yield the memorable Drogheda and Maggie themes, the former's portrayal of the vast Australian wilderness ingeniously carried at first by but a lone dulcimer, while the latter perfectly underpins the story's budding romance with tinges of bittersweet melancholy.
Tracklist
Disc 11. Main Title (4:15)
2. Go! (1:14)
3. Drogheda (1:34)
4. Young Meggie (1:29)
5. Ralph, Meggie And Mary (2:23)
6. Stuie Grows Up (1:27)
7. Paddy And Fiona (2:44)
8. Passion Play (3:21)
9. The Story Of The Thorn Birds (2:15)
10. Meggie Grows Up (1:31)
11. Baby Hal Dies (3:02)
12. The Rams And The Ewes (2:04)
13. Parting (1:52)
14. The Thorn Birds Theme (2:34)
15. Fire On Drogheda (2:41)
16. Search For Paddy (3:05)
17. Father Ralph Returns And Funeral Procession (2:36)
18. Meggie's Heartbreak (4:01)
19. It's Shearing You're Hearing (4:17)
20. Luke And Meggie (2:31)
21. Marry Me, Meggin (2:17)
22. Arrival At The Vatican (2:02)
23. The Announcement (:50)
Disc 2
1. Meggie Leaves Drogheda (1:19)
2. Arrival At Queensland (2:10)
3. Beggin Of The End (2:26)
4. Welcome To Himmelhock (1:50)
5. New Kid In Town (1:20)
6. Matlock Island (3:22)
7. Beach Walk (2:27)
8. Forbidden Love (1:37)
9. Ralph And Meggie (1:55)
10. Paradise Lost (3:08)
11. Vacation's End (3:28)
12. Meggie Leaves The Himmelhocks (1:42)
13. Meggie Goes Home (2:43)
14. Photographs (2:14)
15. Together (1:09)
16. Good-bye, Dane (2:04)
17. Justine Visits Drogheda (1:28)
18. The Greek Tragedy (1:33)
19. Bye Bye Dane (1:43)
20. Loss Of A Son (2:52)
21. Meggie Reveals The Truth (5:04)
22. Be Happy (5:10)
23. Ralph Dies (3:34)
24. End Title (:43)
25. Anywhere the Heart Goes (2:28) (Bonus Track)