‘Vietnam War’ Series Spawns 2 Soundtracks

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The Vietnam War, a new 10-part series directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick that will begin airing on PBS on Sept. 17, will be accompanied by two companion soundtracks to be released on September 15, Universal Music Enterprises has announced.

The Vietnam War—Original Score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross will feature over 90 minutes of new, original music on 2-CD and 3-LP, written and recorded by Academy Award-winning composers Reznor and Ross. In addition, The Vietnam War—The Soundtrack includes many of the iconic songs representing the era, including 38 tracks on 2-CD chosen from the 120 tunes featured in the film. The soundtrack will include the Beatles; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Rolling Stones; Bob Dylan; Jimi Hendrix; Buffalo Springfield; Simon & Garfunkel; Janis Joplin; Phil Ochs; The Temptations; Barry McGuire; The Byrds; Otis Redding; The Animals; Santana; Marvin Gaye; Nina Simone; The Temptations; Booker T. and the M.G.s; Pete Seeger and more. The soundtrack can be pre-ordered here.

“The Vietnam War era produced some of the greatest, most impactful music ever recorded. We are grateful that so many artists from the period wanted to be part of the film and now the soundtrack. We were equally fortunate to have had the tremendous honor to work with Trent and Atticus. Their original score beautifully complements the music from the time. And we are absolutely thrilled that our audience will now have the chance to own the original score along with some of the best music from the film,” said Ken Burns and Lynn Novick in a joint statement.

Watch Reznor and Ross discuss the writing of the score

According to the press release, “In an immersive narrative, Burns and Novick tell the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never before been told on film. The Vietnam War features testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.

Ten years in the making, the series was written by Geoffrey C. Ward, and produced by Sarah Botstein, Novick and Burns. It includes rarely seen, digitally re-mastered archival footage from sources around the globe, photographs taken by some of the most celebrated photojournalists of the 20th century, historic television broadcasts, evocative home movies, revelatory audio recordings from inside the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations.

Over the course of several years, says the release, Burns, Novick and producer Sarah Botstein “shared with Reznor and Ross raw interview footage and scenes from rough cuts of the film, and suggested a range of feelings they hoped the music would evoke—rage, courage, sadness, fear, chaos, loss, love, sacrifice, aggression, loneliness, anxiety. They also provided a collection of sound effects from the era for the composers to work with.”

“The sheer scale of the project combined with the magnitude of the subject matter was initially daunting for us, but the commitment, care and reverence they displayed made the experience deeply satisfying on many levels,” said Reznor and Ross in a joint statement.

Accompanying the series will be a companion book, written by Ward, with an introduction by Burns and Novick, that will be published by Alfred A. Knopf, Burns’ longtime publisher.

The Vietnam War will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on Sept. 19 from PBS Distribution at shopPBS.org. The DVD and Blu-ray extras include a 45-minute preview program, two special segments on the contemporary lives of two of the program’s participants, and deleted scenes. The series will also be available for digital download.

Watch the official trailer for The Vietnam War

Track Listings

The Vietnam War – Original Score By Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

CD 1