Two scores from UMe accompany the debut of the 10-part documentary series The Vietnam War. (Photo courtesy BBC/PBS)

One score and one 38-track hits-of-the-sixties compilation are the two companion soundtracks accompanying the The Vietnam War to market when the 10-part documentary directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick debuts Sept. 17 on PBS. Universal Music Enterprises will release both the 90-minute The Vietnam War – Original Score by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and The Vietnam War – The Soundtrack.

For the latter, the 2-CDs worth of tracks were edited down from the 120 tunes featured in the series. Included in the release: music by 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; and Pete Seeger.

The original score, which is being released as both a 2-CD set and on vinyl in a 3-LP configuration, features work written and recorded by Academy Award-winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (who were among three composers contributing to the 18-hour program, the third being David Cieri).

In unveiling plans for the music release, Burns’ issued a statement characterizing the Vietnam War era as having “produced some of the greatest, most impactful music ever recorded, and lauded Reznor and Ross for providing a score that “beautifully complements the music from the time.”

Over the course of several years, 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. Collected sound effects from the era from the era, as well as Cieri’s samplings of indigenous sounds of Hanoi and the wilder environs also inform the series soundscape, and the track list of popular hits was available for inspiration.

“We can all agree that the music from this time was unprecedented in its originality and impact. We could not have told this story without access to these iconic tunes. Much of this music remains popular among people of all ages, and it was a true privilege to put the music in its historical context and understand why it continues to resonate today,” series producer Sarah Botstein said.

“Each piece of music was chosen after careful deliberation as each song transports you to a specific time, sets the tone, and connects you to that moment,” added UMe president and CEO Bruce Resnikoff.

The Vietnam War is presented in a style filmmakers Burns and Novick refer to as “immersive,” featuring testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war, others who opposed it, Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both sides.

Ten years in the making, the series attempts to bring “the war and the chaotic epoch it encompassed viscerally to life,” according to press materials for the show. Written by Geoffrey C. Ward, produced by Botstein, Novick and Burns, it includes rare, digitally re-mastered archival footage from sources around the globe and photographs taken by some of the most celebrated photojournalists of the 20th century. A companion book, written by Geoffrey C. Ward with introduction by Burns and Novick, will be published by Burns’ longtime publisher Alfred A. Knopf.

Cover for The Vietnam War – Original Score by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

The show was produced by Burns’ Florentine Films and WETA, Washington, DC. The Vietnam War will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on Sept. 19, 2017 at shopPBS.org. The DVD/Blu-ray extras include a 45-minute preview program, two bonus segments on the contemporary lives of two of the program’s participants and deleted scenes. The series will also be available for digital download.

Funding for The Vietnam War was provided by: Bank of America; Corporation for Public Broadcasting; PBS; David H. Koch; Blavatnik Family Foundation; Park Foundation; National Endowment for the Humanities; The Pew Charitable Trusts; John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations; Ford Foundation Just Films; Rockefeller Brothers Fund; and Members of The Better Angels Society.

Track lists follow:

THE VIETNAM WAR – ORIGINAL SCORE BY TRENT REZNOR & ATTICUS ROSS
CD 1

1. LESS LIKELY
2. FOUR ENCLOSED WALLS
3. THE FOREVER RAIN
4. REMNANTS
5. OTHER WAYS TO GET TO THE SAME PLACE
6. TORN POLAROID
7. BEFORE DAWN
8. WHAT COMES BACK
9. JUSTIFIED RESPONSE
10. COUNTING TICKS

CD 2

1. A WORLD AWAY
2. THE RIGHT THINGS
3. PASSING THE POINT
4. STRANGERS IN LOCKSTEP
5. BEFORE AND AFTER FAITH
6. THE SAME DREAM
7. HAUNTED

Soundtrack cover for The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick, featuring iconic music of the Vietnam era. (Photo courtesy PBS and UMe)

THE VIETNAM WAR – THE SOUNDTRACK
CD 1

1. A HARD RAIN’S A-GONNA FALL – Bob Dylan
2. HELLO VIETNAM – Johnnie Wright
3. IT’S MY LIFE – The Animals
4. EVE OF DESTRUCTION – Barry McGuire
5. TURN! TURN! TURN! (TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON) – The Byrds
6. MASTERS OF WAR – The Staple Singers
7. MUSTANG SALLY – Wilson Pickett
8. SMOKESTACK LIGHTNIN’ – Howlin’ Wolf
9. BACKLASH BLUES – Nina Simone
10. THE SOUND OF SILENCE – Simon & Garfunkel
11. ONE TOO MANY MORNINGS – Bob Dylan
12. AIN’T TOO PROUD TO BEG – The Temptations
13. ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
14. I’M A MAN – The Spencer Davis Group
15. GREEN ONIONS – Booker T and The MG’s
16. STRANGE BREW – Cream
17. WAIST DEEP IN THE BIG MUDDY (Live) – Pete Seeger
18. A WHITER SHADE OF PALE – Procol Harum
19. THE LORD IS IN THIS PLACE – Fairport Convention
20. FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH – Buffalo Springfield

CD 2

1. DON’T THINK TWICE, IT’S ALL RIGHT – Bob Dylan
2. PIECE OF MY HEART – Big Brother & The Holding Company
3. MAGIC CARPET RIDE – Steppenwolf
4. THE LETTER – The Box Tops
5. BAD MOON RISING – Creedence Clearwater Revival
6. SOUL SACRIFICE – Santana
7. TELL THE TRUTH – Otis Redding
8. OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE – Merle Haggard
9. THE THRILL IS GONE – B.B. King
10. PSYCHEDELIC SHACK – The Temptations
11. OHIO – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
12. GET TOGETHER – The Youngbloods
13. GIMME SHELTER – The Rolling Stones
14. TAIL DRAGGER – Link Wray
15. AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL – Ray Charles
16. WHAT’S GOING ON – Marvin Gaye
17. BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER – Simon & Garfunkel
18. LET IT BE – The Beatles

# # #

SOUNDTRACK/SCORE, CONTACT:
Sujata Murthy, UMe 310 865 7812 sujata.murthy@umusic.com
Meg McLean Corso, UMe 310 865 9804 meg.mcleancorso@umusic.com
Ambrosia Healy, Capitol 323 871 5164 ambrosia.healy@umusic.com

FILM, CONTACT:
Brian Moriarty, DKC Public Relations 212 981 5252 brian_moriarty@dkcnews.com