Sam Spence/John Facenda
The Power and the Glory: The Original Music and Voices of the NFL Films
An NFL CD? Bring on “We Will Rock You” and the rest of the standard fare that will remain forever on stadiums’ play lists. Try again. NFL Films, the leader in football melodrama, offers music that could make a blitzing linebacker start tapping his toes. The 36 tracks feature a mix of narrative, instrumentals and sound bites captured from game film. John Facenda, whose deep voice on NFL Films earned him the nickname “The Voice of God,” provides the ominous narration. Facenda is at his best with “The Autumn Wind,” a poem personifying fall weather: “The trees all shake and quiver and quake as he robs them of their gold.” The musical highlight is the “Ramblin’ Man from Grambling.” Even the Dave Brubeck Five would be proud to stake a claim to this song, with its classic jazzy feel and upbeat tempo horns. Other noteworthy instrumentals composed by Sam Spence and Tom Hedden include “Magnificent Eleven,” “The Raiders” and “Round Up.” Like a good football game, this CD delivers plenty of big hits.