CD Reviews - Soundtracks (January - June 2003)

All reviews are arranged alphabetically and written by Roger Hall and Steven Kennedy.

Some of them are given the designation of "CD of Special Merit" for their outstanding contibution to film music production.  Also, there is usually one soundtrack that is singled out as "Editor's Choice - Best of the Month."    

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 Film Music Review

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Best and Worst of 2002

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A Guide to Film Music - Songs and Scores  (2nd revised edition, PineTree Press, 2002)

This expanded and updated guide was written by film music historian Roger Hall.

It has a wealth of information:

*A timeline of film music highlights from 1926 to 2001

*A chapter on suggestions for listening to film music

*A complete list of Academy Award film music from 1934 to 2000

*A complete list of the Sammy Movie Music Awards from 1988 to 2001

*Top100 Scores of the 20th Century

*Comments on Film Music (exclusive interviews with Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson; quotes from Bernard Herrmann, David Raksin, Dimitri Tiomkin, and others)

*An extensive bibliography and discography.

Throughout the guide are many illustrations of composer autographs, including Johnny Green, Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, Miklos Rozsa,  Max Steiner , Dimitri Tiomkin, and others.  There are also songwriter autographs as well, such as Harold Arlen, Sammy Cahn,  Ira Gershwin, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer, and Jay Livingston.

The title page of the guide has a rare score page from the end credits of E.T.,  boldly signed by John Williams.

This film music guide is a limited edition and will be numbered and signed by the author.

If you order by 1 February 2003 you'll also receive a Free CDR titled: "Listener's Guide to Film Music."

Commendations:

* A  Guide to Film Music was mentioned in the March/April 2002 issue of Film Score Monthly.

*In a letter to the author of the film music guide, the distinguished film composer Elmer Bernstein has written the following:  "I do feel your book is done in a most interesting way.  It affords a quick overview of what has not become a very, very broad field.  Congratulations!"

To order your limited edition copy  of A Guide to Film Music now, while supply lasts,  go to:

 Music Titles from PineTree Press

Review Rundown::

All reviews are written by Roger Hall and Steven Kennedy.

The titles are chosen to cover a broad range of commercial, promotional and vintage soundtracks.  No bootleg CDs are reviewed.

The comments and ratings are based on the whole CD package: recorded music, booklet notes and art design.   

Ratings:

*****   (Superlative - Highest Recommendation)

****1/2 (Outstanding - Highly Recommended) 

 ****     (Exceptional - Especially Worthwhile)  

  ***1/2 (Very Good - Better Than Average)

  ***      (Good - Okay)

   **1/2  (Fair - Nothing Special)

   **      (Mediocre - Barely Passable)

     *      (Poor - Save Your Money)

Each month soundtracks are selected for Best of the Month and/or Recording of Special Merit.  These soundtracks are chosen on the date of the review, and not necessarily at the end of the month, and are those felt worthy of exceptional merit.

Some selected soundtracks have these headings above them:

Editor's Choice - Best of the Month

CD Release of Special Merit

Note:  Some of the CDs reviewed may be ordered from Amazon.com

           To order them, go to Booksehlf Search below

2003

June:

MONTE WALSH & CROSSFIRE TRAIL - Music by Eric Colvin - ***

SOMETHING WILD - Music by Aaron Copland - ***** [Editor's Choice]/***** [S.K.]

May:

BELOVED INFIDEL - Music by Franz Waxman - ** [S.K.] / ***1/2 [R.H.]

DREAMCATCHER - Music by James Newton Howard - **1/2

HAWAII - Music by Elmer Bernstein - ****1/2 [Editor's Choice]

NOWHERE IN AFRICA - Music by Niki Reiser  - ***1/2

PEOPLE I KNOW - Music by Terence Blanchard - ***1/2

WINGED MIGRATION - Music by Bruno Coulais - **1/2

April::

THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES - Music by Stanley Myers - ****1/2 [Editor's Choice]

HOME FROM THE HILL - Music by Bronislau Kaper - **** [Special Merit]

RE-ANIMATOR - Music by Richard Band - **1/2

THEY - Music by Elia Cmiral - **

March:

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL - Music by Bernard Herrmann - ***** /****1/2 [Editor's Choice]

THE GUYS - Music by Mychael Danna - ***

THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE - Music by Alex Parker and Jake Parker - *

PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE - Music by Miklos Rozsa - **** [Special Merit]

TOGETHER - Music by Zhao Lin - **

February:

THE FALL OF BERLIN & THE UNFORGETTABLE YEAR 1919 - Music by Dmitry Shostakovich - ****1/2  [Special Merit]

GODS AND GENERALS - Score by John Frizzell and Randy Edelman - *****  [Editor's Choice]

NAQOYQATSI - Music by Philip Glass - ****

January:

FRIDA (UMG/Miramax) - Score by Elliot Goldenthal & Various Songs - **** [Special Merit]

THE HOURS (Nonesuch) - Music by Philip Glass - ***1/2

SUNSET BOULEVARD (Varese Sarabande) - Music by Franz Waxman - ****1/2 [Editor's Choice]

THE WICKER MAN - ***

For previous soundtrack reviews in 2002, see

CD Reviews (Soundtracks, July - December)

CD Reviews (Soundtracks, January - June)

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CD Reviews: January - June 2003

Note:  All the reviews which follow are arranged alphabtically by film title, with Editor's Choice or Special Merit boxes above selected titles.

BELOVED INFIDEL (1959)

14 Tracks (Total Time = 52:26/ includes Rodgers&Hart's "Blue Moon" = 3:34; and a track of traditional ethnic music = 1:16)

Music composed and conducted by Franz Waxman. Album produced by Nick Redman. Music remixed by Michael Matessino at Sharpline Arts, Burbank, CA. Cover design by Matthew Joseph Peak.

Varese Sarabande VCL 0403 1019

Limited Edition of 2000 copies

Rating: **

After what seemed like a short delay, Varese announced their latest releases in their Master CD series available exclusively through their website. While it is always easier to complain about scores one would rather have had released, the appearance of this relatively trifling Waxman score no doubt made a few Golden Age fans salivate. Though like last year’s release of THE VIRGIN QUEEN, more current music fans may wonder what the fuss is about.

The opening track for BELOVED INFIDEL is a distant cousin to Waxman’s superior score, PEYTON PLACE. That comparison can hold true for pretty much the remainder of the score. There is a title song sung here by Aileen Wilson with rather insipid lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. While Wilson’s voice is a true joy to hear, the song is not top drawer. Of primary interest are the substantial cues of which the jewel is " The Confession." The most substantial cue, "Agony," clocks in at just over seven minutes and becomes an opportunity to hear Waxman in a more expansive development of motives and color. They both stand up well on their own.

Christopher Husted’s notes provide excellent commentary on the film and its various selling points though even he recognizes that this is not Waxman’s finest effort. Even so, even middle drawer Waxman overshadows much of the music composed for similar films. The sound is excellently reproduced with some minor tape flutter apparent on several cues. This one is truly for the Waxman afficianado.

--Steven A. Kennedy, 28 April 2003

Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com.

=========================================================

Another review...

Rating: ***1/2

With all due respect to Steve's low rating of BELOVED INFIDEL, I must disagree -- at least in part.  I don't believe this is a great film nor is it among Franz Waxman's best film scores.  I think that Gregory Peck wasn't the right choice to play F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Yet, Waxman's still manages to squeeze in so much passionate romantic music that I find it a most appealing listening experience.

The opening "Prelude: Southhampton, New York" features the main theme and what a beauty it is!  This theme reappears throughout this score.  I agree with Steve that the two longest cues, "The Confession" and "Agony," are probably the highlights of Waxman's score.  But I disagree that the song's lyrics are "insipid."  Paul Francis Webster was a highly skilled lyricist and his title song is really quite smoothly written.  It's too bad the lyrics weren't included in the CD booklet. The singing by Aileen Wilson is also very good, as Steve mentioned. Paul Francis Webster would later win an Oscar for his lyrics to "The Shadow of Your Smile" from THE SANDPIPER.

The sound on this Varese limited edition is decent, but not as good as the restored HAWAII.  

Even so, if you like romantic music from Hollywood's Golden Age then this one should fill the bill quite nicely.  Also check out the excellent Varese re-recording of Waxman's SUNSET BOULEVARD [Editor's Choice for January].

--Roger Hall 

CD Release of Special Merit

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)

33 Tracks (Total Time = 38:43)

Music composed by Bernard Herrmann, conducted by Joel McNeely; Celia Sheen, theremin. Album produced by Robert Townson. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London. Cover Painting by: Matthew Joseph Peak.

Varese Sarabande 302 066 314 2

Rating: *****

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is among the great science fiction scores of the first century of film music. It is an amazing compositional feat of intriguing experimental ideas for the time mixed with visionary orchestration. It was also one of the more difficult scores to bring across in the monoaural sound picture of the 1950s. But it worked because of this uniqueness. Herrmann fans most likely already have the original score which was release a few years ago by Fox and is now in the hard to find list. That recording is still mandatory for Herrmann fans!

Joel McNeely, working with a specially-hired ensemble made up of London’s finest musicians, has managed to commit to disc probably the closest thing to Herrmann’s original attempts. A few things will be harder to appreciate for those close to the score. One is that the colors and timbres of the music take on new shapes in subtle ways that are different from the original soundtrack. Personally, I find them valid because the consistent sound picture re-created here by engineer Jonathan Allen allows us to rehear this score significantly. In some instances, it seems as if the arrangement of instruments stereophonically worked to create the same sounds that one hears in the mono originals. Once you have heard this new recording that may make more sense to you. All concerned worked very hard to make this performance match that of the OST and for the most part that has worked to a great advantage of the music.

If you are familiar with the OST release, you will already notice that this re-recording has significantly more track numbers. This is because McNeely has placed each cue separately instead of mixed together as they appeared on the Fox release. There are few variations in tempo from the original and only the somewhat longer opening theremin effect of the "Prelude" causes that track to be a bit longer than its predecessor. There is also a "correction" to a mistake that was discovered in the original recording.

The worst thing about McNeely’s successful Herrmann recordings is that they make you want more. I wish that there had been time to fill out this disc with some other gems in Herrmann’s catalog. But, this is not to be missed by film music fans of any generation.

--Steven A. Kennedy, 10 March 2003

Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com

=====================================================================

Another review...

Editor's Choice - Best of the Month for March

Rating: ****1/2

First off, let me say that THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL was the first film score I can remember hearing as a young lad back in the 1950s.  It has remained one of my favorite Herrmann scores. I have to give credit to producer Robert Townson, and conductor Joel McNeely, for putting together an excellent facsimile of the original Herrmann soundtrack.  As Steve mentions in his review, the original soundtrack was released by Fox Records.  It was released in 1993 and produced by Nick Redman.  But I disagree with Steve that it's hard to find.  I have seen it in several major record stores so it should be relatively easy to find for comparison with the new Varese CD.

Was it necessary to re-record this milestone Herrmann sci-fi score?  Yes and no.

Yes, because of the improved digital recording.  Also, all the cues are on separarte tracks - 33 of them.  The Fox CD has sometimes up to six cues on one track.  The totals for both are not far apart.  The Fox CD is 36:02; and the Varese CD is 38:45.  As Steve mentions, it seems a shame that some other Herrmann score wasn't included on the Varese CD. There was enough space to include one - like FIVE FINGERS or THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO - both 20th Century Fox films from about the same period.

No, because the original soundtrack was well recorded for its day - back in 1951.  Christopher Hustad mentions in the Varese CD notes that the second theremin played by Paul Shure was "off by as much as a third" thoughout the cue "Outer Space" - which is lasts less than two minutes!  Is this really what Herrmann would allow?  I doubt it.  I believe that Herrmann wanted it to sound "off pitch."  Also the two theremins used by Herrmann give added depth that is missing on the single one, well played by Celia Sheen, heard on the Varese CD. I also found Steven C. Smith's notes on the Fox CD more interesting and amusing to read.  The Varese notes by Christopher Hustad have too much technical talk.

So, which one is the best?  I still prefer the Fox CD for its authoritative conducting by Herrmann, Lionel Newman and Alfred Newman.  Yet, the new Varese CD is also outstanding, especially for its vivid sound and performance by an terrific but unidentified orchestra.  As with another milestone Herrmann score, VERTIGO, I'd say it's good to get both the original soundtrack and the re-recording.  To complete your purchase make sure to also get a copy of the DVD for THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL.  The documentary with the film includes a discussion of Herrmann's score by Steven C. Smith.  

But above all, listen to Herrmann's magnificent soundscapes for this greatest of sci-fi films of the 1950s.  Herrmann once asked Francois Truffaut why he chose him for FAHRENHEIT 451 rather than some other composer.  Truffaut replied: "Because they would give me music of the twentieth century, you'll give the twenty-first."  

And so that's what we get with this new Varese CD - a twentieth century film score masterpiece now recorded in the twenty-first century.

This Herrmann score is one of those rare cases where it's worthwhile to get both the original Fox soundtrack and the new Varese CDs.  

Both are highly recommended.

--Roger Hall, 12 March 2003       

DREAMCATCHER (2003)

13 Tracks (Total Time = 39:43)

Music composed by James Newton Howard. The Hollywood Studio conducted by Pete Anthony. Electronic score recorded and mixed by James T. Hill. Album produced by James Newton Howard and Jim Weidman. Recorded at Sony Scoring Stage and JNH Studios. Score mixed at Todd-AO Scoring Stage. Mastered by Patricia Sullivan Fourstar. Art direction and design by Lisa Sparagano.

Varese Sarabande 302 066 456 2

Rating: **1/2

The latest Stephen King adaptation, DREAMCATCHER, must have had higher hopes at some point. The people behind this film are all of high caliber and yet like many recent King films, DREAMCATCHER never quite caught on. James Newton Howard comes into the King fray with music that manages to continue his recent string of successful horror genre scores. Howard’s scores for SIGNS, UNBREAKABLE, and THE SIXTH SENSE are true modern masterworks of film music. Here he mixes together his approaches for the more recent SIGNS with electronic ideas and a sound he perfected in earlier works like INTERSECTION and JUST CAUSE.

The opening "Main Title" is interesting because it subtly recalls the music of John Carpenter for films like HALLOWEEN. The little arpeggiated figurations that underlay SIGNS return here as well in several cues. Unlike many recent horror scores that rely on the punctuation of shock and terror, Howard’s score continues his use of slowly building textures and dissonances over expanses of time. The rhythmic attacks tend to come as arrival points musically, or when they kick off a track, dramatically. This is an interesting achievement better appreciated especially in the film’s context. In "The Weasel" these climactic hammerings move into an extended action cue that weaves in and out of amazingly tailored sounds. It is not an easy listen and Howard manages to throw in some very straightforward harmonic cadences to help this all from becoming just so much noise. "Henry Meets Owen" recalls Howard’s superb score from THE FUGITIVE right down to its harmonic structure and orchestration mixed in with some very Goldsmith-esque ostinati.

DREAMCATCHER’s most accessible tracks are "Curtis and Owen Battle" and the final "Pete and Trish." The latter manages to create a sense of closure sonically in contrast to all the previous musical tension. It is all to brief and may be a bit too late for many listeners. Overall Howard’s fans will enjoy this release and complain about its brevity. The score does show that Howard is still one of the current greats of film music.

--Steven A. Kennedy, 28 April 2003

Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com

CD Release of Special Merit

THE FALL OF BERLIN (Op. 82, 1949) & THE UNFORGETTABLE YEAR 1919 (Op. 89a, 1951) - Music by Dmitry Shostakovich

23 Tracks (Total Time = 75:30)

Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Adriano, conductor. Moscow Capella & Youth Chorus (Sergey Krivobokov, chorusmaster).  Ellena Alekseyeva, Piano.  Engineers: Edvard Shaknazarian, Vitaly Ivanov.  Editor: Vitaly Ivanov.  CD notes by Adriano.

Marco Polo 8.223897

Rating: ****1/2

The scores from these two Russian films are presented for the first time in complete and edited versions.  THE FALL OF BERLIN is from an edition prepared by Adriano in 1996, and THE UNFORGETTABLE YEAR is from one prepared by Levon Atovmyan in 1954.  These are both highly effective scores and are beautifully recorded.

THE FALL OF BERLIN takes up more of the soundtrack CD with 16 tracks and 45:34 total time.  This is a great score. There is much to savor in it.  The opening Main Title Part 1 (2:44) features a bright brassy fanfare theme which will return later.  The darker and more menacing sounding Main Title Part 2 is on track 9 (2:07).   On track 2 is "Beautiful Day" (2:15), a delightful children's song which has become quite popular apart from the film.  The use of chorus and orchestra is well done in that track and others as well.  The story is an obvious piece of Soviet propaganda but even though I haven't seen the film, it is adequately explained in Adriano's very detailed CD notes.  It's made to highlight the regime of one of Russia's cruelest leaders, Joseph Stalin.  In the Shostakovich score, he is given both tender respect, as in "Stalin's garden" (track 4, 2:02), as well as the more militaristic chorus heard in "Stalin at Berlin airport" (track 15, 4:28). Naturally there are the battle scenes too, such as "The Final Battle for the Reichstag - Kostya's death" (track 13, 4:06), which begins softly and then grows into a splendid outburst of orchestral sound which is not as heavy handed as one might expect for such a scene.  The next track has "Yussef's death - The Red Banner" (3:41).  This is another somber and brooding cue, but filled with deep patriotic fervor.  Track 16 (2:44) features "Stalin's speech - Alyosha and Natasha reunited."  With its use of fullbodied chorus and orchestra, it brings this suite to an impressive close.

THE UNFORGETTABLE YEAR 1919 won an award at the Karlsruhe Film Festival in 1952.  The film suite has a total time of 29:53 on tracks 17 to 23.  Once again, there is a strong brass fanfare opening theme or "Introduction" (2:04). This is followed by "Romance (Meeting of Shibayev and Katya)"(4:52), a tender love theme introduced by solo clarinet. One especially animated dancelike cue is titled simply, "Scherzo" (track 20, 2:25).  

In his notes, Adriano points that this suite "contains a mini-piano concert, in the style of, but even more Hollywood-like than, Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto of 1941, as if Shostakovich drew amusement from it."  This concerto is found on the track 21 -  "The Assault on the Red Hill" (7:00), with Ellena Alekseyeva as piano soloist.  It does indeed sound much like the Addinsell piece and is performed with much sympathy by both soloist and orchestra.  This is a piano piece which should be heard more often.

With the helpful 24 page booklet of background notes by Adriano, as well as his skilled direction of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, this is a disc with much to recommend.  

If you're a fan of Russian film music, then you'll surely enjoy these two wonderful Shostakovich scores.

Marco Polo deserves high praise for this excellent release.  It has thus been designated as a CD of Special Merit.

--Roger Hall, 12 February 2003                 

CD Release of Special Merit

FRIDA - Music by Elliot Goldenthal & Various Songs

24 Tracks (Total Time = 52:46/ 12 score tracks & 12 song tracks)

Produced by Teese Gohl and Elliot Goldenthal.  Recorded and Mixed by Joel Iwataki.  Additional Recording and Mixing by Lawrence Manchester.  Orchestrated by Elliot Goldenthal and Robert Elhai.  Orchestra conducted by Stephen Mercurio.  Electronic Music Supervisor: Ricchard Martinez.  Recorded and Mixed at Manhattan Center Studio, New York.

DG/MG Soundtracks/Miramax CD 289 474 150-2

Rating: ****

First, I'd like to congratulate Elliot Goldenthal for being awarded a Golden Globe from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his score to FRIDA.  

The soundtrack CD case is a bit misleading because it doesn't state that 12 of the the tracks are actually songs, and 9 of them are not composed by Mr. Goldenthal.  Yet, what he did compose is a richly woven score like the bright colors of Mexican clothing.  I'll be dealing with only the score and songs by Goldenthal.

In the CD booklet, the composer explains his score by writing - "the approach I took scoring the music is that of melodic intimacy (scoring with melodies or tunes as opposed to melodic fragments). " He goes to write - "I chose a small ensemble of acoustic instruments: the small Mexican guitar (Vihuela), standard classical guitar, Mexican bass guitar (guitarron), accordion, Mexican harp, marimba, and glass armonica (a Benjamin Franklin invention)."  He summarizes that "the guitars provided the full range of lyricism and percussion I needed."

This unusual small ensemble of instruments can be heard on the first track, "Benediction and Dream" (2:31), which begins with the expressive voice of Lila Downs followed by  glass harmonica (Cecilia Brauer), accordion, guitars, and dulcimer (Bill Ruyle). The track that follows, "The Floating Bed" (1:29), is filled with exotic dancelike exuberance.  Another exotic cue is "The Journey" (track 10, 2:56), beginning with a guitars and then switching to the conventional string orchestra.  It's a very emotional cue.  Another highly effective cue is "Portrait of Lupe" (track 15, 2:13), with the acoustic ensemble leading the way before the strings enter briefing at the end.  

Goldenthal is credited with writing the music for three songs:  "Alcoba Azul" (track 6, 1:36), sung by Lila Downs; "Viva La Vida" (track 19, 2:16), performed by Trio/Mirimberos; and "Burn It Blue" (track 24, 5:26 - lyrics by the film's director and composer's wife, Julie Taymor), performed by Caetano Veloso and Lila Downs.  This song is sung in English and Spanish, and sounds out of place after all the exotic Mexican songs heard on the CD.  It's just not a very good song.  

This is an enhanced CD with about 15 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage, including Goldenthal coaching Salma Hayek, who plays Frida.      

The sound quality on this CD is excellent, with rich bass that really brings out the guitars and percussive instruments.

If you like your score and songs on the steamy side, this one is as hot as Mexican chili peppers.

An excellent release.    

--Roger Hall, 21 January 2003

Editor's Choice - Best of the Month for February

GODS AND GENERALS - Score by John Frizzell & Randy Edelman/ Songs by Mary Fahl and Bob Dylan

2 Discs

Disc 1:   CD - 19 Tracks (Total Time = 62:00)

Disc 2:  Limited Edition Bonus DVD (approx. 24 minutes)

Track 1 produced by Jeffrey Lesser.  Track 19 produced by Jack Frost.  Tracks 2-18 produced by John Frizzell and Randy Edelman.  Orchestra conducted by Nick Ingman (except for track 13, conducted by Randy Edelman)  Recorded and mixed by Rick Winquest.  Music Editor: Lisa Jaime.   Digital Audi Engineer: Tom Trafalski.  Orchestrations:  Andrew Kinney, Jeff Atmajian, Frank Bennett, Bruce Babcock, Stuart Balcolm, Robert Elhai, Don Nemitz, Lolita Ritmanis, Carl Rydlund.  Music Scoring Coordinator: Jon McBride.

Sony Music Soundtrax SK 87891

Rating: *****

After listening to this soundtrack the first time I thought this was a highly effective soundtrack.  The more I've listened to it, the more I've grown to appreciate it.  There were many musicians involved in assembling the soundtrack - several songwriters, nine orchestrators, and two composers.  What they have turned out is a superb soundtrack.    

The  first track is a very sensitive song, "Going Home" (4:56) sung by Mary Fahl.  She co-wrote the song with Glen atscha and Bryon Isaacs.  Thankfully, the words to this heartfelt song are included in the CD foldout.  Then the score begins with "Gods and Generals" (3:42), which features a wordless chorus and a highly emotional dynamic theme. Strangely, this theme reminded me a bit of Hans Zimmer's music from THE LION KING and also from GLADIATOR. But that's not a bad thing because both Zimmer scores were very good ones. Yet let's give the credit to John Frizzell for his excellent work and not try and find similarities.  Just to avoid any confusion as to who wrote what on this soundtrack, here's the rundown:

John Frizzell =  tracks 2-6, 9-12, 15-18 = 13 tracks

Randy Edelman = tracks 7-8, 13 = 4 tracks

John Frizzell & Randy Edelman = track 14

Mary Fahl = track 1

Bob Dylan = track 19

So it's obvious that Frizzell made the largest contribution to this excellent soundtrack.  For example, his lovely sensitive treatment of the Gods and Generals theme on track 4, "Loved I Not Honor More" (3:13).  This writing is as good as any recent film composer's efforts, including John Williams.  Just about every track has something memorable to offer.  Just to give one outstanding cue, there is track 10: "To the Stone Wall" (3:41), with its glorious use of horns and strings.

There are two musicians who assist on a few tracks:  Mark O'Connor on violin (or fiddle), and Paddy Moloney on tin whistle and uilleann pipe.  The tracks which these two musicians play on are entirely appropriate ones.  For example, track 9, "These Brave Irishmen" (2:51).  Why not use traditional instruments for such a poignant cue?         

Now turning to Randy Edelman, I was a bit surprised that he didn't to do the entire score since he had already done the well received score for GETTYSBURG back in 1993 (Milan CD).  Even though he composed only a few cues for GODS AND GENERALS, they are among the best on the whole soundtrack.  Just listen to track 13: "My Home Is Virginia" (4:24).  If I lived in the beautiful countryside of Virginia, I'd be very proud to have this lovely theme represent my homeland.  The opening of this track brought tears to my eyes.  Randy Edelman certainly has a great gift for writing memorable melodies.  My question is - who orchestrated this gorgeous cue?  I believe this is one of the most moving pieces of film music I've heard in quite some time.  And Edelman himself conducted it.  It's a glorious piece of work.  

Even though it's a bit jarring after all the great score cues, Bob Dylan's rambling and longwinded song, "'Cross the Green Mountain" (8:12), is okay.  His vocal sounds like he was recording it far apart from the musicians. At least it's the final track so you can edit out if you wish.  Having the lyrics to his song included in the foldout might have helped.  But his songs are so cryptic and hard to follow, it probably wouldn't help much .

The DVD disc features a Theatrical Trailer, some interesting bonus footage from GODS AND GENERAL (including the singing of a Civil War song, "Kathleen Mavourneen"), and music videos of the Mary Fahl and Bob Dylan songs.  This DVD material is a welcome extra gift.

For me the highpoints of this 2 disc release are the magnificent score cues by Frizzell and Edelman, whose music is seamlessly mixed together with the assistance of their team of talented orchestrators.  The Mary Fahl song is also a standout.  

After listening to this excellent soundtrack, I expect to the film even more.  Isn't that what a soundtrack release should do for a listener?  Most movie critics have heeped their scorn on this film, complaining about the long speeches and even the overuse of music.  But I suspect that many more filmgoers will enjoy this film, even though it is nearly 4 hours.  It also has a 15 minute intermission, like it used to be many years ago with such big scale epics. 

Today is appropriate for this review - it's the birthday of the great Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). GODS AND GENERALS also pays to another great leader from the Civil War era, Robert E. Lee (played by Robert Duvall).

Just as Lincoln and Lee are worth remembering, the same is true for John Frizzell and Randy Edelman. As the film's director, Ronald F. Maxwell, writes about them in his CD notes:  "John and Randy have succeeded in creating an emotional soundscape which perfectly surrounds and embodies the film's protagonists, their passions, their hopes, and loss."  Amen to that.

These two film composers deserve that high praise for making GODS AND GENERALS a soundtrack worth many repeated listenings. I believe it's the most melodically driven score in quite some time.

What a wonderful soundtrack release!

A winner all the way.  

Highest recommendation.   

--Roger Hall, 12 February 2003  

For more information, go to:

www.sonyclassical.com

www.godsandgeneralsmusic.com

THE GUYS (2003) - Music by Mychael Danna

11 Tracks (Total Time = 31:26)

"The Dawning of the Day" lyrics by Mary Fahl (performed by Mary Fahl)

Sony Classical SK 87271 (Promo CD)

Rating: ***

To be honest, I have heard of Mychael Danna, but rarely have been interested in pursuing his music outside the films he has provided scores for generally. I can say that I was impressed with his work for THE ICE STORM and greatly admired his score for the intriguing HEARTS IN ATLANTIS. THE GUYS finds Danna crafting a haunting score that explores responses to the tragedy of 911.

The disc opens with the song, "The Dawning of the Day," sung by Mary Fahl, is a beautiful Irish-folkish ballad. It is rather sparsely accompanied but is a beautifully spun out melody. It’s recurrence, at times sung wordlessly adds an almost pseudo-religious quality to the score. This is a small contrast to the music to follow. The first orchestral cue, "My Beautiful, Gleaming…" is an amazing mix of this melodic idea transitioned through a series of minimalistic pulses and textures. It works surprisingly well. At times there is an almost impressionistic quality to Danna’s harmonic movement that allows the music to flow in interesting ways through subtle shades. The solo piano line that insistently recurs throughout the score serves as an aural anchor that recalls Chopinesque preludes, or Debussyian tone pictures in contrast to the wordless vocals. The orchestral harmonies wend their ways through harmonic language that is easily accessible but which lends a tender poignancy to the music with each dissonance. While the thematic ideas are few, Danna does find a few unique ways to expand his solo piano ideas. It would have been interesting to hear this filled out orchestrally more because when the orchestra appears it is like a new light that further illumines the thematic ideas, as in "Follow Me."

THE GUYS is a score that is reflective and will be an engaging listen for those fans more attuned to classical gestures. Danna’s skill here is to help those gestures connect with the listener and this he does with a deftness and depth often lacking in modern film music. Perhaps the only real carp is the relative shortness of the disc overall. Note that the opening song is repeated at the disc’s close performed by the FDNy Emerald Society Pipes and Drums. It is in a way a fitting tribute to the content of the film.

This will be worth a listen to fans of Danna’s music and for those getting ready to see what lies in store for the upcoming HULK.

--Steven A. Kennedy, 10 March 2003

Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com

Editor's Choice - Best of the Month for May

HAWAII (1966) - Score by Elmer Bernsetin

2 Discs

Disc 1 - 37 tracks = 74:58

Disc 2 - 12 tracks = 35:54

Deluxe Edition Produced by Robert Townson.  Original album produced by Bobby Helfer. Orchestrations: Leo Shuken and Jack Hayes.  Recording Engineer: John Norman.  Music Editor: Richard Carruth.  Mastering Engineer: Erik Labson.  Cover Design: Matthew Joseph Peak. Recorded in May and August of 1966 at Samuel Goldwyn Studios.  

Varese Sarabande VCL 0403 1017

Limited Collector's Edition of 3000 copies

Rating: ****1/2

After being very disappointed that Elmer Bernstein's masterful score for FAR FROM HEAVEN didn't get the Oscar for Best Score of 2002, I was pleased to see this gem from the past offered in a special collector's edition of 2 discs.  The first disc an almost complete soundtrack in full bodied mono and the second disc is the original soundtrack album master in stereo.

This is such a great score that it's hard to categorize its many virtues in just a few paragraphs - but I'll try.  

The opening "Overture" (4:12)/ /"Prelude" (2:14)/"Main Title" (2:04) is a marvelous introduction to the fascinating story of a New England misionary Abner Hale (Max Von Sydow) and his wife Jerusha (Julie Andrews) who go to Hawaii to covert the natives.  This three-part opening is a marvel of impressive orchestral "theatrical storytelling" - as CD Producer Robert Townson appropriately terms it.   The Main Title theme is the central one in this epic tale, based on James Michener's best-selling novel which at 1,000 or so pages is also of epic length.  This title theme has a passage that reminds me of Walter Piston's classical piece, The Incredible Flutist.  I'm sure that's just coincidence.  The beautiful love theme is first heard on track 7 ("Proposal" - 2:20), which includes a bit of the song melody for "Wishing Doll".  Both Bernstein's score and song were Oscar nominated. 

Unlike many of today's adventure scores which have far too much high energy music, Bernstein's score for HAWAII is a careful blending of music for dramatic and action scenes.  For example, there "Drunken Sailor" (track 10, 1:44) with Abner Hale's outburst at the discovery of the sailor and then taking away his Bible.  This is treated in a stark manner by strings and woodwinds, with just a few brass instruments added to the mix.  Then the next track is the highly exciting "Storm" (1:20), where the same theme is given a more emphatic statement with swirling strings and bold brass.  One of the most glorious statments of the Main Title theme is heard on "Hawaiin Welcome" (track 12 - 2:10).  Within these three short cues, Bernstein has moved the the story effortlessly along through his expert choice of musical material.  

There are several excellent instrumental soloists featured on this soundtrack:  Anatol Kaminsky, violin; Eleanor Slatkin (mother of world famous conductor, Leonard Slatkin), cello; Sylvia Suderman, flute; Arnold Koblentz, oboe; and Mitchell Lurie, clarinet.

Besides the many wonderful cues there is also the "Entr'acte" (track 26 - 3:35), the very brief "End Credits" (0:40) and "Exit Music" (2:54).

Even though the second disc is in stereo it only offers a sampling of cues from the Bernstein score.  As Robert Townson explains in his excellent CD booklet notes, the "Main Title" (4:12) is actually is the unedited version of the film's "Overture."  Other changes in the various cues are noted by Townson.

The one complaint I have with this CD is the very hard to read track titles listed only on the jewel case and not in the booklet.  Varese Sarbande seems to have a mania about NOT giving track titles in the booklet as well as the case. Sony Classical give titles in both places and so does Marco Polo.  This is standard practice with all the classical music releases. Please Varese Sarabande consider doing it as well.  It would help my eye strain! 

But there is no strain in listening to this classic HAWAII score, available in both mono and stereo.

I highly recommend you get this 2 disc set and then also watch the film.  Though the film is probably too long, it is well acted and well written.  Most of all, listen to the score.  I believe it's one of the highpoints of the whole viewing experience.

Also make sure to read Robert Townson's marvelous booklet notes, expecially "Perilous Waters" on the restoration work involved in bringing this score back to life.  He summarizes by writing: "It is frightening to think how close this music came to being lost completely.  A story that looked set to become one of film music's greatest tragedies is now a remarkable story of rescue."

That about says it all..

Kudos go out to Robert Townson and his team for this a gem of restoration.   

Needless to say, this 2 disc set of HAWAII is essential to any serious film music collector's library.  

If you've enjoyed such classics as THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN or THE GREAT ESCAPE, then you should consider adding this restored HAWAII soundtrack to your collection.  

It's as lush and breaktaking as the islands of Hawaii.

--Roger Hall, 8 May 2003

CD Release of Special Merit

HOME FROM THE HILL (1960) - Music by Bronislau Kaper

32 Tracks/ Total Time = 79:26 (Main score, 28 tracks = 70:39/4 Bonus Tracks = 8:46)

Film Score Monthly Vol. 6, no. 3 (limited pressing of 3,000 copies)

Rating: ****

In the past year the market for limited pressings of older film scores has expanded beyond anyone’s imagination, and even pocketbooks! Practically each release seems to either leave some scratching their heads asking, "Why?" or jumping up and down with excitement. While most score fans would prefer to fill out their collections with their "favorite" composer’s scores, it is to the preservation and expansion of one’s musical horizons that must be applauded. Roger and I try to highlight some of the finest of these and often will lift up one over another in what must seem rather arbitrary inclusions each month. Personally, I feel somewhat responsible to direct fans toward some important recordings that they may have otherwise overlooked.

Such is the case with the recent release of HOME FROM THE HILL a Bronislau Kaper score for a 1960 Vincente Minnelli film. Kaper’s music is less known and he holds a rather small place of fame for his score to two versions of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. While a release of that score would garner notice, this release deserves no less attention. HOME FROM THE HILL is one of the last of a series of pictures that focused on dysfunctional family conflict in a Southern context. It boasts an interesting cast that featured Robert Mitchum, and the very young George Peppard and George Hamilton.

The score has much to recommend itself in its thematic development and dramatic underscore. It is an Americana feel that is a kindred spirit with TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD with a little PEYTON PLACE thrown in for good measure. The music is truly an amalgam of both those scores (though that description cannot do Kaper justice.) Kaper’s main title music is instantly engaging and time and again one is captivated by his musical ideas throughout the lengthy playing time. The three main thematic ideas help bind the music together and individually are among the finest of the period. There are some additional source cues that Kaper provided for the film which also are intriguing in their own way. The substantial length of many of the tracks also serves the listening experience well and this is not a score to be listened to lightly as it reveals new treasures with each rehearing. This is further enhanced when one realizes that Kaper was scoring lengthy dialogue scenes and those familiar with the film will no doubt find this music revelatory.

So it is no surprise that this score immediately moves to one of my favorites from this period. It can perhaps be laid at the top of a list of Kaper’s best scores and manages to be an illustrative musical picture of Hollywood drama scoring in the last stages of development before the switch to more jazz and popular music-based film scores would claim these types of pictures. At a time when FAR FROM HEAVEN hearkens back to the 1950s, here is a score that illustrates how it was done at the time. The booklet notes are among FSMs best and the overall production and packaging are superb.

--Steven A. Kennedy 15 April 2003

Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com

THE HOURS  - Music by Philip Glass

14 Tracks (Total Time = 57:41)

Album Executive Producer: Scott Rudin.  Music produced by Kurt Munkacsi and Michael Riesman. Performers: The Lyric Quartet; Orchestra conducted by Nick Ingman; Michael Riesman, piano.  Orchestra leader: John Bradbury.  Music Editor:  Tony Lewis.  Recorded at Abbey Road Studios and Air Studios, London.  Engineer:  Jonathan Allen. Mixed at Looking Glass Studios, New York Studios.  Engineer: Hector Castillo.

Nonesuch Records 79693-2

Rating: ***1/2

This score by Philip Glass is quite different from the third of his Qatsi trilogy: NAQOYQATSI, released in 2002 and reviewed in Soundtrack magazine.  His score for THE HOURS is closer to the one he composed for the original DACRULA of 1931.  Both feature a string quartet.  But THE HOURS score is more fully developed, containing more drama in its themes.  The film itself is one of the best of the year, with outstanding performances by its three female stars: Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep.  It was skillfully directed by Stephen Daldry.

The first track of the soundtrack, "The Poet Acts" (3:43) sets the stage with the string quartet and orchestra playing a somber theme for the Virginia Woolf character (played by Nicole Kidman).  The next track ("Morning Passages" - 5:33), begins with solo piano playing a broader theme which is then accompanied by the strings entering softly behind the soloist. One of the first highly emotional tracks is "I'm Going to Make a Cake" (4:04), with a simple piano theme repeating in relentless fashion in a falling pattern as if to echo the despair of Mrs. Bown (Julianne Moore).  The third main chacater, Clarissa Vaughan (played by Meryl Streep) has her unfulfilled theme stated on track 3 ("Something She Has To Do"). Thus Glass has written themes to accompany the main characters in this constantly shifting story of the three women from different times.  There are also other themes, for Richard's male lover in "An Unwelcome Friend" (track 7, 4:11) and the extremely mournful "Why Does Someone Have To Die?" (track 10, 3:56). This feeling of sadness and uncertainty are further developed in the next track, "Tearing Herself Away" (5:03), with an arpeggio figure in the strings and the solo piano just making brief statements until it becomes more forceful then fades down once again.  

The last two tracks bring the culmination of the score.  On track 13 ("Choosing Life, 3:58), the emotional mood is more positive and calming, as reflected in the soothing string writing of Glass, at times sounding a bit like Bernard Herrmann's string passages in FAHRENHEIT 451 and other films.  The final and longest track, "The Hours" (7:47), is perhaps the best of all.  It's used for the End Credits and gives Glass a chance to develop his earlier themes to a much greater and more dramatic extent.  

The beautifully designed CD booklet has a lovely tribute to Glass by the author, Michael Cunningham, and passages from his best-selling novel, broken down into three sections:  "Mrs. Woolf/ Mrs. Dalloway/ Mrs. Bown."  There are also ample color film stills arranged carefully throughout the booklet.  If only more CD designers were this tasteful!   

This is quite an exceptional soundtrack and highly recommended to all who want something more emotional and less electronically manipulated.

--Roger Hall, 24 January 2003

THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE - Music by Alex Parker and Jake Parker

16 Tracks (Total Time = 46:12)

Produced by Alex and Jake Parker.  Music Recorded and Mixed by Simon Rhodes and Peter Cobbin. Orchestrations by Jake Parker. Orchestra Conductor: Nick Ingman. Music Editor: Graham Sutton. Album Mastered by Peter Mew at Abbey Road Studios.

Decca 440 066 733-2

Rating: *

This soundtrack is one of the lesser efforts I've heard so far this year.  It's a mixture of dark orchestral strings and raw drum beat heavy electronics.  What is the overall impression?  Not very much.

The opening track has a terrible song written and performed by Alex Parker titled "Another Bleeding Night."  I know the film tackles a very serious subject but this song doesn't do justice to it.  Sounds like a creepy sort of rap song with a words that are barely understood - the lyrics are provided in the CD booklet.  The next track, "Almost Matyrs," is much better.  It opens with just a few strings and expands a broad statement of the theme in the full string section.  The third track, "Ominous Lacan," was written by both Alex and Jake Parker, and has somber strings playing while a loud drum beat section is going on behind them.  Then it's back to another lousy theme by Alex Parker, "Ellis (Waterside Dub Mix)."  That one just sounds weird.  On track seven is the title theme by Jake Parker.  It's not a bad theme but doesn't seem to possess much melodic interest either.  Probably the worst of all the tracks is "Media Frenzy."  With its loud, repetitious rock beat, it sounds more like drug-induced stupidity!   

There's far too much electronic gimmicktry going on in this soundtrack.  This is especially obvious on tracks written by Alex Parker.  Probably the most wretched one is "Waterside" (track 14).  It is repetitious and full of electronics but nothing memorable, especially the gruff-voiced Parker and an unnamed female singer.  This track is the only one recorded and mixed by someone else - but it doesn't really make any difference.

There are several tracks performed by others. On track 12, there's "Just To Hear Your Voice," written by Monte Warden and performed by Toni Price. That's actually a decent song.  After hearing all the electronic wizardy before it, this song is a welcome relief. The same is true for the final track which features an aria from Puccini's Turandot: "Tu Che Di Gel Sei Cinta." But that was composed by a famous opera composer from a century ago!

The CD foldout is easy to read and contains some black & white film stills plus the words to the opening song by Alex Parker.

The music of Jake and Alex Parker is not very appealing, at least to my ears.  Maybe their fans will like it.  I don't think this badly executed soundtrack is worth much to anyone else.

--Roger Hall, 9 March 2003     

Editor's Choice - Best of the Month for April

THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES (1980)

36 Tracks (Total Time = 69:11)

Music composed and conducted by Stanley Myers.  Additional Electronic Music Composed, Performed and Recorded by Richard Harvey (not included on this album).  Produced by Christopher Landry.  Executive Producers: Nicholas Myers and Luc Van de Ven.  Music recorded and mixed by Graham Harris. Digitally edited and remastered by James Nelson.  Album Design and Liner Notes by Christopher Landry.  Distributed by Prometheus Records, Kon Astridlaan 171, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium.

Airstrip One AOP 003 (limited edition - 3,000)

Rating: ****1/2

After listening to other less than welcome sci-fi or horror soundtracks of the 1980s, such as RE-ANIMATOR, this soundtrack for a three part TV series came as a pleasant surprise.  Unlike the others, THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES is chock full of marvelous lyrical themes and is beautifully recorded and remastered on this Airstrip One release.  This label has released two other CDs:  THE DUELLISTS & THE RIDDLE OF THE SANDS (Howard Blake) and NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR (Dominic Muldowney).

I recently had the good fortune of watching the TV series once again and though I think it drags a bit at times, the soundtrack keeps things moving along is only used where most needed.  I really think listening to this soundtrack is even better than watching the TV series.  

I'll offer a few examples of this great soundtrack...

First off is the "Prologue" (2:20), with its subtle use of woodwinds and brass.  This is not one of those bombastic kind of openings.  Instead it subtledly suggests what lies ahead in this classic tale by sci-fi master, Ray Bradbury.  The second track is "The Martian Chronicles Theme" (2:04) and is played on solo flute, which provides a lyrical quality and has a Native American quality, perhaps to echo the pioneering spirit of the Martian explorers.  This is a simple yet stunning theme and it returns at key moments in the continuing saga, like tracks 11 ("Col. Wilder's Promise") and 13 ("Martian City").  Various unusual instrumental combinations are used throughout this score, including folklike instruments such as the panpipes (as on the pensive "Memories" - track 32, 1:07).

Mention should also be made of the more unusual music themes such as track 12 ("Spender's Anger/One of Our Own"). This stronly accented theme is heard again on track 14 ("Hunting Spender/ Is This How It Will Be?").

The lavish full color CD booklet is extremely well designed and contains a wealth of information.  Icluded are: a short introduction by the film's director, Michael Anderson; descriptions of the three parts in TV series; the designer's task and making of THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES; a personal view by one of the cast's actors (Bernie Casey); a bio sketch of Stanley Myers; and a fond tribute - "Remembering Stanley" by Hans Zimmer, who was Myer's assistant for seven years.  Zimmer's comments are worth quoting:  

"Stanley was the master. His music was always elegant and witty. He wrote real melodies - that most elusive commodity - heart-wrenchingly beautiful and emotional, never sentimental...Stanley was obviously a generous teacher. So whenever I get something right, it is usually based on something I learned from him."

Zimmer surprisingly admits that - "All the horrible music I've done is entirely of my doing."

He ends by writing about Myers - "His music is still so magnificent and maybe this album will help to remind people of that."  

Then there is a different view offered by Ray Bradbury, who is quoted as saying (probably jokingly): "The film was so boring I don't remember the music.  Was it any good?"  You bet it was, Mr. Bradbury!

This is a wonderful, well produced TV soundtrack and should be in every sci-fi collector's library.

I highly recommend it.

--Roger Hall, 15 April 2003     

For information how to get a copy of this CD, send an email to:

airstripone@earthlink.net

Or write to:

The Airstrip One Company, 6230 Wilshire Blvd. #207, Los Angeles, CA  90048

MONTE WALSH & CROSSFIRE TRAIL

26 Tracks (66:42; includes two versions of "Cowboy Lullaby" sung/composed by Keith Carradine; Monte Walshe, 17 score tracks: 44:09; Crossfire Trail, 7 score tracks: 22:33 )

Music composed and conducted by Eric Colvin. Album produced by Eric Colvin and Andre Knecht. Produced for La-La Land Records by Ford A. Thaxton. Recorded by Tim Boyle. Mixed by Tim Boyle and Andre Knecht. Recorded at Bastyr University, Seattle, WA. CD art direction by Mark Banning.

La-La Land 1006

Rating: ***

The music from the scores included here comes from two TNT Original films featuring Tom Selleck. Both are by relative newcomer Eric Colvin, if almost a decade of solid television solo work and numerous credits as a synthesizer programmer or conductor are still considered "new."

Keith Carradine’s "Cowboy Lullaby" opens the disc featuring his duo with Selleck from MONTE WALSH (2003). There are two versions of this faux-cowboy song that is in keeping with traditional ballads. Colvin’s score is a cousin to all those Western scores carrying on the tradition of the more subdued Americana of Copland. The big brass fanfares are not the driving force in a score that has a lot of great things going for it. There were moments that even reminded me of Williams’ THE PATRIOT. There is a great deal of lyrical writing that stands alongside some of the finer scores for this genre in this vein. The music lies a little closer to the likes of Shaiman’s CITY SLICKERS music. That is high company indeed to be held in for someone writing for television. If you enjoy Shaiman’s score there is no reason to think that you would not enjoy this one. Though Colvin does not have much new to reveal about the genre, he is adept in his orchestral ideas and in putting together extensive musical cues. The presentation here allows for his music to be enjoyed on its own and it could be recommended if only this score was left to run solo. Things do seem to bog down in the middle of the disc, even if the music is still pleasant to hear. "Missing Martine" is a choice cue filled with great romantic melancholy as is the music’s reappearance in "Martine’s Death." It is a simple tune that builds slowly to a wonderful climax before fading away. It is hard to discern Colvin’s distinct voice in these scores. But the music easily demonstrates why the producers laud him in the accompanying booklet.

CROSSFIRE TRAIL (2001) is another TNT Original telefilm, this one is based on a novel by Louis L’Amour. The music for this earlier film is in the same basic genre writing of MONTE WALSH. It makes for a rather lengthy listen of essential the same stylistic music. There is really little difference in general tempo, orchestration (with the exception of what sounds like a uillean pipe), or even melodic contour. "Rodney Ranch Arrival" is a close cousin to Broughton’s SILVERADO. That does not mean it is not well-crafted, or even derivative, only that there is not much here that you have not heard before. That is a critique that could be labeled at anyone writing in this genre though.

La-La Land continues to be impressively surveying choice scores by young composers writing for television films. When the scores are interesting to hear, it reminds you of those early scores by composers the likes of Goldsmith and Williams. These are competent and confidently written scores worth seeking out for the curious and those looking to begin or add to their collection potential new voices on the rise.

--Steven A. Kennedy, 28 MAY 2003

NAQOYQATSI - Music by Philip Glass

11 Tracks (Total Time = 77:05)

Featuring Yo-Yo Ma, cello and Members of the Philip Glass Ensemble conducted by Michael Riesman. Album produced by Kurt Munkacsi. Recorded and mixed at The Looking Glass Studios, New York by Hector Castillo. Art direction and design by Lisa Sparagano.

Sony Classical SK 87709.

Rating: ****

The popular minimalist composer, Philip Glass, had been a trendsetter in the art world for some time with many popular albums. Early on with experimental albums like GLASSWORKS, I have to admit that I was somewhat underimpressed with the musical ideas that repeated ad naseum, but I was curious as to how the style of "minimalism" would evolve. For me personally, the music of John Adams was far more interesting and listenable than Glass’s own contributions. The massive Godfrey Reggio trilogy has been a great opportunity for Glass to meld together a more multi-media presentation where his artistry excels to great degree. In fact, look over any current survey of music and the scores for KOYAANISQATSI and POWAQQATSI are often mentioned as important contributions to film music. For the final film in the trilogy, Glass has perhaps composed one of the best scores of 2002.

Adding cellist Yo-Yo Ma to the roster of musicians is a great idea since it will help increase the score’s visibility. Ma’s occasional solos are very attractive and help to illustrate that Glass has an ability to compose long lines of music in addition to the general pulsing repetitious cells. Ma’s solo in "New World" is truly fascinating to listen to and becomes a sort of contemporary solo etude for cello that is later elaborated on in "Old World." The most interesting piece is "Religion." It most immediately reminded me of the music from AMELIE and there is a little of Danny Elfman in here too (showing his roots and influences). There is some really interesting orchestration and an almost magical quality to the piece. At other times the music takes a turn into the kind of minimalistic film scoring we often hear filtered through the likes of Thomas Newman.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing about this score is the moments that illustrate Glass stepping into the development of elegiac lines. There is a more European feel to these moments in the score reminding me of the Spanish composer Navarette. Glass’ music becomes an integral response to a film that will no doubt be an experience unlike any other in cinema. It takes its place alongside the previous scores in this trilogy but becomes perhaps one of the most accessible and worthy additions to film music. This is not the same Glass of KUNDUN, but it is a score that is so much more.

--Steven A. Kennedy, 17 February 2003

Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com

NOWHERE IN AFRICA (2003)

22 Tracks (Total Time = 56:52)

Music by Niki Reiser. "Poland Means Death" and "Grasshoppers"  composed and orchestrated by Jochen Scmidt-Hambrock.  

Higher Octave HOSTCD 83955

Rating:  ***1/2

This soundtrack was composed for the Academy Award-winning Best Foreign Film: NOWHERE IN AFRICA, by German director, Caroline Link.  The film received 5 German Film (Lola) Awards, including the film score. The story is based on the aubiography of Stephanie Zweig and tells the tale of a Jewish family who leaves Germany in 1938 to flee the Nazi regime and travels to a remote farm in Kenya.

Swiss composer Niki Reiser is a graduate of the Berklee School of Music in Boston, where he majored in flute and composition.  He later studied film composition with such masters as Jerry Goldsmith and Ennio Morricone.  He has learned his craft quite well.  This is his 15th major film score, having previously worked with Caroline Link on several films, including ANNALOUISE AND ANTON (1999).

The NOWHERE IN AFRICA soundtrack begins with "Lorelei" (1:22), a flowing wistful theme which is nicely set against the next track, "Daddy is back" (0:56).  The third track (3:40) has the first statement of the title theme and its a very lovely piece, mostly for strings.  The main title theme is heard again with more prominent use of woodwinds on track 13, "Nowhere in Africa II (4:30).  On track 6, "Africa-Europe," the blending of Kenyan chant and orchestral strings is beautifully integrated in a compelling mix of rhythm and reflection.  In fact, much of this soundtrack is very reflective or contemplative, such as on track 9, "Goodbye from Regina" (4:47).  There is also some Kenyan dialogue from the film heard, as on track 12, "Ritual" (2:05), with mostly sustained strings and harp accompaniment, but also rhythmic drumming.  Also a solo voice is heard, as on track track 15, "My Brave Angel" (1:07).  The vocal soloist is Sandra Vantobel.  Other instrumental soloists are: MargatteNdlaye, Luzi Schilling, Andi Pupato (Percussion); Jael Bertschinger, Pedro Pedrosop  (Harp); and Andreas von Wangenheim (Guitar).

Two of the twenty-two tracks were composed and orchestrated by Jochen Schmidt-Hambrock:  "Poland Means Death" (4:17) and the final track: "Grass hoppers" (2:48), which is a rather discordant cue.  Just why this composer was used for these two tracks is not explained anywhere.  In fact, nothing is explained in the CD flyer.  Only a bunch of color stills from the film that are really unnecessary.  I would rather see some commentary from the director or especially the composer.  Because of that lack of information I have downrated this soundtrack slightly.

Yet Niki Reiser's score is a very good one.  It mixes exotic Kenyan chant and drumming with subdued European orchestral harmonies and the result is a highly sensitive soundtrack.

Recommended especially for those in search of something different in film music.

It's a lovely listening expericnce.       

--Roger Hall, 20 May 2003

For more information, see -

www.NowhereinAfrica.com

www.higheroctave.com      

PEOPLE I KNOW (2003)

16 Tracks (Total Time = 36:23/ includes two versions of "Bye Bye Blackbrid" and "Nothing to Me" - sung and composed by Jon Hendricks; 13 score tracks = 25:06)

Music composed and conducted by Terence Blanchard. Album produced by Terence Blanchard. Music engineered by Don Murray. Recorded and mixed at Solarium, Salt Lake City, UT. Mastered by Robert Vosgein at Capitol Mastering Studios. Package Design by Carla Leighton @ GLOO. Cover art design by Lisa Sandler.

Decca Records B0000191-02

Rating: ***1/2

PEOPLE I KNOW was initially shown at this year’s Sundance Festival and opened in late April selectively. The film has an impressive cast headlined by Al Pacino, Kim Basinger, Teo Leoni, and Ryan O’Neal directed by Dan Algrant. It will remain to be seen if the picture can sustain interest as we head into the summer blockbuster season. Though I have not had a chance to audition Blanchard’s recently nominated score for 25th HOUR, PEOPLE I KNOW is a minor masterpiece that ends up on the other end of the spectrum from the superb score for THE CAVEMAN’S VALENTINE. These three scores in succession bode well for this eminent musician and composer who deserves far more attention than he is currently getting. No doubt Blanchard carefully chooses his projects to keep from conflicting with his other musical commitments.

Blanchard’s score opens with a slow piano jazz number moving slowly into a more complex series of fuller orchestral music. At times it is reminiscent of similar moments in the music of John Williams with a type of rhythmic complexity that stays true to its jazz core. What impresses most is the archlike sense of "Murder Time" that moves with ease back to a kind of smooth jazz revery before closing. This latter sound is kin to the likes of David Benoit, conjured up here due to the predominant piano line. The sheer beauty of the melodic lines are filled in by harmonic motion that creates the kind of unsettling, inward sense of the film’s drama. "Vicci’s Park View" is just such a dreamlike view that introduces solo trumpet in a bluesy sound. Even in brief cues, Blanchard shows a penchant for being able to develop thematic ideas in a way that seems to be lacking in Hollywood these days. He is able to create just the right mood picture with some of the simplest of musical gestures that continues to hint at the greatness that lies untapped.

Another impressive part of Blanchard’s resume is that he produces and hopefully has a say in the progression of his material. This allows for a presentation of music that creates its own sense of ebb and flow as a listening experience. The music is thus given an opportunity to stand on its own as a whole apart from the film experience.

In addition to the score material, Decca has included two versions of the classic "Bye Bye Blackbird" performed each by Jon Hendricks and Rickie Lee Jones. Hendricks also performs his song, "Nothing to Me" which includes the movie’s title phrase within the lyrics. While their inclusion helps to fill out the album, it still barely manages to make it past the half hour mark which is usually enough to warrant a complaint from this reviewer knowing the list price of this CD (especially since some of the tracks are padded). Even so, this is a score worth exploring for those interested in jazz-influenced film music, and fans of the composers. While PEOPLE I KNOW does not raise itself up to the level of THE CAVEMAN’S VALENTINE, it comes close to pushing his score to EVE’S BAYOU a bit further down the list of his greater achievements.

--Steven A. Kennedy, 2 MAY 2003

Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com

CD Release of Special Merit

PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE (1952) - Music by Miklos Rozsa

27 Tracks (Total Time = 79:35/Main score - 18 tracks: 47:00/ 9 Bonus Tracks: 32:35)

Film Score Monthly Vol. 6, no. 1 (limited pressing of 3,000 copies)

Rating: ****

Film Score Monthly has been hard at work expanding the Rozsa discography with a seeming vengeance. Yet this latest album continues to remind those film score fans of a younger generation why Rozsa’s music is held in such high esteem.

At first glance, this 1952 historical adventure may not seem like much to behold. For those of us only familiar with the more epic films that Rozsa is remembered for, films like this one would rarely cross our radar. Thank goodness that those willing to take the risk here may continue to explore the depths of Rozsa’s music. PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE is a different musical soundscape. Here he makes use of a psalm-tune as his basic musical material. There is a somewhat high-seas tone to some of the music used for the Mayflower. In other places, Rozsa ups the melodramatic ante with wonderfully moving harmonies that recalled some of Alfred Newman’s work from this decade. Rozsa’s sound is still unique from other Hollywood fare and there is an amazing depth to the orchestral ideas that he employs. It is a bit fun to here a harpsichord in a Rozsa score after all the brassy music one tends to remember. PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE has some of Rozsa’s most beautiful thematic ideas and one of his best love themes.

The production continues to be of the highest quality throughout. The booklet is filled with what one comes to expect from FSM, detailed track-by-track information preceded by an overview of the film and its music. Finally, you get more than your monies worth where time is concerned, even without the bonus cues! There are a variety of stills which are well-placed and help round out a release that is worth exploring for fans of period films and for any Rozsa music lover.

--Steven A. Kennedy, 9 March 2003

Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com.

RE-ANIMATOR - The Definitive Edition (1985) - Music by Richard Band

16 Tracks (Total Time = 52:45)

Executive Album Producer: Michael V. Gerhard.  Producers: Ford A. Thaxton and Richard Band. Performed by the Rome Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Richard Band.  Digitally mastered by James Nelson. CD Audio Restoration and Additional Mastering: Chris Neel. CD Art Direction: Mark Banning.  

La-La Land Records LLLCD 1002 (limited edition - 3,000 copies)

Rating: **1/2

This soundtrack has one thing that few others dare to include - both a written and spoken interview with the composer. While it's interesting to hear his views and especially his "musical joke" of using Herrmann's PSYCHO motifs, this score still doesn't add up to much to my ears.  Yes, it's meant to be a comical horror flick.  Richard Band does offer "humble apologies to Bernard Herrmann," but the refences are just too obvious and overstated to really work very well.  

Most of the score just doesn't sound very convincing to me.  For example, "Meg Looks for the Cat" (track 2, 2:08) opens with a tedious repeated pattern which then switches to another more accented pattern sounding like James Bernard of Hammer horror film fame.   The next track, "Dan Falls Into the Cellar" (1:59) opens with a downward motif very much like Herrmann might have used - only he would have been more inventive about it.

The interview with Band and an unnamed person is on track 15 (14:34).  His comments seem candid about the soundtrack and film.  But the music tracks just don't add up to much, even though this is -"The Definitive Edition" - which sounds terribly pretentious.

The CD booklet is attractively designed and includes comments by the film's director and others.  It also includes another interview, this one with Randall Larson from CINEMASCORE in 1987.

I'd say this soundtrack would appeal only to fans of the film or the composer.  

--Roger Hall, 15 April 2003  

Editor's Choice - Best of the Month for June

SOMETHING WILD (1961)  - Music by Aaron Copland

11 Tracks (Total Time = 35:10)

Produced by Aaron Copland.  Executive Producer: Robert Townson.  Mastered by Erick Labson.  Cover Art by Saul Bass.  CD notes by Aaron Copland and Mark Leneker.

Varese Sarabande 302 066 469 2

Rating: *****  

Who would have guessed that a lost original film score by Aaron Copland would ever appear on CD?  But that's the case with this wonderful last score by Copland. It was composed for a highly expressionist 1961 film starring Carroll Baker and Ralph Meeker, and directed by Baker's then husband, Jack Garfein.  I remember seeing this film when it was first released and being very impressed with Carroll Baker's wonderful acting in a very difficult role as a rape victim, and especially aware of Aaron Copland's stark and sensitive score.  Copland decided not to score the rape scene and I believe he was correct since it is dramatic enough in its brutality.  

The opening track, "New York Profile" (2:48), just bristles with dissonant brass blasts along with heavy percussion support.  This is a dynamite theme, used for the opening credit titles by Saul Bass.  This theme might remind some of Leonard Bernstein's ON THE WATERFRONT, but actually Copland does it far better.  Another terrific cue is track 3 ("Subway Jam" - 2:16), where the subway train can be heard reproduced by brass and percussion.  Then things quiet down on the next track with the melancholy cue: "Mary Ann Resigned."  

On track 5, "Incarceration and Nightmares" (7:06), Copland begins with subtle moody writing when Mary Ann first rejects her captor, Mike, who goes out on alcoholic binges.  Copland next quotes the Subway Jam theme, introduced by beating of the drum, as Mary Ann begins her frightening dream.  This is masterful writing for emotional effect.

The next track, "Excape the City" (7:23), is the longest one on the CD and depicts Mary Ann's escape from Mike's apartment and roams around New York's Midtown and Central Park.  Once again, Copland's music begins highly dissonant as if to echo Mary Ann's disturbed and confused state of mind, and then eventually becomes more reflective as she head back to Mike's apartment.   

One of the most intense cues is "Episode On The Bridge" (track 9 - 4:51), where Copland uses jagged brass and strident strings to accompany this powerful scene of  Mary Ann's loneliness and depression.

The "Love Music" (track 7 - 1:57) is nicely written and manages to express deep feeling in under two minutes of music. The final track, "Reunion" (1:05), reunites Mary Ann with her mother, who is shocked when she hears that her daughter is going to have a baby. Copland wisely writes this scene in a harsh yet conciliatory manner so that it ends with uncertainty as the story suggests.

It's great to have the original 1961 notes by Copland included in the CD booklet.  Also, there's a note from the director, and the fascinating account by Mark Leneker how the original LP recording was discovered and transferred to CD.  He also provides an excellent description of each track.

Unfortunately, the CD is very short.  Why not include another Copland original film score, like THE RED PONY? According to Leneker, that Copland score was the first original soundtrack on LP ever released - and it was on Varese.

Copland was undoubtedly one of the most respected American composers of the 20th century.  Thus, this CD of SOMETHING WILD is surely a milestone of film music restoration.  It deserves to be in any serious film music collection.  

--Roger Hall,  28 June 2003

=========================================

Another Review...

SOMETHING WILD (Aaron Copland)

Rating: *****

Slipping between the radar of many film score fans is this excellent release from Varese of Aaron Copland’s SOMETHING WILD (1961). There are really no current catalog releases of Copland’s scores, though many of the incarnations in his concert arrangements exist. The uniqueness of this work is manifold for music historians and film music fans. Copland lovers will recognize bits and pieces of the score from MUSIC FOR A GREAT CITY, a work Copland pieced together on commission and his last work. For a long time, we had only this and the angular CONNOTATIONS for orchestra to compare as the last of a long line of great works. After exhausting the Americana sound of his works in the 1940s, Copland really began to return a bit to the "enfant terrible" style of the 1920s when he first entered the American music scene.

The opening "New York Profile" slams into your ears declaratively with strong dissonant swathes of sound. How odd then to hear Copland writing what is standard Hollywood sound mixed in to his palette. One could argue that he was the primary influence behind the musical Americana style that filled the screen music of the 1950s, and here just expanded this into a more dissonant style. It is akin to Alex North’s orchestral scores of the same period that shied away from the hot jazz he hit upon in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. "Park At Night" is an almost lyrical Ivesian haiku with its splatters of color lighting up the texture. Copland comments in his notes that he worked to incorporate the sounds of the city heard on the soundtrack to coincide and be filled in by his music. Such must have been the case for "Subway Jam" a kind of percussion tour-de-force with punctuated brass that sounds like a scene from the more hellish side of New York. It is reminiscent of his earlier World’s Fair film score FROM SORCERY TO SCIENCE (recorded on Telarc 80583 by New York’s Eos Ensemble). "Mary Ann Resigned" has a kind of sound that one hears commonly in the best Newman dramas from the previous decade, and yet Copland’s inimitable style flows through this brief cue.

Copland fans will want to be sure and pull out his orchestral rearrangement of this music once they hear the two longest tracks which log in at over seven minutes each: "Incarceration and Nightmare," and "Escape Through the City." The "Love Music" that accompanies the first kiss in the film will also find its lyrical expression in the concert work. All of this to say that one needs to hear both works together to appreciate the intricacies of Copland’s art and working process.

For years music fans hoped for a glimpse into the sound world of Copland’s penultimate work and last film score. Mark Leneker’s notes reveal that masters of the music were made but that the studio balked at releasing the score. The sources were located, almost by accident as the case often is, after a discovery of a CD-R in a special collection at the University of Texas! Just another example of the importance of our university music libraries!

The accompanying booklet for SOMETHING WILD is an exemplary production featuring Copland’s commentary from 1961 as well as Mark Leneker’s program notes. Varese has put together the album as a listening disc, but also includes information on reprogramming for film order. The film stills are well-spaced and add to the reading experience. Included is an unpublished (until now) illustration by Al Hirschfeld. All around one of the finest releases of the year! The only carp is that Varese had THE RED PONY in their catalog and could have remastered and re-issued that along with this score to fill it out and make this a real gem.

--Steven A. Kennedy, 1 July 2003

Editor's Choice - Best of the Month for January

SUNSET BOULEVARD - Music by Franz Waxman

25 Tracks (Total Time = 66:43)

Produced by Robert Townson.  Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Joel McNeely, conductor.  Recording Engineer: Johathan Allen.  Assistant Engineer: Richard Hale. Mastering Engineer: Rich Breen.  Recorded at City Halls, Glasgow, January 7-8, 2002.

Varese Sarabande 302 066 316 2

Rating:  ****1/2

In his CD notes, producer Robert Townson begins with this glowing endorsement:

"To Franz! That was the toast which began dinner the evening we completed recording SUNSET BOULEVARD.  A sort of music grace, if you will. Grateful we were, indeed, to this extraordinary composer, as we had spent a couple of days utterly immersed in his music...SUNSET BOULEVARD is, without question, one of Franz Waxman's greatest scores."

No disagreement from me.  I'd just like to add that this is one of the greatest re-recordings of a Franz Waxman score.  It just bristles with vitality and a bright bold performance by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, ably conducted by Joel McNeely.  Special praise needs to be given to Lynda Cochrane, who has a major role as solo pianist and also plays the tinkly celeste on a few occasions.

This soundtrack would be a welcome addition to any fan of Golden Age music.  I might add that, for me, this score is far superior to the one put together by Andrew Lloyd Webber for his musical of the same title. Waxman was a master composer for writing to various characters and this one had themes for all the principal characters in the story, including Joe Gillis (William Holden) on track 2 ("Paramount Studio") and Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) on track 4 (2:18).

As Christopher Hustad writes in his excellent background notes:

"He (Waxman)  relies heavily on the Wagnerian leitmotiv, building an array of themes and melodic figures that are distinct and recognizable, which he then subjects to variations which scrupulously preserve that recognizability."

The famous final scene with Norma Desmond is "The Comeback" (track 23, 4:24), where we hear her theme for the last time in its darkest transformation.  She's more disillusioned than ever about her empty life and failed movie career.   

In addition to Waxman's masterful score, we also get a bonus track of the opening deleted scene, " Prelude and Conversing Corpses" (track 25, 9:01).  In addition, there are treats in the 20 page CD booklet.  They include "An Eternal Sunset" by Robert Townson, "Wilder on Waxman" by the film's director Billy Wilder, and the background notes on Waxman and the film score by Christopher Husted.  

This first ever complete soundtrack of SUNSET BOULEVARD belongs in any collection of vintage film lovers.

--Roger Hall, 24 January 2003

Note:  Also highly recommended is the excellent DVD release (Paramount Home Video, 2002) , which has a featurette on the superb score with his son, John Waxman, composer Elmer Bernstein, and conductor John Mauceri.  

THEY (2002)  - Music by Elia Cmiral

20 Tracks (Total Time = 41:11)

Execuitve Album Producer: Michael V. Gerhard.  Produced for La-La Land Records by Ford A. Thaxton. Orchestrated by Elia Cmiral and Thomas Bartke. Additional orchestration by Chris Walden. Performed by the Northwest Sinfonia, conducted by Thomas Bartke. Electronic score performed and percussion programming by Elia Cmiral. Mixed by Alan Myerson. Digitally mastered by James Nelson.  CD Art Direction: Mark Banning.

La-La Land Records LLLCD 1005 (limited edition - 3,000 copies)

Rating: **

The front of the CD booklet gives the the promotion slogan for the film:  "First comes the warning. Then comes the mark. Then comes the terror."  To that, I'll add - "Then comes the bad soundtrack!"  

I'm frankly very tired of such trite and overwrought horror scores with ominous strings and percussive clangings.  It just reeks of unimaginative ramblings.  According to the notes, Cmiral spent four months composing this score.  As with most films today there were certain cues that needed to be rewritten.  But even so, I just don't think this score holds together very well.    

There's just too much of the eerie string screeching and scratching.  But there are a few tracks with a decent theme, as in "Back Home" (track 13).  The final track, "Twisted Reality" isn't too bad either.  But the rest of it offers not much to grab onto, unless you're a horror film geek.   

The art design is nicely done in the CD booklet and the notes about Elia Cmiral's career are also helpful.  It appears that he will continue to get lots of work and that should be good for his continuing career.

But I'm not suggesting you getting this soundtrack unless you're a huge Elia Cmiral fan.

--Roger Hall, 15 April 2003  

TOGETHER - Music by Zhao Lin

11 Tracks (Total Time = 50:42/ 2 score tracks = 5:19)

Score composed by Zhao Lin.

The following performed by Li Chuanyun, violin, with the China National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lin Xin Chao:

Bruch: Scottish Fantasy (excerpts)

Conus: Violin Concerto in e (excerpts)

Sibelius: Violin Concerto in d (3rd Movement)

Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D (3rd Movement)

Vieuxtemps: Violin Concerto No 5 in A (excerpts)

Chen Gang: Sunshine over Tashkorgan (Li Chuanyun, violin; Huang Yameng, piano)

Liszt: Consolation No. 3 (Li Chuanyun, violin; Huang Yameng, piano)

Paganini: Caprice No. 1 in E (Li Chuanyun, violin)

Verdi: Nabucco Act 3 Chorus—Va pensiero, sull’ali dorate (Prague National Theater Chorus & Orchestra, conducted by Gregor Bohumi)

Album Supervision and production by David Franco. Recording engineer: Shen Yuanzhi. Music editing and mastering: Elton Ahi, Rusk Sound Studios, Hollywood, CA. Album art direction by Jodi Tack

Milan 36016

Rating: **

TOGETHER won some accolades at the 2002 San Sebastian Film Festival including the Best Director Silver Seashell for Chen Kaige. He is one of the premier popular Chinese directors with films like TEMPTRESS MOON, THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN, and FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE making the art house rounds. TOGETHER is a film that addresses father-son relationships by using the struggle between Western Classical music and the Chinese Cultural Revolution as metaphors.

As such then there is really only time for opening and end title music to be included on this CD by composer Zhao Lin. His music provides bookends for some of the best violin playing I have heard in awhile by the young Chinese artist, Li Chuanyun. He is the soloist for the violin scenes in the film and Milan has seen fit to create what is really a musical sampler of his abilities here. As a film score there is little to recommend this CD, but as a sample of some excellent violin work, that is surprisingly well-supported by the national symphony recorded here, it is worth the effort for those who follow the violin superstar scene. Chuanyin is a name to look for in the future. If TOGETHER receives a wider audience, it has a chance of being very well remembered. Unfortunately, it is being sent out into limited release at the start of the summer blockbuster season. Since there has been very little to recommend those films, perhaps some will fall into seeing TOGETHER by default and will discover an amazing little film that makes a wonderful companion to THE RED VIOLIN.

--Steven A. Kennedy, 10 March 2003

THE WICKER MAN - Music Score and Songs by Paul Giovanni

16 Tracks (Total Time = 39:42)

Album release co-ordination: David Tionek and James Fitzpatrick.  Mastering: Rick Clark. Additional Mastering: Gareth Williams. Art Direction & Desing: Seam Mowle.  Notes by Simon Wells and Gary Carpenter (Associate Musical Director).  CD released in co-operation with Summerisle Enterprises.  Original recordings, 1973.  Additional cues recorded in 2002 by John Luard Temperley.

Silva Screen Records SSD 1141

Rating: ***

It was thirty years ago that this subtle horror mystery film was released.  Since then, there has grown up quite a large following for the film and it has become something of a cult classic.  It is now available on video and DVD in two editions: a truncated one from the US theatrical release, and the original 102 minute British Lion version.  I am one of those who greatly admire the skill and cleverness of the screenplay by Anthony Shaffer and the direction by Robin Hardy.  The acting is also quite brilliant for this sort of thriller, with Edward Woodward as Sergeant Howie (the policeman who investigates the young girl's disappearance on an island off the west coast of Scotland), Diane Cilento as Miss Rose the schoolmistress, Britt Eklund as the seductive barmaid Willow McGregor; and Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle - in one of his best performances.  The man chosen to write the music was Paul Giovanni, a New York-based folk musician and songwriter.  He was assisted by Gary Carpenter.

After rumors that this soundtrack had been lost forever - some have said it had been buried along with the film's negative near a British motorway - it has been located and released for the first time in this slipcased Deluxe Edition.

Eight of the tracks feature songs by Giovanni.  They are quite different in character from most movie songs heard today. But in the 1970s, there was a more extensive use of folk material in films.   Since the story deals with lots of pagan rituals, the songs reflect this fact in such songs as "Corn Riggs"(track 1, 2:35) and "Maypole" (track 4, 2:43).  Many of the songs also have explicitly erotic messages told in the lyrics as well as in the film.  These include two of the best songs:  "Gently Johnny," sung by Giovanni (track 3, 3:32); and "Willow's Song," sung by Lesley Mackie  (track 7, 4:40).  Another very good song is "The Tinker of Rye" (track 6, 1:50), nicely sung by Christopher Lee and Diane Cilento, and accompanied on the piano by Gary Carpenter.

One of the most memorable score tracks is "Processional" (track 8, 2:15), based on a Scottish folk tune and as Gary Carpenter describes it - "typical of Paul's imaginative, off-kilter thinking, was a march in waltz-time."  Though lasting only a few minutes it is a very effective cue for one of the many bizarre scenes in the film.     The shocker finale of the film is heard on track 11 ("Festival/ Mirie It Is/ Sumer Is A-Cumen In").  The final cue on that track features one of the earliest known English songs, with lyrics by Peter Shaffer - the brother of Anthony and known for his play, AMADEUS).  Gary Carpenter also contributed to this track, and he explains how it was done in his detailed CD notes.

The last five tracks have incidental music from THE WICKER MAN, including the Main Title music. Three of the cues are performed by "Thomas the Khymer," featuring Gareth Williams, James Fitzpatrick and Nic Raine.  These cues are nicely done, even though the final one, "Sunset" (track 16, 1:05), has a very abrupt ending to it.  The remaining cues sound like filler to expand this short soundtrack.

The CD comes with a glossy color poster if you like that sort of thing.  The design of the 20 page CD booklet is somewhat garish.  On the back page, where the names who produced this labor of love are listed, can hardly be read. I'm surprised they didn't complain!  On the first page of the booklet is this note from Lord Summerisle:

"The music to THE WICKER MAN is quite extraordinary . I think it is probably the best music I've ever heard in a film. All the songs are totally different from each other and yet sum up the atmosphere of the scenes perfectly."

While I would agree with Lord Summerisle (Mr. Lee) about the songs, I don't think the score is all that special.  What is surprising is Lee's selection of this film score as the best, rather than one by the composer who worked on so many of his Hammer films:  James Bernard.

Since this soundtrack is sold at full price, I would say it's mainly for those who have a deep love for this very bizarre but compelling film.  

If so, as Lord Summerisle says on track 15,

 "come, it is time to keep your appointment with THE WICKER MAN!"

--Roger Hall, 23 January 2003

WINGED MIGRATION  (2003) - Music by Bruno Coulais

19 Tracks (Total Time = 45:27)

Music composed and Orchestrated by Bruno Coulais.  Executive Producer: Paul Lavergne.  Songs performed by Nick Cave, Robert Wyatt, A Filetta, and Gabriel Yacoub.  Also featuring The Bulgarka Jr Quartette, The Lyliana Botcheva Choir, The Sofia Bass Choir, and The Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra, Directed by Deyan Pavlov. Sound Engineers: Didier Lize and Stephane Briand.  Recorded at the Ferber, Mega, Davout, and Twin Studios in France; Robert Wyatt recorded by Dan Bowater at the DB Studios in England; and at the Bulgarian Radio Studio.  Mixed at the Guillaume Tell Studios in France.

Higher Octave HOSTCD 82505

Rating: **1/2

I must confess this is the first time I've heard a film score by Bruno Coulais.  He is a highly regarded composer in France. Based on WINGED MIGRATION, I'm not sure I would seek out any of his other scores.  That's not to say this is a bad score.  It's just okay, except for the songs, which aren't very good.

This soundtrack is heavily focused on the 6 songs which were all co-written by Coulais. The first one, "To Be By Your Side" (track 1, 4:06), is sung by Nick Cave and is a mundane and pretentious song that doesn't offer up much.  The next song on the second track, "Masters of the Field" (3:22), is sung by Robert Wyatt and comes across better. "The Highest Gander" (track 5, 3:14) is also sung by Wyatt.  It's a very awkward sounding song with an unmemorable melody. The most effective songs are "The Red Lattern" (track 9, 2:25) sung by Robert Wyatt; and "Like A Breath of Air" (track 10, 2:04) performed by the vocal group A Filetta. The fifth song, "The Wounded Dove" (track 18, 3:05) is sung in French by Gabriel Yacoub.  His voice is weak, barely audible with all that's going on with background voices and accented string patterns.  Strangely, only half of the songs ("To Be By Your Side"; "Masters of the Field"; "The Highest Gander") have their lyrics printed in the CD flyer.

The remainding tracks are for the most part quite listenable.  Frequent use is made of various Bulgarian choirs, such as in the hypnotic "Beating Drums" (track 6, 3:33).  The following track, "Return of the Cranes" (2:34), features the close harmony of a group of female voices. It is understated and quite graceful as it accompanies the birds return.  The use of bird sounds, as on "The Glider" (track 13), adds the right touch to Jacques Perrin's beautifully made film.  Unfortunately, the awkward melodic pattern of such a track doesn't jive with the bird sounds.  There's also the World Music flavor heard on such cues like "After the Hunt" (track 14, 2:55), an appealing cue based on the song, "Masters of the Field."  The final track, "Off Camera" (2:02) makes a final reference to "Masters of the Field" but is a very jarring and unsatisfying conclusion to the soundtrack.

The notes by Bruno Coulais strike me as being too abstract.  After thanking his performers, here is how he describes his views: "For me, film music - when it succeeds - has no meaning apart from vibrating naturally like light, capturing a little of the secret, invisible world of the film or simply stirring our emotions."  In other words, it should be like background music? What about underscoring a dramatic film?  I would strongly disagree with his assessment of film music's function.

WINGED MIGRATION is an Enhanced CD with some very cool extras like sample bird migrations and a movie trailer, plus links to Higher Octave and various bird sites.  There is also a contest, which didn't work when I went there.

The score by Coulais and the Enhanced CD extras provide a nice souvenir of the film.      

--Roger Hall, 8 May 2003

For additional information:

http://www.higheroctave.com

http://www.wingedmigration.com

http://www.brunocoulais.net

(c) FILM MUSIC REVIEW - The Web Magazine.   All Rights Reserved,  2003.

For comments, questions,  or to place an ad, write to the FMR Editor, Roger Hall at -

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