Jeremiah Johnson/Rubinstein

Robert Redford stars in the Sydney Pollack directed film Jeremiah Johnson (1972), based loosely on the novel Mountain Man and other material about the last of the mountain men in the 1800’s. The true facts of Johnson’s life had to be greatly altered as it was reported he killed 247 Crow Indians and then ate their livers, according to legend. Somehow I don’t think that Redford would want to portray that. As far as a time frame is concerned for Redford films it was between Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and The Way We Were (1973). Other than Will “The Walton’s” Geer there were no other significant name major actors.

You’ll not find the name of John Rubinstein, son of the famous concert pianist Arthur Rubinstein, very often in the credits. A quick look in the Soundtrack Collector database revealed only one other film China Beach (1988), where a CD release is available. Tim McIntire, son of John “Wagon Train” McIntire, was primarily an actor and only had this film to his credit as far as a composer was concerned. Yet the two relative newcomers did a credible job for Warner Brothers and director Sydney Pollack.

If at all possible, and in this case it was, FSM gives you all of the recorded material available including unreleased tracks, alternate tracks, demo material for Sydney Pollack, and the original LP recording. While there is certainly a lot of very similar material it is all-available for the collector to study and sort through. The performing orchestra is a mid-size one (43 maximum) but on many of the cues it is smaller featuring piano, violin, Indian flutes, banjo, and harp. There is certainly that “Americana” sound mixed with folk and hoedown, making you realize while you’re listening how much influence Copland had on composers. Rubinstein and McIntire didn’t come up with any new groundbreaking material but created exactly the sound that Pollack was looking for, a sound that is quite easy on the ears, a bit schmaltzy from time to time, and never over the top with fortissimo chords. McIntire, who sings the songs, is very laid back in his country western style. A pleasant voice, easy to listen to but the same as I’ve heard many times before. I found the musical passages of the CD to be quite soothing, also easy to listen to, especially the Indian flute passages. The liner notes from Redman and Kaplan along with the interview of Rubinstein that Bond did provide interesting useful information. A fan of western music, Robert Redford, or the film itself will find this a nice addition to their collection. The release is limited to 3000 copies.

Film Score Monthly # is Vol. 12 #15

Produced by Lukas Kendall

Mastering By Doug Schwartz

Track listing

1. Overture/Spirits Landings/“Jeremiah Johnson” (Main Title) (07:42)

 

2. Hatchet Jack’s Letter/Bear Claw/You Got Some Work to Do (01:50)

 

3. Jeremiah Johnson/Top Knot (02:26)

 

4. Wedding Chant/“The Way That You Wander” (01:44)

 

5. Swan (02:37)

 

6. The Cabin/It’ll Have to Do (02:30)

 

7. Ride to the Buffalo (02:16)

 

8. Who Won?/Intermission (01:45)

 

9. Entr’Acte/The Burial Ground/Ride Home/The Wake (03:57)

 

10. Funeral Fire (01:01)

 

11. Indian Death Chant/”He’s Never Been Known to Be Wrong” (“An Indian Says”)/Jeremiah Johnson (01:58)

 

12. Violence Montage (00:43)

 

13. To Qualens/What’s on the Spit? (02:02)

 

14. Green and Muddy/“The Way That You Wander”/“Jeremiah Johnson” (End Title) (03:16)

Total Time: 36:18

Additional Score

15. Spirits Landing (instrumental) (01:55)

 

16. Paints His Shirt Red/Hatchet Jack/M11/M12/Yes/Close Shave (01:35)

 

17. He’s Never Been Known to Be Wrong (instrumental) (01:56)

Total Time: 5:30

Album Tracks

Including Dialogue from the Motion Picture

18. Hatchet Jack/Bear Claw/Full-Time Night Woman (02:00)

 

19. The Wedding/“The Way That You Wander” (02:04)

 

20. Maybe April/“The Way That You Wander”/End Title (03:50)

Total Time: 7:59

Orchestral Demo

21. Spirits Landing/“Jeremiah Johnson” (Main Title) (05:32)

Work Tape

22. The Cabin (04:22)

 

23. Flute and Violin 1 (01:12)

 

24. “Jeremiah Johnson” (01:20)

 

25. “The Heart of a Lady” (02:44)

 

26. Guitar Improvisation (00:14)

 

27. Violin and Piano (01:13)

 

28. “Jeremiah Johnson” (End Title) (01:31)

Total Time: 12:52

Song Recordings

29. “The Way That You Wander” (01:13)

 

30. “The Heart of a Lady” (humming (01:04)

 

31. “Jeremiah Johnson” (End Title) (01:14)

Total Time: 3:36

 

Total Duration: 01:10:46

Informant/Hamlisch

Opening in the theaters on September 18, 2009, the Steven Soderbergh directed film The Informant starring Matt Damon is based on a true story by Kurt Eichenwald of a whistleblower who worked for Archer Daniels Midland. The dark comedy also stars Scott Bakula, Joel Mchale, and Melanie Lynskey. It’s opening weekend at the box office (9-18-2009) saw a return of $10.5 million.

Marvin Hamlisch, a three time Oscar winner and a veteran of more than 40 years of composing film scores, chose a retro-style score from the 60’s that certainly brought back the memories of the big band sound with melodies that get stuck in your head and you can’t seem to shake it loose. Both the main theme “The Informant” and “Trust Me,” performed as a vocal and instrumental fall into that category. “The Informant” starts out on the dark side with a bassoon solo but it quickly turns to a lush and a little schmaltzy melody with a piano, trumpet, and harmonica offering solos. This same theme is also repeated in “Boxes,” “Triplets,” and as a honky tonk piano solo style in the last track “The Informant.” “Trust Me,” offers nice lyrics from Marilyn and Alan Bergman and a very nice vocal from Steve Tyrell in a Las Vegas style big band arrangement. There is also an instrumental version of the same melody in a two-step dance style, which has the lounge piano, wa-wa muted trumpet, and a nice contribution from clarinet and sax. “Meet Mark” is definitely a muzak style theme from the 60’s complete with organ. This same theme is also repeated in “After Car” with the addition of a nice lead in bass solo to the main melody. “The Raid” is a Neal Hefti type tune complete with cool flutes, bass and regular trombones, and a kazoo. “Multi-Tasking” is a muzak type track with a sudden change at the end repeating the spy spoof in “Car Meeting.” “Polygraph” is a banjo-picking hoe down style with a foot stomping violin. “Car Meeting” definitely falls into the category of spy spoof style music. “Sellout” is a South American style dance number. “Golf” is another spy music track leaning more toward a Mission Impossible style of jazz/spy material. If your looking for a variety of styles and types in your music look no further.

However, this music will not appeal to everyone. Some will find this material to appear corny and out of date. This is a good score from Marvin Hamlisch, which will interest those who’re interested in older style lounge, big band, and 60’s type music. In this reviewer’s opinion it was exactly the type of material that the film needed. A newer style score would have taken away from the film. Currently the material is available via digital download. Silva UK will release the CD on October 12th, which can be purchased from SAE and other outlets. Recommended.

Track Listing:

1.… The Informant

2.… Meet Mark

3.… Car Meeting

4.… The Raid

5.… Multi-Tasking

6.… Polygraph

7.… Boxes

8.… After Car

9.… Trust Me (instrumental)

10.. Sellout

11.. Triplets

12.. Golf

13.. Trust Me (vocal by Steve Tyrell)

14.. The Informant (solo piano)

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold/Linn

What do you get when you mix the novelist H. Rider Haggard of She fame, Clinton, Goldsmith, Linn, Chamberlain, Stone, James Earl Jones, and Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson with the Cannon Group? You get a so-so film and a patchwork score to the Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold film. The real star of this show has to go to music editor Virginia Ellsworth who dealt with 137 music cues in the film. She worked with “King Solomon Mines,” music by Jerry Goldsmith, “Avenging Force,” music by George S. Clinton, original material from Michael Linn, and unnamed cues from other Cannon films. She also had to deal with an 80-piece orchestra, a 40-piece orchestra, and who knows what size ensemble. Put all of this together and make it sound like all original OST material and she likely should have been nominated for an Oscar. Liner notes writer Randall Larson called it a “sonic stew” and a “difficult one to analyze.”

Michael primarily worked in Hollywood as an orchestrator and music editor thus his discography as a composer is rather thin with only two additional listings in the soundtrack collector database. Couple this with the fact that he died of cancer at the young age of 43 and he didn’t start in Hollywood until he was 30 didn’t give him a lot of opportunity to compose.

For this La-La Land release #1099 we get another editing job of 32+ minutes of the OST material written for the film by Michael Linn along with a couple of cues that contain the Goldsmith theme to “King Solomon Mines.” The primary theme from Michael first appears in “Don’t Fool With Quatermain” and the melody is used several times throughout the release. It is a nice one, romantic and upbeat with a catchy melody played smoothly by the strings. While it is never really permitted to be fully developed you’ll hear it enough times to recognize it as the theme to this movie. Linn loves brass, especially trombone, and being a former trombone player I absolutely loved the bawdy trombone play alone, and with the trumpets and tuba in “Umslopogaas.” The slide of the trombone comes in quite handy in “Worms,” continues in “Love Scene,” which is not your warm and fuzzy music at all but more of an exercise in tone and technique for trombones. “Jessie Fingered” is a fun comedic track with the Don’t Fool with Quatermain theme and good brass harmony to back it up.

Overall I like the score. The theme along with the orchestration, especially the brass, is strong enough to give this a recommendation. Anyone who collects everything Goldsmith is going to want this as there are brief cues from “King Solomon Mines” included. If nothing else it will likely be the only score that Larson calls “sonic stew.”

This release is limited to 1200 units

Maintitle rating is ***

Produced by Thaxton, Gerhard, and Verboys

Edited by James Nelson

Track Listing:

1. Train Delivery / Don’t Fool With Quatermain * (01:48)

 

2. Quatermain Shows Off (01:53)

 

3. Quatermain Meets Swarmi / Dumont Dies (03:20)

 

4. The Ruse (02:53)

 

5. Jessie Fingered (02:07)

 

6. Umslopogaas (03:27)

 

7. Earthquake (02:57)

 

8. Quatermain Leaves Akawi (01:40)

 

9. Worms (01:12)

 

10. Love Scene (03:02)

 

11. Agon Wants Revenge (05:04)

 

12. Dumont’s Gold City / Coda * (03:11)

* = Contains theme from “King Solomon’s Mines” composed by Jerry Goldsmith

Total Duration: 00:32:34

Drag Me To Hell/Christopher Young

Directed and co- written by Sam “Spiderman” Raimi for Universal, “Drag Me To Hell” was not made for the target market that I’m in these days. However, as of this writing in August 2009, the box-office figures show it is a huge success, meaning they hit their target market just fine without my advice. I saw the poster, read the press release, and said to myself, why bother with this at all. This has all of the makings of yet another slasher horror film with the wailing, irritating slashing strings, and loud, louder, and loudest. I bothered because the music is from Christopher Young an excellent underrated composer of the first order. I wasn’t disappointed in anyway and quite pleased at what I heard from the first bars of the main theme. Besides, Young has such thought provoking interesting track titles such as “Muttled Buttled Brain Stew” it is hard not to at least have a listen.

“Drag Me To Hell,” the main theme, begins with a reference from Jaws and ends with a reference from Star Trek. In between is a theme that isn’t your standard horror one at all but a melody you might hear in any number of genre of films, perfectly complemented by a solo violin, which represents the devil himself as explained by Young in the CD liner notes. Immediately the sounds of the violin of Saint-Saen’s Danse Macabre began to fill my head with the vision of a skeleton playing the violin with both hands while the bow was moving on its own, also explained in the liner notes as impossible to do without overdubbing. It is the same theme that you’ll also hear in “Concerto from Hell” which features an extended violin solo complete with trills.

“Tale of a Haunted Banker” starts with a piano lead which segues to a patented classic Young melody performed on a toy piano. It is simple, elegant, and one of those catchy melodies that puts a small lump in your throat. Tempo and lead in are different but the same theme as Haunted Banker is used in “Familiar Familiars” and “Brick Dogs a la Carte.”

There are plenty of horror tracks with chorus, ‘devil’s horn’, on the edge of your seat excitement in such tracks as “Mexican Devil Disaster,” “Auto-Da-Fe,” “Loose Teeth,” “Lamia,” and “Black Rainbows.” While this is top drawer writing for the horror genre this overall style of music has never been my cup of tea and it was difficult for me to get my teeth into it. The horror fan will have no trouble listening to it over and over.

This release comes highly recommended to any fan of Christopher Young and horror genre music. Even the classical listener will enjoy the “Concerto to Hell” as the violin playing is quite good.

Maintitles rating is ****

Produced by Christopher Young and Flavio Motalla

CD# is Lakeshore LKS 34091

Track Listing:

1. Drag Me To Hell (02:33)

 

2. Mexican Devil Disaster (04:33)

 

3. Tale Of A Haunted Banker (01:52)

 

4. Lamia (04:06)

 

5. Black Rainbows (03:24)

 

6. Ode To Ganush (02:23)

 

7. Familiar Familiars (02:11)

 

8. Loose Teeth (06:31)

 

9. Ordeal By Corpse (04:35)

 

10. Bealing Bells With Trumpet (05:12)

 

11. Brick Dogs Ala Carte (01:46)

 

12. Buddled Brain Strain (02:51)

 

13. Auto-Da-Fe (04:31)

 

14. Concerto To Hell (05:59) Total duration is 52:29

Symphonic Poems/Holbrooke

From the very first listen this new CPO # 777 442-2 release of Holbrooke’s Symphonic Poems got my attention and immediately got me to wondering why I had not listened to this composer before. The CD notes, quite extensive, told the sad story of how Josef ended in obscurity in spite of his efforts at self-promoting. From the little material that I was able to read about him it became quite clear that Josef composed in the wrong century and was born in the wrong country, as England wasn’t exactly a hot bed for composers. His style didn’t fit in the 20th century. His remarks of England were quite caustic and reflecting back on history one can certainly see why he had the attitude he did. He deserves a much better fate than obscurity.

Holbrooke had an obsession about putting the prose of Poe to music, having done it 35 times. “Amontillado,” Dramatic Overture, op. 123 was written in 1936 but not premiered until 1946 exactly 100 years after Poe wrote the story “The Cask of Amontillado.” The 9+ minute work consists of themes, which are used and melded together in an orchestral arrangement, which is easily accessible for the average listener. You’ll hear a bright and sprightly theme featuring strings, crisp percussion, and brass as well as a melancholy one from the woodwinds.

“Ulalume,” Orchestral Poem No. 3, opus 35 is based on a poem by Poe about the loss of a woman in his life, and is a good venue for a symphonic orchestral work. Overall on the dark side, there is a portion of quiet reflection, a romantic interlude, as well as action and tense moments.

“The Viking,” Orchestral Poem No. 2, op. 32 has a love theme straight from a film like Rebecca. Intermixed with this theme are action moments which are similar to tone poems such as “The Isle of the Dead” from Rachmaninoff or “The Island” from Sainton. Originally called “The Skeleton in Armour” this symphonic poem is also fairly accessible to the listener as the orchestral arranging of Holbrooke is most pleasing to the ear.

“Three Blind Mice-Symphonic Variations on an Old English Air,” op. 37, No. 1 is just a fun piece to listen to filled with a lot of musical fun. While the piece really doesn’t fit with the dark and brooding nature of the other three it does show off the versatile side of Josef.

While this reviewer has never heard any of these particular works before it certainly sounds like the Brandenburg State Orchestra of Frankfurt conducted by Howard Griffiths have the right amount of enthusiasm for the works. The recording is done properly with a nice emphasis being placed when appropriate. I site the percussion in “Amantillado” as an example. I also found the liner notes to be quite extensive including small score examples as well as a complete explanation on how the work ended up being written.

In conclusion I found this work of Holbrooke to be a wonderful new discovery for me. This is one CD that even a person with limited classical listening experience would find extremely satisfying. I hope that CPO will choose to record more of this sadly neglected composer. Recommended

CD# is CPO 777 442-2

Track Listing:

1.… Amontillado (9:26)

2.… The Viking (19:02)

3.… Three Blind Mice (14:37)

4.… Ulalume (12:56)

Total Time is 56:26

Lonely Are The Brave/Goldsmith

One could argue 1962 was the pinnacle of picture making for Hollywood with the likes of Miracle Worker, Lawrence of Arabia, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Days of Wine and Roses, Birdman of Alcatraz, Music Man, Mutiny on the Bounty, and Sweet Bird of Youth. Released in another year could have resulted in an Oscar or two for Lonely are the Brave including the outstanding score of a young Jerry Goldsmith. Screenplay by award winning blacklisted Dalton Trumbo, itself a story, the film starred Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, and Walter Matthau in a modern setting western about an out of place cowboy. This was not your typical cowboy story and Douglas whose production company produced wanted it released to the art houses, which Universal refused to listen to. Yes it had a western flavor to it but the story went a whole lot deeper. With the above list of 1962 films one can see why it quickly came and left theaters, much to the disappointment of Kirk who felt it was his favorite movie, quite a statement considering the list of films he starred in.

Recommended for the assignment by Alfred Newman, Jerry turned in a score that ranks with the best of the best in the western genre. The main theme is quietly introduced to us 20 seconds into the first track by a guitar with soft harmonizing strings, extremely subtle. Then that theme again is heard first from the flutes and then the lonesome trumpet with some of that Goldsmith sound from the harmony of the brass, and the pizzicato from the string section. One can hear in track No. 3 “3M81” influences of Jerome Moross and Aaron Copland both well known in their writing of Americana music as well as a brief return to that wonderful theme. “Burns Returns” is more of that lovely theme Americana orchestrated. Again one can hear what sort of influence Aaron Copland had on a young Jerry Goldsmith and yet his sound was already being formed. “Bar Room Brawl” is a tense action underscore well orchestrated with guitar, pizzicato strings, blaring horns, and percussion. It ends with a short Mexican style marimba. “World’s Apart” is a longer version (5:28) of the main theme in a poignant lullaby style cue complete with the theme from harmonica, guitar, and a small string section. “On the Run,” “Sudden Intrusion,” “Wounded,” and “Closing In” is tension underscore cues mixed in with the main theme. “Catastrophe” begins with dissonant brass and then becomes a dirge between the brass and the lower strings. The lower register takes the spotlight by playing the theme in a lower key. The “End title” after a short build-up gives us the lonely trumpet and the main theme to conclude the CD.

Don’t let the fact that the recording is mono deter you from a purchase as it is a first class re-master all the way with some added stereo reverb to make it even better. I have absolutely no complaint with the recording at all.

While Goldsmith fans/collectors have already purchased this CD (perhaps 2) the average collector should also not hesitate and purchase this outstanding release before it sells out. It is a limited edition of 3000 copies. This western release ranks with “Tombstone,” “The Magnificent Seven,” and “The Big Country.” Highly recommended.

Main titles Rating is *****

CD# is Varese Sarabande VCL 0609 1094.2

Track listing

1. Lone Cowboy (00:53)

 

2. Main Title (02:55)

 

3. 3M81 (02:27)

 

4. Burns Returns (02:31)

 

5. 3M52 (01:19)

 

6. 3M53 (02:40)

 

7. Going to Town (00:30)

 

8. Barroom Brawl (03:41)

 

9. That Dog (00:41)

 

10. No Surprise / Escape (06:33)

 

11. Worlds Apart (05:28)

 

12. 3M96 (01:47)

 

13. On the Run (01:02)

 

14. 3M40 (01:49)

 

15. Resting Up (00:58)

 

16. Sudden Intrusion (02:03)

 

17. Closing In (02:56)

 

18. Anxious Moment (01:30)

 

19. Surprised Sadist (02:51)

 

20. Minus Whisky / Hard-Gained Ground (05:59)

 

21. Run For It (03:08)

 

22. Wounded (02:58)

 

23. Catastrophe (03:39)

 

24. End Title (01:17)

 

Total Duration: 01:01:35

Hard Contract/North

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) was a style that Alex North developed and carried with him for his entire soundtrack-writing career. He has a slow west coast style cool jazz with dissonance in the right places to add some improv flavor to the bluesy tracks. Considered harsh by many, it is certainly a biting unique style that I’ve enjoyed over the years. If North had gone in the direction of a jazz artist who knows how far or where it would have taken him.

While Hard Contract boasted a stellar cast that included James Coburn, Lee Remick, Lilli Palmer, Sterling Hayden, Burgess Meredith, and Karen Black the story itself about a hit man who finds love and a conscious is all too familiar. One and done director S. Lee Pogostin who also wrote the script likely didn’t help matters. His career was mainly as a writer and it probably should have remained that way.

The new Varese Club release (VCL 0609 1097.2) is divided into two sections, mono and stereo surviving material, making the nearly 55 minutes of music misleading. Many of the tracks are exactly the same except for the mono or stereo difference. “Cunningham,” “Sheila,” “Rape,” “Number One Man,” “Number Three Man,” “Main Title,” and “End Title” are the same cue. However, there are a few cues such as “TorreMolinos,” “Fulfillment,” “How To Kiss,” “Number Two Man,” and “Skin” that are unique to the stereo/mono surviving material.

The “Main Title” begins with two piano chords followed by a Chinatown type theme without strings, slow and melodic, easy to listen to. You will hear this theme in different arrangements such as muted trumpet, guitar, flute, and other combinations. While Hard Contract is not a monothematic score there is quite an emphasis on this theme. “TorreMolinos” is a nicely arranged Samba dance tune for a source situation in the film. “Sheila” is a lush arrangement of the main theme that really cries for strings but the budget wasn’t there. “Number One Man” is a good example of the dissonant style North uses that some find difficult to listen to. “Skin” is a variation on the main theme with some good interplay between muted trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, and orchestra.

As of this writing (08-05-09) the limited edition release of 1000 copies is sold out. I would assume that most of the Alex North fans have already gotten their copy and are enjoying the music. However, http://www.moviemusic.com/ appeared to still have copies available at $24.99. As far as the average soundtrack listener goes I would pass on this one. There is just not enough additional music to justify the purchase price other than the outstanding main theme.

Maintitles Rating is **

Varese Saraland #VCL 0609 1097.2

Track Listing:

 

Track listing

1. Main Title (02:35)

 

2. Cunningham (01:43)

 

3. TorreMolinos (02:18)

 

4. Sheila (01:22)

 

5. Number One Man (01:57)

 

6. Gone (00:37)

 

7. Rape (01:08)

 

8. Rape (Alternate) (00:42)

 

9. Resurrection (00:43)

 

10. I Do Women (00:31)

 

11. Hands (01:15)

 

12. Rest Period (00:39)

 

13. Him Too (01:00)

 

14. Number Three Man (01:49)

 

15. End Title (02:44)

 

16. Main Theme Demo (02:06)

Tracks 1 to 16: Surviving Stereo Mixes

17. Main Title (02:37)

 

18. Cunningham (01:43)

 

19. Sheila (01:20)

 

20. Fulfillment (02:55)

 

21. Number One Man (01:59)

 

22. How To Kiss (02:34)

 

23. All About God (03:05)

 

24. Gone (00:36)

 

25. Number Two Man (01:07)

 

26. Skin (03:26)

 

27. Rape (01:07)

 

28. Resurrection (00:44)

 

29. I Do Women (00:39)

 

30. Hands / Hotel Lobby (01:34)

 

31. Rest Period (00:41)

 

32. Him Too (01:00)

 

33. Number Three Man (01:51)

 

34. End Title (02:44)

Tracks 17 to 34: Surviving Mono Film Masters

Total Duration: 00:54:51

Sky Riders/Schifrin

It is hard for this reviewer to imagine that this is the 43rd release of material on the Schifrin owned and operated Aleph label. With the exception of one release, The Enforcer by Jerry Fielding, they all feature Lalo material. His latest entry, Aleph 043, is Sky Riders a 1976 film starring James Coburn, Robert Culp, and Susannah York. It is the story of kidnapping and a daring rescue from an inaccessible monastery using hang gliders. I can’t comment too much on the film as I’ve never seen it and likely won’t but I’ve read enough to get the general idea of the film. The director Douglas Hickox never set the world on fire but he did choose his film composers well for his movies. ”Brannigan” with Dominic Frontiere, “Zulu Dawn” with Elmer Bernstein, and “Theater of Blood” with Michael Lewis were some of his other films, all good scores that I have listened to and have in my collection. We can now add Sky Riders with Lalo Schifrin to the collection.

The opening track, “Flying Circus” will take you back to your childhood when you rode the carousel or perhaps attended a carnival. It is divided into two sections, the first being a merry-go-round theme, a memorable one, followed by a circus/magician style theme. “Climbers” is also divided into two distinct parts. The first is a happy theme with pizzicato strings and flute. The flutes definitely giveaway that Schifrin sound and I could easily imagine this cue coming out of the Mission Impossible series. The second part begins with tremulant bars from the strings and follows with more tension underscore. If you are a listener of Schifrin the horn harmony is yet another giveaway for his sound. “The Riders” begins with a pleasant Greek theme but quickly changes to a few bars of the main theme and then it is back to the tremulant tension underscore again. “Gliding,” “The Terrorists,” “The Last Kite,” and all but the ending of “Copters and Gliders” are underscore material for the film. There is no melody and the majority is classified as tension type music, all with the trademark sound of Schifrin. “End Credits (Original Version)” restates the themes that are heard in ”The Riders.”

While this score is certainly not going to be an all time favorite it is Schifrin and for that reason alone there will be appeal to his fan base. The first track will have a huge appeal to anyone interested in circus/carousel type music, some of the best this reviewer has heard in a long time. Take a moment and check out the sound clips.

Maintitles rating is ***

Produced by Nick Redman

Score Restoration by Mike Matessino

Mastered by Daniel Hersch

Track Listing:

1…Flying Circus (6:21)

2…Climbers (4:08)

3…The Riders (8:31)

4…Gliding (4:43)

5…The Terrorists (9:14)

6…The Last Kite (6:23)

7…Copters and Gliders (7:13)

8…End Credits (Original Version) (2:09)

Total Time is 48:24

The Prince and the Pauper/Korngold

One of the many pleasures of a new offering from Tribute Film Classics is the opportunity to revisit one of the older films that Bonn, Morgan, and Stromberg have decided to re-record. Previously we have seen Charge of the Light Brigade, Fahrenheit 451, Kentuckian, Mysterious Island, and She all excellent older films. As a reviewer I try to not only listen to the CD several times but to watch the film so that I may see what I’m listening to. I’ve even gone so far as to cue up the particular sequence in the film with the new material and play them together. It seldom matches but it still gives me a better idea than just watching the film or listening to the CD. Nerdy, but effective for what I’m striving to achieve. The latest offering, the Mark Twain classic, The Prince and the Pauper, starring Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, and Billy Mauch is also a special Korngold score orchestrated in part by another of my favorite golden age composers Hugo Friedhofer.

While this film score is available from Previn, OST, and a previous version from Stromberg/Morgan, this is by far the one to have as it contains 43 tracks and over 65+ minutes of music. Previn had 9 tracks and 22 minutes, the OST on Rhino about 8 minutes, and the older Stromberg version with the Brandenburg Symphony 33 minutes. Not listed are several different recordings that appear in compilation recordings but pretty much consist of just the main theme. Putting it in historical order was after Anthony Adverse but before The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Written in a style that would be suitable for a chamber orchestra, the infectious main title theme starts us off. This is a theme that I could very easily see as being the melody to a studio intro such as MGM, Fox, or Warner Brothers. As explained in the liner notes from John Morgan, Korngold was permitted to use the themes for his concert pieces and he later used the melody from The Prince and the Pauper as the main theme in the third movement of his Violin Concerto. Coincidentally, Naxos has released a new recording of the concerto 8.570791 nicely performed by Philippe Quint. This affords you the opportunity to hear the theme fully developed (7+) minutes and nicely performed. “A Prince is Born,” along with “Tavern and Palace” has that jovial full sound that we are accustomed to listening to in Robin Hood from Korngold. The bonus of this CD are tracks such as “Prince Outside Palace” which is a prodding style of theme performed on the contrabassoon something I found really exciting and certainly different sounding. In fact you’re going to hear the theme quite a lot. Break neck speed on the piano in the “Seal #1” and “Seal #2.” “Riot” was also the theme at break neck speed while “Dining Scene” is yet another variation this one with a sax and the bassoon given the role of a comic. “Street Scene,” also a famous Newman cue, is a dark mysterious one. “British End Title,” a proud rendition of the main title includes “God Save the Queen.” This is just nice bonus material like the trailer music that you get when the score is fairly complete.

If you have little of this material in your collection this is certainly the recording to add to your collection. Highly recommended.

CD# is TFC 1006

Produced by Bonn, Morgan, and Stromberg

Performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra

Golden Score Rating is ****1/2

Track listing



1. Main Title (01:43)

2. A Prince Is Born (00:33)

3. Tavern And Palace (03:15)

4. Tom/Tom Continuation (06:36)

5. The Bench (00:44)

6. The Prince (03:24)

7. Biscuit And Seal (01:53)

8. The Prince Goes Back (01:42)

9. The Captain (00:47)

10. The Boys Go to Play (00:49)

11. Mirror (01:55)

12. Prince Outside Palace (01:48)

13. The Next Morning (01:14)

14. Pauper Goes To King (02:11)

15. That Is My Son (00:34)

16. The King Is Dead (01:26)

17. The Dog (00:55)

18. The Church (01:13)

19. Riot (01:23)

20. Dining Scene (03:44)

21. The Crown (00:58)

22. His Majesty (00:57)

23. Exit (00:31)

24. The Murder (01:05)

25. Street Scene (01:27)

26. Nuts Knocker (00:25)

27. Pauper’s Coronation (00:42)

28. Flirt (02:10)

29. Robbery (00:33)

30. Knife Fight (02:13)

31. The Maid And The Ride (01:43)

32. The Prayer (00:52)

33. Duel (02:26)

34. Fanfares (00:09)

35. Organ (00:27)

36. God Save The King (00:06)

37. Seal #1 (01:04)

38. Seal #2 (00:58)

39. Hurrah! (00:56)

40. Epilogue (02:09)

41. End Title (01:11)

BONUS TRACKS:

42. Trailer (02:43)

43. British End Title (01:16)



Total Duration: 01:04:50

Master of the World, Goliath and the Barbarians/Les Baxter

Les Baxter is certainly not a common known name to the younger soundtrack collector. Les in the music world was primarily known for his “exotica” music, billboard hits of his arrangements of Poor People of Paris and Quiet Village in the 50’s, his arranging and musical directing for Capitol records, and his work as a composer for AIP which included Roger Corman horror pictures, bikini beach blanket films, and any drive-in movie theme sure to attract the teenage crowd. While his name appears in the credits for over a 100 films few have reached CD releases or MP3 downloads. Intrada (ISE1029) has made available in a 2 CD limited edition release Master of the World (1961), and Goliath And The Barbarians (1959) both previously released on LP. In addition, OST recorded material from Master of the World was located and included for this release including two vocal numbers of the main title not included in the Vee Jay LP (SR 4000) of 1961 or the film. Called Come Dance With Me (nothing to do with the Sinatra classic except the name) it was a catchy lyric sung in both choral and male vocal arrangements. I can remember purchasing the LP in a mono format from a bargain cut-out bin for the ridiculous price of 3 for a $1.00 Apparently the soundtrack had about the same amount of appeal as the film.

Master of the World used Richard Matheson as a writer and he combined two of Jules Verne novels Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World to tell his story of Robur and his goal to end war in the world at any cost with his somewhat unusual craft which could fly, travel over or under the water and even perform as an automobile. Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, and Henry Hull starred in the William Witney directed film, which offered stereo sonic (?) sound and magna color (?). I noticed nothing special in the color and I certainly didn’t get the idea that this was a 100-piece orchestra, which it inferred. The name of the group could have been the “100 Men” and in reality been a 40-piece group, which is what it sounded like. No matter; it is really nice material from Les Baxter. “Overture” gives us both the main theme and the beautiful waltz, both of which are used throughout the 31+ minute score. If you like schmaltzy music sometimes, and this reviewer does, “Balloon Waltz” is a perfect example with piano and strings in just the right combination. “Master of the World” is another example of pure elevator music again using the piano and strings with the main theme from the film. “Topage” is a whimsical piece offering a little bit of a travelogue with lots of brass and percussion. “Mediterranean” is the romantic interlude music you would experience at an Italian café with a loved one. “Drifting Clouds” is another nice version of the waltz theme with full orchestral treatment giving a dose of brass and nice work from the harp in harmony. If you own this CD there is a slight drop in the left channel that lasts for a second or so, something on the master as both my LP and CD are identical. You’ll also find that the sound of the new material from the film has cleaner crisper sound with fuller dynamic range. The transfer from the LP is a bit flat at times, lacking punch.

Goliath and the Barbarians (1959) was the first in a series of Goliath vs. something from Italy. Fresh from his huge success with Hercules, Steve Reeves starred and the film was marketed in the U.S. by AIP. The original score by Carlo Innocenzi (available on Digitmovies CDDM 113) was replaced by a Les Baxter one, which was originally released by American International on LP. The design of the cover made it look like one of his Capitol ‘exotica’ releases and perhaps helped in the sale of it. The Intrada recording is a remastering and contains the same material as the LP releases. “Goliath’s March,” the main theme, is a typical one a marching band could play; a nice melodic song. “Landa,” the love theme, also repeated with more of a modern flare in “Love’s Farewell,” is a mysterious Middle Eastern one straight out of a Rimsky-Korsakov opera. There is a small blip in a transitional moment at 1:15 on the track. If you’re familiar with the music of Baxter you’ll hear the opening motif of The Pharaoh’s Curse starting the “Barbarian Games,” gladiator type music in the tradition of Rozsa. “Rape of the Village,” and “Fire Dance” is also tracks that you’d expect to hear from a period film such as this one with the difference being the playing of the London Sinfonia.

This release sold out in a relatively short period of time. As a result the speculating on E-Bay is demanding a high price, at least at the time of this writing, and frankly this material isn’t worth the amount of money they’re asking. It is nice material but nothing special. Wait and look for it in the $25.00 price range or as a possible second pressing in the future.

Track listing

Disc/Cassette 1

 

1. Main Title And Dreams Of Flight (02:24)

 

2. Topage (01:53)

 

3. Betrayed And Discipline (04:20)

 

4. Flight Concerto (02:18)

 

5. The Mountains (05:07)

 

6. End Title (01:44)

 

7. Come Dance With Me [Exit Music] (02:17)

1-7 suite from the original soundtrack (film versions)

8. Overture (02:21)

 

9. Topage (01:52)

 

10. The Albatross (02:22)

 

11. Mediterranean (02:50)

 

12. Over The Rocks (04:39)

 

13. Master Of The World (01:45)

 

14. Flight Concert (02:16)

 

15. Philadelphia (01:59)

 

16. Drifting Clouds (03:11)

 

17. The Conquerors (04:26)

 

18. Balloon Waltz (02:18)

 

19. Finale (01:47)

8-19 original 1961 re-recorded album

CD1: MASTER OF THE WORLD (1961) total time 53′16

Disc/Cassette 2

 

1. (Main Title) Goliath’s March (00:55)

 

2. (Love Theme) Landa (01:51)

 

3. (Noisy Village) Barbarian Games (03:02)

 

4. The Sacred Crown (04:22)

 

5. Sword Dance (03:24)

 

6. Mountains Of Mystery (05:00)

 

7. Ride Of The Barbarians (01:44)

 

8. Night Attack Of The Stranger (02:58)

 

9. Love’s Farewell (02:37)

 

10. Rape Of The Village (02:27)

 

11. Fire Dance (02:50)

 

12. (End Title) March Of Victory (02:52)

CD2: GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS (1959) total time 34′53

Total Duration: 01:25:51

 

CD# Intrada ISE 1029

Master of the World performed by the 100 Men conducted by Cal Carter

Goliath and the Barbarians performed by the London Sinfonia conducted by Muir Mathieson

Produced by Douglass Fake

“Come Dance With Me” performed by an unknown singer.