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: /____\ : >>> Jerry Goldsmith: 40 Years Of Film Music <<<
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:..:... Supplier : SER 2005 Release Date : 09/29/2005 ...:..:
: : Ripper : SER 2005 Street Date : 06/27/2005 :..:...
...:..: Genre : Soundtrack Source : CD : :
: : Label : Silva Screen Tracks : 57 Tracks ...:..:
: : Quality : VBR/APS/44.1kHz Channels : Joint Stereo : :
:..:... Language : English Size : 412 MB :..:...
: : Software : EAC v0.95 Beta 3 Encoder : LAME v3.90.3 : :
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Almost a year after the passing of Jerry Goldsmith, Silva Screen
releases their tribute to a legendary composer. Four discs, 16-paged
liner notes commenting on every listed film, and nearly five hours
worth of music (rounding up), 40 Years of Film Music should be a great
find for beginning Goldsmith enthusiasts and the odd connoisseur...
well, for various reasons. If unfamiliar with his enormous
repertoire, this album is proof positive that the maestro was as
skillfully versatile in genre compositions as he was a pioneer of
unique orchestral and synthesized music blends. But if all is known,
and past tribute collections are typical, youÆll understand that the
best parts of the labelÆs albums are the occasional great
performances.
Nevertheless, the usual Silva Screen favorites feature Nic Raine and
James Fitzpatrick conducting The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
with or without the Crouch End Festival Chorus. Still unresolved
recording hitches are in certain tracks along with problematic
technical executions by the said favorites. However, considering my
take on the labelÆs previous set (The Incredible Film Music Box), why
would I pick up this one? Very simple, Goldsmith conducts his own
pieces. Despite his use of alternative orchestras, e.g., The
Philharmonia Orchestra and the National Philharmonic Orchestra, many
more factors contribute to the makings of a great performance. The
choices made by the maestro to alter, enhance, or rearrange the music
were done without the accompaniment of onscreen visuals. Therefore,
those very choices produce one-of-a-kind nuances derived from pure
intuition. Film scores in situ tend to sound first-rate due to time
pressures and general in-studio meticulousness. But when a composer
is asked to direct his own material as standalone compositionsùwith
non-Hollywood orchestras, listeners are assured interesting
interpretations... good or shoddy.
This 40 Years of Film Music package also contains several television
scores; arranged in single tracks, a medley format, and suite, they
range from 1961 (Doctor Kildare) to GoldsmithÆs most recent, 1995
(Star Trek: Voyager). Other prominent inclusions are the semi
-lethargic The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Waltonsùwhich appears once in
the medley and strangely again as a single, a suite for QB VII, and
Masada. The renowned QB VII suite, being a rarity in Goldsmith
compilations, has its five movements handled nicely by Fitzpatrick
with negligible flaws.
The diverse assemblage of film works is mostly in suite or single
track form. There is a second medley on the album for films;
GoldsmithÆs tempo of choice for the opening pieces The Sandpebbles and
Chinatown is a tad slow, but it seems understandable once the delicate
solo violin emerges for A Patch of Blue. The remaining pieces,
Papillon, The Wind and the Lion, and Poltergeist, have duplicate
tracks or suites elsewhere.
Of the three multi-movement-separate-track film suites, the best
overall performance is The Blue Max; conducted by Goldsmith himself,
it is awe-inspiring, and just as thrilling as it is in the original.
The Philharmonia Orchestra seems to handle the majority of the
difficult passages with ease and panache. It is somewhat impressive
considering the number of rehearsals it would take the City of Prague
Philharmonic just to perform it semi-accurately. Technically sound
performances notwithstanding, listeners can also expect to enjoy the
following with minimal cringing: Rambo III: æQuestionsÆ, Lionheart,
Powder, Basic Instinct: æMain ThemeÆ, Gremlins, The Boys from Brazil
suite, Forever Young, Legend: æFaerie Dance/ReunitedÆ, The Russia
House æLove ThemeÆùwith a gossamer oboe solo, The Generals suite, and
Police Story.
Another rarity in the Goldsmith collection is the music from Under
Fire; of the four individual cues, the best is perhaps æBaja FuegoÆ
with its well-oiled strings and scintillating percussion, the
accompanying pieces augment a subtle, yet sizzlingly, sensual guitar.
As mentioned in the eponymous title, the modern flamenco solo is
urgent, searing, and pleasing to experience. In comparison, the rest
of the Under Fire movements fare well except for intermittent high
register disasters in the violins.
If it is not the conductor, orchestra fumbling through passages,
unsuitable piece arrangement, or exotic audio recording, the Crouch
Festival Chorus is probably to blame. Fortunately for them, it is
difficult to discern what they are singing anyway; but end results of
their performances are often frightfully abrasive to the ears. Mostly
tolerable when the volume is set on low, tracks such as The Omen and
the First Knight suite can be misconstrued as aural torture sessions.
(Outstanding tracks that abuse synthesized effects will not be
mentioned.)
As in all Silva Screen major compilations, the choice of film scores
is always puzzling to some degree. If esoteric works such as Baby
-Secret of the Lost Legend are picked, why not LoganÆs Run, Mulan,
Leviathan, Night Crossing, King Solomons Mines, Supergirl, or even The
Explorers? Silva Screen does GoldsmithÆs Star Trek anthology
injustice; leaving behind sublimely poignant themes from Insurrection,
First Contact, or more importantly, The Final Frontier in favor of
Nemesis, a scratchy Voyager, and repeat tracks.
If neophytes are looking for something more comprehensive, there is
always the VarΦse Sarabande release entitled Jerry Goldsmith at 20th
Century Fox; it is a six-disc collection specially assembled for
GoldsmithÆs 75th birthday. While there are only a few scores from the
40 Years tribute not included in the VarΦse release, there is a
significant disparity between the two in orchestral presentation. The
maestroÆs work was meant to be performed straight away by highly
professional orchestras capable of learning any genre, style, and
tempo, and playing to/near perfection. But when the pieces are
arranged for common ensembles, the music tends to stretch them in
unimaginable waysà resulting in somewhat gauche executions.
Regardless of what works were left in, left out, butchered, paraded,
or decently arranged, there is no doubting that this album is indeed
an eclectic mix of GoldsmithÆs works. If listeners feel that this
posthumous tribute is good enough, here is just some advice: glean
what can be gleaned.
http://www.jerrygoldsmithonline.com
Tracks:
CD #1
01. The Blue Max (Overture) (2:23)
02. The Blue Max (First Flight) (3:01)
03. The Blue Max (The Bridge) (3:14)
04. The Blue Max (The Attack) (5:09)
05. The Blue Max (Finale) (2:39)
06. Television Themes (Medley) (9:47)
07. In Harm's Way (Suite) (9:40)
08. Motion Pictures (Medley) (14:26)
09. The Generals (Suite) (5:28)
10. Tora! Tora! Tora! (Main Title) (3:28)
11. The Wild Rovers (Bronco Bustin) (2:11)
12. Pursuit (2:22)
13. The Wind And The Lion (Suite) (9:12)
CD #2
01. QB VII (Main Title) (2:03)
02. QB VII (Holocaust) (2:52)
03. QB VII (Visit To The Sheikh) (2:14)
04. QB VII (The Wailing Wall) (3:15)
05. QB VII (Kaddish For The Six Million) (3:17)
06. The Waltons (3:58)
07. Papillon (Out To Sea) (3:55)
08. Police Story (2:05)
09. The Omen (Suite) (11:47)
10. Capricorn One (Overture) (3:17)
11. The Swarm (Suite) (7:42)
12. The Boys From Brazil (Suite) (7:09)
13. The (First) Great Train Robbery (Overture) (4:57)
14. Alien-The Nostromo (End Title) (4:52)
15. Star Trek (End Titles-Klingon Attack) (9:18)
CD #3
01. Masada (Main Theme) (5:40)
02. Poltergeist (Main Theme) (4:18)
03. First Blood-Rambo II (Suite) (5:58)
04. Twilight Zone The Movie (Suite) (6:28)
05. Under Fire (Prelude) (1:52)
06. Under Fire (Bajo Fuego) (5:47)
07. Under Fire (A New Love) (4:20)
08. Under Fire (The Rebel March) (3:16)
09. Gremlins (Suite) (7:43)
10. Baby-Secret Of The Lost Legend
(Baby's Alive-End Titles) (7:25)
11. Legend (Faerie Dance-Reunited) (7:12)
12. Lionheart (Robert's Theme) (4:08)
13. Rambo III (Questions) (3:03)
14. Total Recall (Main Theme) (2:35)
CD #4
01. Star Trek Voyager (Main Theme) (2:00)
02. Basic Instinct (Main Theme) (2:31)
03. The Russia House (Love Theme) (5:13)
04. Gremlins 2-The New Batch (Suite) (5:33)
05. Medicine Man (The Trees) (4:14)
06. The Shadow (2:37)
07. Forever Young (5:12)
08. First Knight (Arthur's Fanfare-Never Surrender-
Arthur's Farewell) (11:11)
09. Powder (4:30)
10. Air Force One (Main Title) (1:50)
11. L.A. Confidential (4:44)
12. The Mummy (Sand Volcano-Love Theme) (2:55)
13. The Haunting (2:53)
14. Star Trek Nemesis (Suite) (7:40)
15. The Sum Of All Fears (The Mission) (5:43)
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