by
Paul Tonks
soundtrack -- n. / Pron. "sound ( trak"
1. The narrow strip at one side of cinema film carrying the sound recording.
2. The music that accompanies a movie.
3. A commercial recording of such music.
4. A bastardised phrase record labels use to sell you crappy songs that have nothing to do with the movie they're apparently associated with.
The purpose of this Column remains to talk about film music in its intended context, on screen. I’ve reviewed plenty of albums, which is its secondary context, if you will. For a change of pace, there’s one other incarnation of film music I wanted to cover this time:
THE GREAT CONCERT-GOING MYSTERY
For some reason, film music concerts don’t get written or talked about anywhere near as much as they should. Having enquired about, one factor apparently putting off potential reviewers or commentators is knowing what to actually say. To that, I say Horse Puckey. For a community that’s never shy in bitching about the merits (or lack thereof) in a new album from an A-list composer, to claim to be lost for words about describing impressions of music played live is nonsense.
Film music is constantly being played all over the world. As part of an orchestra’s repertoire. School bands play favourite hit themes all the time. Big-name composers tour occasionally. Surely there should be ample opportunity for the ever-active soundtrack community to get together, party and then converse animatedly about their favourite subject?
Nope. Casting an eye across the major Message Boards (see earlier Column), concert performances usually have only the barest of mentions. A few people crawl out the woodwork to say they were there. But nobody’s partying. And as for concert reviews at these Boards, anywhere else on-line or even in print - forget it. There are woefully few. Those that do crop up are tainted by the problem of what exactly to say that’s of interest.
Ultimately, there’s a far more embarrassing reason fans out there don’t write about concert-going…
Only a very small proportion makes any effort to attend.
Unless it’s a big-name composer and unless the playlist features something out of the ordinary, most film music aficionados prefer to stay home and play their CDs. “What’s the big deal?” you may ask. “What’s embarrassing about any of this?”
Well, to my mind there are two factors that make me want to spotlight this issue. Firstly, the far more lucrative and popular world of music out there – that one that’s actually called Pop(ular) Music – has a far greater percentage of artist or group fans who’ll travel vast distances and pay vast sums to repeatedly hear live the music they already know intimately. Secondly, numerous arguments about the validity, purpose and place of film music in a greater musical context often hinge on claiming either that it is the “new classical music,” or that it is the most pre-eminent forum in which classically-styled music is written. Whether you buy that line of reasoning or not, the point is it keeps orchestras in business, without whom there would be no film music industry. So I’m saying that there’s a sad incongruity in the number of people who say they enjoy and fully support film music, and those that actually do.
Example? Howard Shore was in London a few weeks ago conducting his FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING concert suite. It premiered in the States last year, but this was the first time he was conducting it. I’m not going to review the concert. Suffice to say I admired it enormously. If anyone wants to read in-depth about it and see photos (mine didn’t come out), then check out the multiple reviews at http://www.theonering.net/. What I do want to say about this concert, though, is what a missed opportunity it was for a film music fans knees-up. With so much passionate examination of the two scores so far, you’d think there’d be great essays or endless conversational threads from those who attended. Well, the RINGS movie fans at the above URL put the RINGS music fans to shame.
I attended the concert with a couple of friends. Some time in advance I made a suggestion about a gathering to several people and places. Apart from a few trusty souls who wanted to make an effort (regrettably, the organisation of the venue meant things didn’t work out), there was no eager conjoining of opinion about meeting at all. And subsequently, there’s been barely a mention of the event anywhere.
Last year I attended several concerts in London, and have many more to look forward to this year. I know I’ll see the same few familiar faces at these events, but would love to think a few more folks might think more on the opportunities of meeting likeminded folk. So if anyone casting an eye over the following list wishes to make contact, my e-mail is at the base of the page.
In 2003, London will be host to:
JERRY GOLDSMITH WITH THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Wednesday 19 March Goldsmith will be conducting cues and suites from recent films like STAR TREK: NEMESIS, THE LAST CASTLE and THE SUM OF ALL FEARS alongside classics like CHINATOWN, PAPILLON and THE WIND AND THE LION. The following night stays in classic territory with STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE, THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL and many more. There are talks with Goldsmith in the Barbican Hall before the concerts on both evenings, but I do wonder at the thinking behind making these things stretch across more than one day…
HOLLYWOOD DREAMS WITH THE ROYAL LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS
28th March, John Wilson conducts cues from a varied classic list, including: KING’S ROW, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, NOW VOYAGER, SUNSET BOULEVARD and STAR WARS.
THE FILM MUSIC OF SPIKE LEE AND TERENCE BLANCHARD
Monday 21st and Tuesday 22nd April, again at The Barbican. Programme details are still being finalised, but Blanchard will lead with his jazz ensemble, chamber orchestra and special guests.
AN EVENING OF FILM MUSIC - LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
The London Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Dirk Grosse will give a
film music concert in London on Friday 9th May - and this will be repeated
in Eastbourne two days later. The varied playlist includes: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, GONE WITH THE WIND, THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, THE PIANO, CHICKEN RUN and THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. There will be a pre-concert talk the second night at the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne.
BEST OF BRITISH FILM MUSIC CONCERT – ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
On Saturday 5 July, conductors scheduled to appear and perform their own works are: George Fenton (GHANDI / CRY FREEDOM), Stephen Warbeck (SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE), Debbie Wiseman (JUDGE JOHN DEED / WILDE), Christopher Gunning (POIROT), Barrington Pheloung (INSPECTOR MORSE / TRULY MADLY DEEPLY) and Howard Blake (THE DUELLISTS / RIDDLE OF THE SANDS). The event will make for a fitting tribute to Ron Goodwin (THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES), who died recently.
The following evening is given over to Hollywood greats - new and old - including: HARRY POTTER, SCHINDLER’S LIST, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, GLADIATOR, THE GREAT ESCAPE, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO and THE MISSION. Both evenings will have pre-concert talks and will be introduced by Classic FM host Simon Bates.
See you all there…
NEWS NUGGETS:
I’d like to congratulate one of my interviewees here at Movie Poop Shoot for recently winning an Academy Award. Michael Giacchino won Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition for MEDAL OF HONOR: FRONTLINE at the 2003 Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Awards. The score is still available at: http://eastore.ea.com/.
Lynch fans rejoice! At long long last, he’s approved a DVD transfer of his first feature ERASERHEAD (while working on WILD AT HEART now). The price tag may seem steep, but it’s paying for the independent work undertaken, some spiffy packaging and even more excitingly a CD that’s been mastered from the new audio tracks. Industrial scoring never sounded more industrial than when Lynch noodled with the mixers and dubbed the ‘band’ responsible Tractor. Both DVD and CD are available from the official store at http://www.davidlynch.com.
It’s been announced that the acclaimed BBC series THE BLUE PLANET will be turned into a feature film. George Fenton’s extremely popular score will be adapted for this new version, which will please the many fans who attended the concerts he gave not long ago. More information can be found here: http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_756932.html?menu.
Hopefully everyone who’s eagerly looking forward to what Don Davis will be doing for THE MATRIX RELOADED and REVOLUTIONS has been checking out THE ANIMATRIX episodes (2 of 4 available so far) at: http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/index_anime.html
REVIEWS:
ADAPTATION – Carter Burwell, Astralwerks CDASW43484 ****
It would have been disappointing if another composer had scored this since the movie features BEING JOHN MALKOVICH. It would have been more disappointing if Burwell felt the need to pay homage or paraphrase that score though. Fortunately there’s no sign of that. Strange and unpredictable though this may be, it’s strange in a whole new way. Thematic ideas come and go, but unless you’ve seen the movie, exactly what links to what is an imponderable. Somehow, despite the fractured nature of 3 principle themes split between the brothers Kaufman and their world, this remains one of the most coherent albums Burwell has ever been represented by. For a change I welcome and include remixes by Fatboy Slim and Zeno, as well as the ditsy “Happy Together” by The Turtles that ends the disc.
PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE – Jon Brion, Nonesuch 79813-2 ***
I didn’t hate this album when I first played it through, but I was confused and challenged by the jarring jumps in style to be unenthusiastic. Then I saw the movie. Now I’m smitten by it to the same degree as Barry with Lena (although I don’t want to smash the CDs’ face in). Lots of composers have been faced with getting inside the head of a social misfit / sociopath before. Sandler’s Egan is a sort of new breed of weirdo though! Brion also had a very strong musical clue for how to describe what’s playing through the character’s head since he’s ‘gifted’ a harmonium at the beginning of the movie. As Egan switch / drifts from the mindset of a business manager to lonely guy to being scared witless to romantically aspiring tragi-comic fool, the sound in his head is of a randomly changing radio transmission. Which is what you get on this album. But as much as I’ve come to admire it, I give a cautionary 3 stars to anyone who’s yet to see the movie, and therefore be able to appreciate what’s going on.
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BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA & OTHER FILM MUSIC BY WOJCIECH KILAR, Marco Polo 8.225153 ****
When Coppola’s DRACULA appeared in 1992 I remember the charged excitement of discovering Kilar’s music. Western cinema audiences have then only really known him in association with Roman Polanski (DEATH AND THE MAIDEN / THE NINTH GATE / THE PIANIST) or Jane Campion (THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY), but in his native Poland and across Europe he’s been consistently prolific. So a compilation like this is an excellent reminder / introduction to a style of film score utilised all too infrequently. Alongside DRACULA there’s a suite from the aforementioned DEATH AND THE MAIDEN, as well as pieces from KÖNIG DER LETZTEN TAGE (A KING FOR BURNING), THE BEADS OF ONE ROSARY and PEARL IN THE CROWN. These are re-recordings, but they’re excellently produced and extremely faithful. If you can hunt it down, I’d also recommend the collection WARSAW TO HOLLYWOOD which came out on Milan Classics a few years back.
DAREDEVIL – Graeme Revell, Varèse Sarabande VSD-6448 ***
A few Columns back I said I wasn’t looking forward to the music for this movie, and I stand by that. See that definition of ‘Soundtrack’ at the top of the page? If I’m ever asked to quantify that definition, I’ll look to DAREDEVIL. The song album (which had its own dedicated website) came out on February 4th. The movie came out February 14th. And now the score album has come out as of March 4th. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Why? Because of the 19 song titles I counted in the end credits of the movie (yet there are 20 songs on the album…), not one benefited the movie in any way. Unlike the surprisingly dextrous and memorable score from Revell. I say “surprisingly” for two reasons. Firstly because as always this was written under the gun to the deadlines of a huge movie. Secondly because you wouldn’t really know how worthy this score is without buying this album – you sure as Heck can’t hear much of it in the final mix. I’d feared that Revell would only get to repeat his last minute throw-together approach that resulted in unmemorable blandness on TOMB RAIDER. But in many ways this is the best thing I’ve heard from him since THE SAINT. Daredevil’s Theme is richly orchestrated and pleasingly ambiguous. The guitar-led softer material for the Elektra love / tragedy story is equally spot on. I could go so far as to say Revell was done some small service by passing the action scoring chores to the various hard rock thrashings. In terms of allowing extra time to work on what we get here that is. But it might have been nice to hear his interpretation of the main theme beefed up into kick-ass action mode (but check out the percussion playground he let himself loose in for “Church Battle”). Oh well. There’ll always be the flash-in-the-pan bands used in the sequel to work around…
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THEY – Elia Cmiral, LA-LA Land Records LLLCD 1005 ***
I interviewed Cmiral about this score a couple of Columns back. So it feels like I’ve said most of what’s to be said about this album already. What I will add however, is what a marvellous job the LA-LA Land label have done in their presentation. There’s plenty of info about the movie and the score in the booklet that didn’t get covered in my interview. So seek out this limited edition before it’s gone. Talking of which…
RE-ANIMATOR – Richard Band, LA-LA Land Records LLLCD 1002 ****
Spoof! Four stars for an 80s gorefest score? Absolutely, because it’s a rare thing to find a score that fundamentally altered the entire tone of a movie. Band turned a straight-laced horror flick into piss-taking pastiche almost single-handedly however. Beyond how well it works in supporting Jeffrey Combs eccentricities, it does make for a fun listening experience too. Mostly this is due to Band’s homage to Herrmann, specifically PSYCHO, which can be heard throughout the score. What also works for me is the endlessly inventive and comical use of an 80s electronic palate. When so many other horror movies that came out of the video boom tried electronic scores and failed miserably, this is as wryly amusing and occasionally shocking today as it was nearly 20 years ago.
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL – Bernard Herrmann, Varèse Sarabande VSD-6314 *****
And talking of Herrmann! It’s hard to encompass my feelings (see earlier Column on the composer) of what an achievement the Varèse label has accomplished as regards Herrmann’s output over the years. I had the good fortune of interviewing Producer Robert Townson and composer Joel McNeely a few years ago when they were recording their TWILIGHT ZONE album (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/20168/026-1680010-7097851), and thankfully the project has continued. So far they’ve produced exceptional re-recordings of: THE TWILIGHT ZONE, CITIZEN KANE, THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY, VERTIGO, THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, PSYCHO, THE THREE WORLDS OF GULLIVER, MARNIE, TORN CURTAIN and a mini collection starting with FAHRENHEIT 451. All this in addition to archival releases of classics like THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR and JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH. And now we have this wonderful DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL re-recording too. For over 50 years this music has only been heard in its original Mono recording. It was therefore quite a challenge to make the intuitive leap to how the composer would have mixed this up into multiple channels, but the result is quite beautiful. Having always been partial to The Theremin instrument, hearing one of the all-time great Theremin film scores given such respectful treatment is a real treat. K.B.N.!!!
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http://www.lalalandrecords.com/
http://www.varesesarabande.com/
COMPETITION NEWS:
Here are the winners of the THUNDERBIRDS CD competition from last Column. I asked: “…who would be the ideal composer for a THUNDERBIRDS movie. and why…?”
Greg Espinoza:
“I think Jerry Goldsmith is the best man to score a Thunderbirds movie, because nobody can do a militaristic, white-knuckle intense theme or action cue like Uncle Jerry. He's the ONLY guy who can do Barry Gray the proper justice the man deserves.”
Bill Teeple:
“I would hire John Barry, who is a master of both the timeless orchestral sound as well as the pop music of the 1960's. Although this is a SF series, it has its roots in the 1960s. Barry is a tough one to peg sometimes, but I think Barry, John Barry is the closest match.
James Carrocino:
“I would choose David Arnold. This might be an obvious choice due to his updating of the James Bond music and recently the Dr. Who theme, but I think he would bring a contemporary sound to the project while keeping ties to the Barry Gray music we all know and love. I know this choice would upset quite a few people who feel he has gone too far with the techno/electronic element to his scores, but I think he's someone who'd do a FABulous job. To be honest, from what I hear they ARE going to do a "Thunderbirds" movie without Gerry Anderson's involvement so chances of using any of Barry Gray's music would probably be slim. They'll probably get Michael Kamen or Graeme Revell to score around some rock music. YIKES!”
“YIKES!” indeed, because in between Columns it’s been announced the movie is in production right now here in the UK’s Pinewood Studios. Jonathan Frakes directs a cast that includes Ben Kingsley and Bill Paxton. Release in the States is scheduled for July 23rd next year.
Who do I think would be the ideal composer?
Edward Shearmur - because I’d really like to hear him let loose on an heroic action caper like this. And because he no doubt fells done to death the “needle drop” style of score on a certain other group of Thunder Birds! (That’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS, to save anyone having to research the gag)
ANNIVERSARIES
We celebrate the following Birthdays:
Quincy Jones (THE ITALIAN JOB / THE COLOR PURPLE)
- Born 14 March 1933, Chicago, Illinois.
Ry Cooder (PARIS, TEXAS / PRIMARY COLORS)
- Born 15 March 1947, Los Angeles, California.
Angelo Badalamenti (BLUE VELVET / SECRETARY)
- Born 22 March 1937, New York, New York.
Michael Nyman (THE PIANO / GATTACA)
- Born 23 March 1944, London, England.
Trevor Jones (LAST OF THE MOHICANS / DARK CITY)
- Born 23 March 1949, Cape Town, South Africa.
We also commiserate the anniversaries of the deaths of:
Sir William Walton (HENRY V / HAMLET)
- Born 29 March 1902, Oldham, Lancashire, England.
- Died 8 March 1983, Ischia, Italy.
Ernest Gold (EXODUS / IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD)
- Born 13 July 1921, Vienna, Austria.
- Died 17 March 1999, Santa Monica, California.
Georges Delerue (JULES ET JIM / PLATOON)
- Born 12 March 1925, Roubaix, France.
- Died 20 March 1992, Los Angeles, California.
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