Soundtrack Roundup

By: Randall D. Larson
Date: Thursday, June 16, 2005

THIS WEEK'S RECOMMENDATIONS

Mark Isham's score for CRASH, Paul Haggis' feature directorial debut, a compelling mystery film of strangers brought together through happenstance, has been released on CD by Superb Records. The score is as introspective a composition as Isham who has a real knack for musical introspection in his film scores has yet written. A modernistic score, created entirely by Isham on his own in his studio is haunting in its sampled atmospheres, echoing with psychological underpinnings and mysterious evocations. This is not musical bombast to accompany the spectacles of battle or the triumph of massive adventures this is the quiet tonality of the mind, in all its mingled darkness and subdued wonder; this is the music of the furtive, often misunderstood yet yearning interactivity of personalities; this is the music of random circumstances evolving into fated predestination a musical delineation of random events and personalities that become intertwined through a collision of emotions and events. The score, which contains enough sampled textures to belie its mostly keyboard origins, is spellbinding throughout. The unidentified female vocalist heard on five of the tracks lends a persuasive tonality to the music, singing in what sounds like Gaelic, accompanied by harsh solo guitar, or by understated piano and strings. "Siren" is devoid of vocals but instead embodies a crisp rhythm of synth pads and percussive drive, a terrific rhythmic action cue that segues into a pensive atmosphere for piano over swirling and throbbing synth figures. "A Really Good Cloak" builds into a tremendous, massive synth crescendo, over which an assured piano melody is carefully stated. Be sure to have an intimate listen to this CD it's one of Isham's finest and most provocative compositions and possibly the finest score of the season. The CD closes with two non-Isham songs used in the film, performed by Bird York and Stereophonics, respectively (the latter song is also included in the "inspired by" song CD also released by Superb). "Sense of Touch" concludes the score with an almost redemptive denouement, the vocalist now accompanied by a lovely sonority of synths and piano, the perfect closure to the score's delicate and haunting musical ambiance. www.superbrecords.com

John Barry's score for the obnoxious 1976 remake of KING KONG is a far cry from the Wagnerian approach taken by the legendary Max Steiner in his original 1933 score one of the first ever complete original film scores, but then, this was a far different Kong than the archetypal Willis O'Brien creation who devastated New York City after being stolen from his home on Skull Island. The plot is the same, but the tonality was far different, and Barry's distinctly modern approach, based on melody and rhythm, fit the 1976 incarnation very well. Released for the first time commercially by Film Score Monthly as this month's Silver Age Classic limited edition (a bootleg release was issued in Italy on Mask MK 702 a few years ago, believed to be mastered from an LP), the FSM release features the original Reprise Records program of the soundtrack, running 42:30, mastered from the original 1/4" stereo album tapes. (Because the album rights were held by a different corporate family than that which distributed the film itself, FSM was unable to expand or remix the music beyond the original LP

edition, nor could the brief sound effects that closed a couple of tracks on the LP be removed.) Barry's music is eloquent, with a gentle, majestic theme for Kong that emphasized his mysterious and awesome power. "Sacrifice Hail to the King," Barry's version of Steiner's "Jungle Dance," is a rhythmic, percussively primal theme featuring island natives chanting "Kong!" (source music) against which a strong French Horn variation on the Kong theme is performed (the source sounds embellished by score), emphasizing the coming beast which is revealed through roars and screams at the track's conclusion. The music composed for the intimate scenes where Kong examines the form of his captive "bride" is some of the loveliest romantic, even erotic, music Barry has ever written. The orchestral figures that accompany the search for Kong on the island, and the brutal, brass and percussive melodies that attend Kong's violent attacks, especially his roaring rampage of revenge through NYC at the film's conclusion, are beautifully scored, emphasizing rhythmic harmonics and rooted in melodic structure. The dissonant material never falls into chaos, but retains a rhythmic, tonal sensibility, frequently with respect to Kong's great and powerful theme. It's a fine score, so much the better than the film it accompanied, and its legitimate release on CD has been too long in coming. The 12-page CD booklet contains thorough and encyclopedic notes on Barry, on KONG, and on the music including track-by-track analysis by John Barry experts Geoff Leonard, Pete Walker and Stephen Woolston. www.filmscoremonthly.com

Lalo Schifrin's score for the second Dirty Harry movie, MAGNUM FORCE, is a little more, er, forceful, than his jazz-based score for the first film, centering around a strong vocal theme introduced in the Main Title. Released for the first time recently on Aleph Records (previously available only through excerpts on compilation CDs such as Aleph's 1998 Dirty Harry Anthology), the MAGNUM FORCE score retains the use of voices, the melancholy motif and Harry's Theme from the first film, but otherwise delineates its story in a different direction. Militaristic snare drums represent the

corrupt cops that are the villains of this story, and the thrust of the music is harsher than the more avant-garde fusion of rock and jazz that populated the first film score. As with DIRTY HARRY, though, the focus is often on creating a claustrophobic atmosphere of psychological discomfort, associated with the threat of the rogue cops and Harry's difficulty in identifying them ("The Pimp" and its follow-up, "Rogue Gun," with their relentless mix of droning synths, turbulent snare, whistling electronic tonalities, and malevolent twangs of bass guitar do this especially well). There are moments of respite, however, as in the cool nightclub riffing of "Harry's New Friend," the pleasant melody of "Recreation" (an unused source cue), and the jazz-funk dance tune, "Potrero Hill" (also deleted from the final film). This CD includes all of the original music recorded for the film released for the first time ever including much not used in the film; while it does not state to be an original soundtrack recording, the music has, in fact, been remixed from the original multi-track masters this is not a rerecording. Illuminating track-by-track notes by Nick Redman are included in the CD booklet. Hopefully full score CDs for Schifrin's two other Harry scores, SUDDEN IMPACT and THE DEAD POOL (Jerry Fielding scored THE ENFORCER, thus far unreleased on CD), will also soon be on the way to CD. www.alephrecords.com  

See also, for a new interview with Schifrin: www.scoremagacine.com

France's Cinefonia has released two more volumes in their collection of Gabriel Yared soundtracks. Gabriel Yared Film Music Vol.3 is subtitled Les Orientals, in that is contains three early 1980s scores influenced by Yared's rediscovery of Arabic music around this time. The scores for HANNA K (a 1984 Costa-Gavras political drama), INVITATION AU VOYAGE (Peter del Monte's 1982 fantasy about a pop singer whose influence upon her boyfriend extends beyond her untimely death), and LES PETITES

GUERRES (LITTLE WARS, Lebanese director Maroun Baghdadi's 1981 war drama) are different in scope but retain the same melodic intensity that has characterized most of Yared's music over the last 25 years. LITTLE WARS takes on a very interesting tonality through the use of keyboards, synths, and atmospheric "rhythmic breathings" or "vocal percussion" performed by the composer himself. The fantastical nature of INVITATION AU VOYAGE is supported by richly exotic synth tonalities and unique performance of the Lebanese trumpet; it's a classically structured score with a very unique sonic texture, and again includes Yared's "vocal percussion" as a neat element. "Route flashback" contains an especially appealing and mesmerizing resonance, both appealing and frightening in its harmonic kaleidoscope; "Flashback du lait" contains a similarly nightmarish sound quality that creates a powerful unease in the listener. All of these scores are gentle, thoughtfully introspective, and rich in melodic temperament, modern in style and all-encompassing in their instrumentation, which draws occasionally from Arabic sensibilities but it is not necessarily ethnic music; Yared takes his inspiration from the characters and emotions portrayed on the screen but the scores embody a variety of musical methods, incorporating in part the Arabic instruments into his orchestras (this is most prevalent in HANNA K, his most ambitious merging of east and west instrumentation, the track "La Gifle4 a Hanna K" is one of his most poignant melodies, a haunting and provocative motif for piano, acoustic guitar, and violin).

Cinefonia's Gabriel Yared Film Music Vol. 4 contains the entire score (and several demo recordings) to THE MOON IN THE GUTTER, Jean-Jacques Beineix's 1983 surrealistic revenge drama, which is a thoroughly classical based score, plentiful in fluid melodies and captivating crescendos. Yared's main theme, "Loretta," is lush and beautiful, a haunting love motif for the Natassja Kinski character. This is luxuriant and romantic film music. Of these two CDs, only INVITATION AU VOYAGE and MOON IN THE GUTTER have seen soundtrack releases, and only on LP. www.cinefonia.com

One might not expect a National Geographic TV special to contain particularly dramatic music, but one would be wrong. In their second limited edition release of music from National Geographic Presents, Intrada provides Ernest Gold's wonderful, melodic score for THE LAST VIKINGS, a 1972 show about history and culture on the northern coast of Norway. The subject matter gives Ernest Gold (EXODUS, IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD) plenty of opportunities for music both grand and motific with a brass-driven and frequently adventurous (listen to the 6-minute "Whaling Memories/Last Expedition/Whale Catch/The Cost of Whaling" for plenty of dramatic adventure, contrasted with Gold's elegiac motif quite sympathetic to the plight of the whales killed under Norwegian harpoons). The second soundtrack on the CD is Leonard (FANTASTIC VOYAGE, Bakshi's THE LORD OF THE RINGS) Rosenman's music for the 1966 special, Dr. Leaky and the Dawn of Man. Rosenman's music is more modernistic, less melodic, and slightly less immediately accessible than Gold's more up-front score, but it takes on a less obvious are more underlying character, enlivening a bit when scenes shift from dusty offices and archeological digs to the African savannah. This music hasn't been heard in decades it's both an excellent example of documentary film scoring and notable efforts from two of the '60s and '70s most important composers. Also included as part of both scores is Elmer Bernstein's magnificent Main Title fanfare for National Geographic Presents. www.intrada.com

Prometheus Records has reissued Jerry Goldsmith's powerful 1969 score to THE CHAIRMAN (aka THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN THE WORLD in England). Director J. Lee Thompson's political thriller, about Gregory Peck as an American spy in Mao's China, provoked one of Goldsmith's finest scores of the decade during what was arguably his finest scoring period. His Main Title is a profoundly stimulating

crescendo of rhythmic brass and militaristic percussion. The theme, associated in the film with Red China, is an energetic and rousingly forceful composition, and contrasts nicely with Goldsmith's lyrical Love Theme, an elegant and poignant melody that is among his loveliest. The grand and eloquent score includes a very likeable orchestration that includes the exotic sound of the zimbalom, ferocious growling brass, strikingly strident string figures, and variations on the relentlessly rhythmic Main Theme. The CD is a straight reissue of the long out-of-print 1969 Tetragrammation soundtrack LP. Previous releases on CD have included a 1991 Silva Screen release, combining THE CHAIRMAN with Goldsmith's score for RANSOM, and six tracks (one unreleased) on Varese Sarabande's Jerry Goldsmith At 20th Century Fox. The Prometheus recording was taken from the surviving analog masters of the original LP, remastered and resequenced into film order. www.soundtrackmag.com

FILM MUSIC NEWS

Bruce Broughton (YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES, SILVERADO, LOST IN SPACE) will score Disney's new animated film, BAMBI AND THE GREAT PRINCE OF THE FOREST, their inevitable 2006 sequel to the classic BAMBI. The new film is a 'midquel', the story taking place in the middle of the first Bambi movie, featuring the voices of Patrick Stewart and Alexander Gould in a story about Bambi coming to terms with his Mother's death. Broughton will also score Harry Winer's forthcoming TV movie, THE DIVE FROM CLAUSEN'S PIER, based on the Ann Packer's novel about a woman facing life after her fiancé becomes a quadriplegic, faces mounting pressures that ultimately cause her to start a new life in New York. For the scoring duties Bruce Broughton, the composer of "Young Sherlock Holmes", "Silverado" or "Homeward Bound" among others is on board.

Milan Records has announced the release of soundtrack CDs to SUMMER OF LOVE, songs from the film and score by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory, for release on June 21, MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (music by Alex Wurman), due out on July 12, and Steve Jablonsky's score for Michael Bay's sci-fi actioner, THE ISLAND, due on July 26.

Speaking of THE ISLAND, SoundtrackNet has posted a report on Steve Jablonsky's recording session for the film. "Conducted by Blake Neely, the score is mostly electronic, with string, brass, choir and solo instruments adding to the palette," reported Dan Goldwasser. "An emotional and lush main title cue was the first item recorded, and as they progressed through the score, Neely explained - in his wry and humorous manner - to the session players what was happening on screen so that they would understand where the music was coming from." Jablonsky is noted for scoring the 2003 remake of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, TV's DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES and THE CONTENDER, as well as Katsuhiro Otomo's latest anime, STEAMBOY. For the full story, and photos from the recording session, see: www.filmmusic.com/news/article/?id=610

scoremagacine.com reports that Dutch composer Paul Van Brugge has been assigned to score Argentinean director Alejandro Agresti's new romantic film, IL MARE, a remake of the Korean feature SIWORAE. Set for a 2006 release and written by David Auburn, the movie stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock and about a doctor (Bullock) and an architect (Reeves) who live in the same house two years apart from one another and fall in love via letters they both deposit in the same mysterious mailbox. The project will mark the first reteaming of the actors since their 1994 action thriller SPEED.

Silva Screen Records reports that their soundtrack album of Alexandre Desplat's music to BIRTH (Jonathan Glazer's tense psychological thriller starring Nicole Kidman) has won a prestigious award from German music journalists. The 'Preis Der Deutschen Schallplatten Kritik' certificate recognises a soundtrack that was lauded by critics across the world; it has been described as 'a remarkable score' by the Daily Telegraph.

Jon Brion, whose scores for ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, MAGNOLIA, PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE, and I HEART HUCKABEES have noted significant acclaim, will be the composer for Paul Thomas Anderson's new project, entitled OIL!, based upon a 1927 novel by Upton Sinclair. The film will be released in 2006.

The MyMovies web site has posted an interview with composer Hans Zimmer about his score for BATMAN BEGINS. While the interview doesn't really get into the intricacies of the film's actual score, Zimmer does describe the process of getting the gig, and of working with fellow composer James Newton Howard on creating the film's large, hybrid score. "I really want experiment with electronics for a bit and I really don't want to push a big orchestra around the landscape for a while and I don't know about the superhero thing too," a reluctant Zimmer told the Warner studio exec who wanted him to score the film. "So he said 'Why don't you do it with a friend of yours, get him to take some of the weight off your shoulders?' So I remembered that James Newton Howard and I had been talking for years about doing something together. Our studios are four blocks apart and we see each other socially so I phoned him up and James was absolutely up for being my partner in crime on this." Full story at: http://www.mymovies.net/interviews/text_feature.asp?featureid=FTRE/4056/0906200516231705&filmid=4056&sec=trailers

Composer Nathan Barr will scores Warner Bros.' THE DUKES OF HAZZARD, the new feature film based on the popular 1980s television show of the same name. To create the sounds of Hazzard County, Barr will employ ZZ Top's legendary Texan guitarist Billy Gibbons for an authentic classic rock feel. This is the second film Barr has scored for director Jay Chandrasekhar, the two previously collaborated on 2004's dark comedy CLUB DREAD.

GAMES MUSIC NEWS

Inon Zur is writing the musical score for Exteel, a new online action game currently under development by NCsoft's Team Beam. Zur is the composer of such well-known game titles such as Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (cinematics), Men Of Valor (which was awarded Best Original Instrumental Song by the Game Audio Network Guild at the 2005 Game Developers Conference), Socom II, and Champions of Norrath: Realms of EverQuest. His film/TV credits include POWER RANGERS, ESCAFLOWNE and DIGIMON, and his powerful orchestral scores are featured in the promotional trailers for recent blockbuster movies such as KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THE PACIFIER and THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. Exteel is an online game featuring stylized action in a universe filled with robots. Gamers create, customize and develop their own robots using a robust character creation tool, with easy-to-access gameplay and a unique merging of strategic combat and high-speed action reminiscent of the stunning action seen in Hong Kong martial arts movies. For more information please visit www.ncsoft.com. www.inonzur.com.

Sumthing Else Music Works will release a soundtrack CD from the newly released Xbox sci-fi action game, Advent Rising, on June 28th. The soundtrack features original music written and produced by composer Tommy Tallarico (videogame scores for The Terminator, Evil Dead, Tomorrow Never Dies, Spider-Man, etc), and is performed by an award-winning 70-piece Hollywood orchestra and members of a world-class tabernacle choir recorded at Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles, California. www.sumthing.com

Recommended Soundtrack sources:
www.buysoundtrax.com  
www.intrada.com  
www.screenarchives.com  
www.footlight.com  
www.arksquare.com/index_main.html (Japan)
www.intermezzomedia.com (Italy)
www.moviegrooves.com

For questions or comments, contact the author at Soundtrax@cinescape.com