May 21, 2008

  • Some Bits and Pieces

    It has been another of those busy weeks with new music on the player for review and announcements of new re-issues left and right.  Intrada has continued to announce scores by some of the lesser known greats of the 1970s, with favorites Rosenman and Fielding at the top of their list.  Film Score Monthly was able to license Under Fire as a commercial release here in the states.  (I had purchased it as an import for around $20 a few years ago so I'll have to decide about whether I want that import to fund a couple of newer CDs or not.)  Their more exciting news was posted yesterday with the announcement of a re-issue of John Williams' score for The Accidental Tourist.  This is one of the composer's most beautiful themes for a film whose appeal is just not there for me.  After seeing this movie, I made the decision never to watch another William Hurt film again (I've made exceptions but the monotone acting style here is mind-numbing).  And they will be issuing Broughton's score for The Ice Pirates which should give fans of the composer something to cheer about.

    I recently had the chance to hear Joel Goldsmith's score for the latest Stargate direct-to-video feature, The Ark of Truth.  As was the case with Joel's fantastic score for Stargate:Atlantis, this one is a real keeper and clocks in at nearly an hour in length.  It is available at his personal website where you can also laugh at his many posts on the message board and the "details" of his life.  The apple did not fall far from the tree here, but one has to remember that this style of film scoring was the norm at one point in Hollywood.  This is one of the best newer sci-fi action scores you may hear this year.

    I also received several scores by newcomer Vincent Gillioz covering an awarded score (God's Waiting List) with a kind of noir-ish, Terrance Blanchard-like solo trumpet and interesting string writing in often all to brief cues.  A more interesting score worth looking into for Herrmann fans is Gillioz's score for Quelques Jours Avant La Nuit.  The film was tracked with Herrmann's music and Gillioz has done a masterful job revisiting this classic film music sound in a more engaging release.  For those interested in aleatoric techniques coupled with occasional lyric writing in an Irish vein, try out his score for last year's indie film, The Irish Vampire Goes West.  Gillioz is one of the composers Christopher Young has recently been supporting and mentoring and one can see why in each of these three releases.  All are available at the composer's website as well.

    I had a chance to check out Randy Newman's score for Leatherheads and was intrigued by the multititude of quotes from period popular songs sprinkled in this score.  This is a real 1920s, ragtime score with some Americana moments thrown in for good measure. 

Comments (1)

  • Just like you, I also purchased the "Under Fire" import for around $20 a few years ago.  I hear the FSM album is supposed to sound slightly better, and of course there's always the top-drawer liner notes, so I may have to get it at some point and sell the import.  Still, I doubt it's going to bring in more than 10-15 bucks in the wake of the FSM re-release.  Anyway, I'm happy more people will have access to this score, it's one of my favorite Goldsmith albums.

    I was quite pleased by both of those recent FSM releases.  "The Accidental Tourist" is a wonderful score (great film, too), and I'm very happy to finally be able to own an offical copy of the score.  I've never heard or seen "The Ice Pirates", but Bruce Broughton is one of those few composers whose work I will "buy blind" without hesitation, so of course I got that as well.  There's been quite a flood of interesting music the past month or two!

    Back at ya later

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