E-Mail Bag 10/9/97

Compiled by Jeff Bond

This week's e-mail bag offers concert reactions, unsolicited praise, a discussion of the blight of The Collector, and the unending cry of "Why isn't this in CD?" Let's get right to it, shall we?

Daniel Lima Azevedo writes:

I have treasured your [Lukas's] soundtrack reviews since you were courageous enough (some might say "stupid enough") to state that James Horner's Braveheart was not, indeed, a good score. Your points, regarding that score (and many others, from then on), were fully developed and skillfully written. That specific review was so convincing and sincere that it actually made me realize how bad Braveheart really was--meanwhile, lots of people were using the same ancient, rusty arguments to describe that score: "It's BS!" or "It fits the movie well, so it must be an instant classic!", which cannot add to the discussion, for they have no substance.

I think you (and Jeff Bond, most lately) have reached a perfect example of how to write a review. It's a pity that others tend to ignore the model and insist on saying that Goldsmith's latest is his best yet (ha, ha) just because they like many of the composer's works--that's not a review, it's just a boring biased piece of anti-journalism.

My respect for your opinions and musical tastes grew to such a point that I bought both Pelham 123 and Deadfall (which I had never heard of) just because you had acted as producer on those CDs, and highly recommended them--I have no complaints, they are small gems. Pelham's funky tone knocked my socks off! Have you already planned any new releases?

I would also like to know what do you think of Bill Conti's Spy Hard. OK, the movie was terribly unfunny and undeserving of Nielsen's talent as a comedian, yet the score's allusions to the Bond movies and a few contemporary soundtracks (Speed, True Lies, In The Line of Fire) did make me grin. Throw in a so-so Yankovic spoof and you get a decent CD release--so why didn't it happen?

You've discovered the perfect route to getting your letter printed: Praise us! As for Spy Hard, like the rest of America I didn't bother to see this movie, so I have no idea how Conti's score is. It often seems that every movie that gets a theatrical release automatically receives a soundtrack album these days, but that's not really the case. Despite the presence of Leslie Neilsen, the fact that Spy Hard was kind of an erzats version of a Zucker Brothers film made it a marginal release that didn't pull in a lot at the box office. This probably made it too big a risk for a soundtrack album release, despite the guaranteed draw of Weird Al...

Miguel Rosario writes:

Regarding the Fox Salute Concert (see review): About one of the few things that I envy of not living in the L.A. area is to have the opportunity to experience concerts like the one described in this article close to where I live. As I read the report all I can do is to open my mouth and wish to be there. However, I would like to offer my opinion about the way some orchestras should and could approach film music. Now, about the thing that I love about living in Valparaiso (Northwest Indiana) is the fact that it only takes me about one hour to get to Chicago and enjoy the great Chicago Symphony Orchestra in concerts. I get to see the orchestra anywhere between four to five times a year. Now to the point. In my opinion orchestras do not need to engage in fancy elaborate screen projections in order to bring audiences and enjoy film music in a concert setting. After all, many of today's concertgoers (including myself) got exposed to Wagner's music through the live or TV performances of excerpts from his works without resorting in having flying Walkyres (spell?) on stage or on the screen.

It was not until later that I got to mature musically that I could sit and listen through a complete Wagner opera. I learned about Prokofiev's Cantata "Alexander Nevsky" by attending a live performance by the Cleveland Orchestra before it became fashionable to play the work with the movie behind the orchestra. I enjoyed the work, bought a recording of it and it was not until much later that I got to watch the Soviet film on a PBS station. I believe that on the majority of cases it is not necessary to elaborate a concert with screens and sound effects in order to appreciate the art form called film music. This is not to undermine the effectiveness of this type of performance but I would rather go to a concert of the Chicago Symphony playing film music in a strictly orchestra performance than to sit through watching incomplete parts of a film. I can do that at home while I watch the movie. This does not mean that if they ever do such a thing that I would not go and see it.

What happens is that a majority of the executive and artistic leadership of American orchestras does not seem to look at the opportunity of programming film music in their seasons because of the expense that doing something like this cost. Maybe if they start looking at the works of legendary film composers, dead and alive, and perform their music the way they would Wagner, Prokofiev, Strauss, etc., we may have a more film music perform during regular seasons. Right now I have soundtracks of films that I have not seen yet. Some may argue that that is not the way to enjoy a film score, and they may be right. But in some cases I got to know a film through its music before actually seen it. My main crusade is to incorporate film music into the "mainstream" (such a thing?) concert repertoire of many American orchestras the same way that overtures from Mozart operas are performed. Just like the works of music that have come throughout the centuries, there are works that merit a constant playing and exposure and other that do not. We are enjoying a Golden era of film music and the people that produce it know about it. From filmmakers to the creative staff that puts it together. By the way, for those that do not know it, John Williams have been commissioned (spell?) by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to compose a Horn concerto for their principal horn player Dale Clevenger. They work is to be premiered during the 1999 season and guess what? I am planning on being there if the almighty lets me. Thank you for your time in reading this commentary and I am looking forward on reading your response or more of what goes on in the wonderful world of film music.

Maybe I need to clarify my statements regarding the venue in which the Fox Salute film music concert was performed. On reflection, I probably did say that part of the reason this concert was so great was because it allowed the listener to see how these musical cues worked within the films for which they were composed. While that is clearly their primary reason for existence, I don't mean to imply that film music can't exist on its own without the support of visual imagery. In fact, good film music is probably the only element of a motion picture that can take on a satisfying life outside the medium for which it was composed. What I enjoyed most about the Fox concert was the uncompromising way in which the music was presented: faithful, authentic renditions of the film cues unmodified for the concert hall stage. Goldsmith's "The Hunt" from Planet of the Apes should be a concert hall staple, in my opinion.

Russ, raperry@scf-fs.usc.edu writes, also about the Fox concert:

Please oh please send me more of what you thought about Edward Scissorhands being played. I thought it was just the best, I had waited a long time to hear my favorite movie score performed by a live orchestra. It was one of the most moving musical experiences of my life, I have been thinking about it ever since. I think Elfman is just totally underestimated for what he has done for music, and film music a like. Could you please send me more of what you thought of that part of the program? I too thought the entire concert was great, and like you said, it was not really concert, "Cheesed up" arrangements. I loved it!

Well, I don't know what more I can say: Elfman's Edward Scissorhands theme is one of my favorites, and it was great seeing it performed live. It was kind of an authentication for Elfman in a way, as his music has been pooh-poohed by too many people in the industry. One thing I did notice is that the audience seemed to really respond to this piece: I think Danny has really found the kind of link between popular and orchestral music that John Williams enjoys.

Kenneth English, English5@airmail.net writes:

I am relatively new to the world of soundtrack CDs (though I've been a collector of soundtracks on tape and LP for years) so perhaps I'm just behind the times and just don't know "how things work" but I feel the need to run off at the mouth. As I step up on my soapbox...here goes: What is with all of these CD auctions I keep seeing advertisements for? Are these people insane or just so monumentally egotistical that they truly believe someone is going to fork over $50 for The Grifters--just one of many discs I've seen that are still readily available through mail order for less than $20! Or how about $100+ for the score-only CD of Apollo 13 (here's a hint: Go to your local record store and randomly select one of James Horner's soundtracks--not only will you save a bundle of cash but you'll also have a CD of music so similar to Apollo 13 that you'll never know the difference!). Or, worst of all, $35-50 for JFK or Hoffa--these two have been going for $3.99 in the bargain bin at the local Tower for over six months now! Who are you people? And who is paying these outlandish prices? Who would be fool enough? Don't answer that. My opinion of humanity is low enough already...

I have a fairly extensive collection and I consider myself a fairly serious collector but I have yet to meet a CD I'd pay $100 for, much less $200 or $300. It's insanity. All I can hope for is that the reissues keep coming so I can gloat over all of the morons who coughed up countless hundreds on things like Cocoon. With so much wonderful music readily available at any local music store I fail to understand why anyone would throw away that kind of money on one CD. I buy soundtracks because I love film music. The day I start caring more about how rare or hard to find the CDs I buy are than how good the music is....well....that's the day I'll hold my own CD auction and sell them all off to the lowest bidder.

The people who indulge in the purchases you describe are divided into a few camps. I have no doubt that some of the people who pay big money for these CDs actually just love the music. On one of the few occasions where I put out in a big way for a CD it was the Goldsmith Film Music Preservation Society CD: but rather than paying cash, I just traded a couple of CDs I really didn't like that much anyway, The Witches of Eastwick and The Reivers. Happily, The Reivers wound up being reissued a short time later for $9.99. Ouch! The point is, the Goldsmith CD contains a lot of fantastic music that I really wanted to own very badly.

The other camps in this group are completists, i.e., people who MUST own everything Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner or John Williams ever wrote, whether they've heard it or not, and the kind of people you hate, Pure Collectors. For me, the idea of collecting something purely as an investment is strange. While I might buy two of something if I love it and I think it might someday make a good investment, I don't find myself doing this very often. If you're a film music fan and an investment broker, I guess this is a good way of combining your hobby and your profession. Otherwise, it's kind of slimy.

RippedWM34@aol.com (an acquaintance of THX 1138) writes:

I recently saw the Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin film, The Edge. I really enjoyed the film as a an outdoor adventure with all the beautiful scenery. I am a Jerry Goldsmith fan too. The main theme was heroic and bold much like Goldsmith's recent traditional action score compositions. The theme conveyed the ironies of Hopkins's role. Goldsmith carried through with the theme with variations that never grew tiresome. Goldsmith is at his best with this type of film , I think. I really enjoyed the end credit where he played the theme with full orchestration, then gradually becoming a piano solo, which became a jazzed up improvisation at the very end. I suppose this was reminiscent of Hopkins's character too. The jet setter that he really was.

Lukas and I both enjoyed The Edge, both film and score. I was actually getting a little tired of Goldsmith's main theme, but it's very well presented on the RCA CD, which is shaping up as one of the better soundtrack albums of 1997. I think one of the reasons this was such a good film for Goldsmith was that it played to the composer's strengths as a purveyor of moral ambivalence. Goldsmith can be one of cinema's most convincingly intellectual composer's, and he is at his best when there are shades of gray in the mix (see also L.A. Confidential) rather than the comic book colorizations of something like Air Force One (an extremely well-done, but slightly overbearing comic book score).

Sergio Hardasmal writes:

Hi. I still writing to this mail bag because of non available CDs: The Goonies: a great Grusin´s Score, great main title, good themes, and unforgettable piano theme. This Boy´s Life: Carter Burwell beautiful score....NOT ON CD!!!! I cant believe this!!! why they don't edit these great works? they still releasing song´s CDs... and we want the scores!!!

Yes, "we" want the scores, but "we" represent a rather small demographic group when compared to the legions of people who buy song compilations every day. It's never too late for a score to be released as an album; look at the original score to The Ghost and Mrs. Muir--that took 50 years. So I wish you patience and longevity.

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