This News Friday 4/3/98
by Lukas Kendall
Want to hear a sneak preview of "Hymn to the Fallen" from
Saving Private Ryan by John Williams? Check out "Salute to
Symphony" tonight, airing in Boston from 7:30 to 9:00 PM, WCVB-TV
channel 5 (check local listings for re-broadcast). Williams will conduct
the piece along with various other music. The program may be simulcast
on WCRB-FM radio. Thanks to Jeff Eldridge for the tip.
I'm told there was a "Movie Scores" category on Jeopardy!
last night (4/2). The subjects of the five answers were John Williams,
Marvin Hamlisch, Bernard Herrmann (Psycho question--possibly the
daily double), James Horner, and Danny Elfman. Did anybody see this? I'd
love to hear more about it.
Look for a big survey of film scores on CD in the current American
Record Guide by Mark Koldys. The magazine ordinarily covers only classical
magazine; the edition with film music stuff is on newsstands now. Write
ARG at leftstar@tso.cin.ix.net
for more info.
Some big-summer-movie news: There will be two X-Files albums
out at the time of the movie, a songs CD and a score CD (Mark Snow). There
will also be two albums for Godzilla, but the score album will only
be available later on (there will be two David Arnold cuts on the song
compilation, and Arnold is also producing one of the songs).
Mark your calendars: John Barry will be signing copies of The
Beyondness of Things, plus one other item per person at: HMV - Oxford
St, London on Thursday 23rd April at 17:30.
Prince of Egypt Sneak
How about this? We're like Aint-it-cool-news
or something!
From: CLauliac <CLauliac@aol.com>
I have garnered a few informations about Hans Zimmer's score for
Dreamworks' upcoming "Prince of Egypt," from a friend working
as an animator on the movie. The score was just recorded in London at Air
Studio's Lyndhurst Hall. Reportedly, it's very good, a change of pace from
Hans Zimmer. The composer also wrote a few songs, one of them being showcased
at the beginning of the movie in a sort of big operatic way (a la Lion
King). The score mixes ethnic influences but the thematic material is deliberately
different from the songs. Am I the only person skeptical about Mr. Zimmer's
epic sensibilities? Too bad Spielberg and Katzenberg didn't ask John Williams
to score this mammoth epic. Last spoiler: the temp-track score used was
James Newton Howard's "Waterworld." Just in case you were wondering...
Goldsmith's Music for Orchestra
Got one other report from someone who saw this in concert last weekend
with the L.A. Phil (see my comments in last
Friday's news column):
From: Todd China <china@scf-fs.usc.edu>
I also got a chance to see the performance last night and I thought
it was completely brilliant. I confess to having not heard anything from
Planet of the Apes, The Mephisto Waltz, or The Satan Bug (yet), but I thought
Goldsmith's piece was pretty interesting. It was a little hard to appreciate
it at times, such as the times when trumpet notes were blasting all over
the place. And, even though I'm not into atonal music, there were certain
passages that I thought were incredibly cool. I was visualizing a movie
in my head as I listened to it. I also liked the way Goldsmith used a whole
battery of different percussion instruments, just like The Wind and the
Lion. The other selections were great, too. Mendelsson's piece was a long
haul, I agree. I LOVED the Copland piece!
Good news for everyone: As we mentioned last week, this will be broadcast
the week of May 25, 1998, syndicated on local classical stations (as the
LA Phil programs are) such as KKGO 105.1 FM in L.A. and WCLV 95.5 FM in
Cleveland. Check local listings.
Not April Fools
Nobody has ever tried to pick up a composer through this web site, but
someone aims to try--figured I'd pass this on verbatim:
From: "Ian O'Neill" <ianon@deepwell.com>
Subject: Need score for low budget feature film, credit only, named
actor:
New company with completed 90 minute feature film is looking for
composer to score film for credit. Here's a great opportunity to enter
your works!
Forever Amber
Thanks to the people who responded to yesterday's
column, an opinion piece by Jason Comerford on Golden Age scores, specifically
King Kong and Forever Amber.
From: "Liverance, Howard M" <HLIVERANCE@tpa.HealthPlan.com>
You have frequently mentioned "Forever Amber" and on your
music recommendation I watched the video. Mr. Raksin composed a most truly
prodigious score! It seemed there was music underneath the entire 140 minutes
running time. It's absence, however, was most notable during the duel between
Carlton and Capt. Morgan. Was this intentional on Raksin's part or was
it Preminger's decision or maybe a combination of both? I wonder because
swashbuckling swordplay is usually primetime for composers. Either way,
the lack of musical accompaniment seemed to accentuate the duellists' isolation
out in the country on a dank, misty dawn (or evening--can't recall).
I should make one thing very clear: Forever Amber the movie--don't
watch it! It stinks! This movie literally once destroyed any hope I had
of a romantic weekend with someone, by the way. There was this girl I visited
whose name was Amber; I got there, and we figured, let's watch a video,
oh, how about this movie, it's about someone with the same name as you?
Three hours later the damn thing is over and the temperature is 20 degrees
below freezing for the rest of the weekend.
Some people may be wondering why this title keeps coming up in our discussions.
I think it's kind of cool... a few weeks ago I
wrote about collector's tendencies to want and want a score on CD,
and then it's finally released, and few people seem to care. I used Forever
Amber as an example, since the Raksin score is quite good -- and since
that point people seem to have been spurned to look into it. So that's
rewarding.
Questions
Every week we get a lot of interesting questions which I, in my haste
in assembling this answer, cannot answer. So I turn them over the readers:
From: Eric at hawkone@bellsouth.net
I was wondering if there is a CD that features the theme song to
the Gerry Anderson series UFO, in particular the opening theme.
From: Chrisie Russell <CHRISIE_RUSSELL@ccmailgw.wbfa.com>
From: Justin Doring <BMW750iL@pacbell.net>
I just saw In & Out on video with music by Marc Shaiman. The
graduation scene, near the end of the movie, had the class singing their
school's Alma Mater. The music, apparently played by the on-screen band,
was exactly like the cue Death & Youth in Bernard Herrmann's The Magnificent
Ambersons. According to the notes by Christopher Husted, this short cue
in Ambersons is played when George graduates from Harvard and returns home
after commencement. I was wondering if anyone knows if this music was composed
by Herrmann, and if so, was Shaiman paying tribute to Herrmann by using
his music, or just ripping him off note for note. Or, yet another possibility,
is this music just a traditional tune associated with graduation that both
composers used in their scores.
Trailer Stuff
From: Dan Goldwasser <dsg@soundtrack.net>
Here is the breakdown for the latest LOST IN SPACE trailer:
- The Postman (James Newton Howard)
- Twister (Mark Mancina)
- Stargate (David Arnold)
From: mccaskill <opalwood@rie.net.au>
I was wondering if you could help me with the trailer music for
Ransom, it is great energetic, heroic chase music and sounds so much like
Horner, is it possible he did music especially for the trailer? A while
ago people told me that it was music from Under Siege 2, but I fell asleep
watching it and still believe it to be Horner's work.
Also I watched the Jungle Book (95) just recently and the great
trailer music for that wasn't featured, I was positive it was Poledouris
and they even used this music in the TV ads (Australia) what's the deal?
Oscar Reactions
Oscars...? Oh, ancient history. Here are some comments we got to conclude
discussion on this year's awards.
From: "Ande Flavelle" <flavelle@soundconnection.com>
Given that Horner is now an Oscar holder, with the soundtrack setting
all kinds of records, wouldn't it be apppropriate for FSM to have an in-depth
review or interview or something? A history of the man, his work, and all
of your collective views? Just a thought. It surely won't come from anywhere
else, and as a person who likes to keep an open mind, how else might I
learn about this side of a composer?
We would love to interview Horner, but perhaps not surprisingly his
representatives have denied our requests.
From: Wdp321 <Wdp321@aol.com>
I am a huge DISNEY fan, especially for their musical scores. I did
not want HERCULES to recieve a nomination for musical or comedy score since
THE HUNCHBACK of Notre Dame's score was so great...those who just saw the
film, and did not spend any cash on the CD soundtrack will not know what
went into making the score. It was great how they added in the latin lyrics!
That is why i think if HERCULES were nominated and if they would have won
I truly think it would have been a slap in the face for MENKEN. In my opinion
HELLFIRE was one of the best songs in HUNCHBACK. Sometimes I think Oscar
voters ask the question for song... can this be performed on the stage
during our broadcast?
From: Christopher Ellis <WhatDoIKnow@kel-aria.com>
Wasn't Contact produced last year and therefore eligible for the
recent spat of Academy awards? I can't believe that Alan Silvestri wasn't
in the running for best soundtrack. It is just such a great score.. I listen
to his soundtrack CD a lot, and find it long with Thomas Newman's "Shawshank
Redemption" to be two of my favorites.
Contact was just one of those films that didn't garner any nominations.
I wasn't too impressed with it. Anyway, thanks to everyone who participated
in the Oscar comments this year; feel free to carry on your picks and complaints
at our message board.
In Praise of Pops
From: "Jerzy Sliwa" <george_s@friko.onet.pl>
I'm crazy about the look, smell and feel of vinyl. Furthermore,
I suspect that there are a great many more nuts like me. I'm convinced
I'm not the only collector with eleven different twelve-inch copies of
"ET" (British pressing, French, German etc., virgin vinyl, picture
disk, boxed edition...) and multiple copies of several other records. Like
many others, I was even prepared to buy (and did buy) soundtracks with
the legend 'Music composed and PERFORMED by...' including "The Young
Warriors" and other assorted soundtracks that the late, much-missed
Page Cook used to burst a gasket over.
I treasure my vinyl and I am happy to say that the 'crunchy' LP
recordings that I read about in FSM are, in the twenty-five years I've
been collecting, one or two in a thousand (literally!)
I can imagine nothing better than to feast my eyes on a magnificent
12 x 24 inch gatefold while the superbly-reproduced music is blowing my
mind. Come on, you thirty/forty somethings! Let's hear it for good old
vinyl!
Be honest folks! Where's the fun in slotting a five-inch piece of
plastic into an anonymous hole, watching it disappear and then listening
to the musicians picking their noses in Dolby Surround while they're turning
the pages of their scores?
I don't think my "Patton" LP sounds thin, Mr DeMary. Buy
yourself a better turntable and listen to the difference. Apropos, I read
in an audiophile magazine that manufacturers graft inaudible Alpha Waves
onto their compact discs because LPs have them; CD producers suspect that
this is whaat makes vinyl so listener-friendly and "warm." That's
definitely one in the eye for CD junkies!
And as for visual appeal, well, you only have to look at those 4
bloody awful pieces of grey-and-black paper that are stuck into the Star
Wars 4-CD set to see what a joke CD presentation is! For comparison, gaze
in wonder at the original German Star Wars vinyl release, or even the 20th
anniversary Bond LP. If you CD ingenues don't know what I'm talking about,
ask Grandpa to take the latter out of his bank vault and show you.
The three of you who have the Anaconda CD: take it out and have
a look at the CD itself. Can you imagine the effect of those incredible
snake eyes staring out at you on a twelve-inch picture disk? No? Well,
stick your thumbs back into your mouths and switch on your 2CD return of
the Jedi. Disc 1, track 14 repeat, of course!
Well, what do you kids have to say about this? I do not have a lot of
vinyl myself, but I do appreciate it, and think a lot of people overlook
its pleasures, such as the cool covers and whole look-and-feel. Comments?
The Last Word on Vince Guaraldi Music to Get
From: Guy McKone <guymck@cims.net>
For my money one of the finest compilations - actually it was a
studio album - was entitled "Oh, Good Grief!." On vinyl: Warner
Bros.-7 Arts WS-1747; CD fans can obtain on Warner Bros. 1747-2. Here we
have "The Great Pumpkin Waltz," and of course "Linus &
Lucy" (Mr. G. doubles on piano and electric harpsichord, tho' I prefer
the piano" - and my very favorite: the bittersweet "Rain, Rain
Go Away" from Charlie Brown's All-Stars. In that episode, this music
is buried under dialog. There's a bit of hum that plagued the album, and
unfortunately the CD, tweaking an equalizer does help.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (Fantasy 8431-2) has perhaps his most
famous composition ("Cast your fate to the wind" notwithstanding):
"Christmastime is Here." Check out "Hark, the Herald Angels
Sing" - if one listens carefully, a school buzzer can be heard.
A Boy Named Charlie Brown (Fantasy 8430-2) has another one of those
tangy piano waltzes - "Happiness Is," and of course the original
"Linus & Lucy," among many others. This is from the CBS television
special.
A Boy Named Charlie Brown was also a 1969 feature film debut from
National General Pictures. Here, Guaraldi's music is given the orchestral
treatment by John Scott Trotter. The problem: the album contains DIALOG!
Lots of it. There are also a few songs by Rod McKuen, which really aren't
bad. For me the highlight is an orchestral version of "Skating"
(I believe it's called "Snoopy on Ice" on the Lp - I don't have
it at hand at the moment...). This one soars!
Silent Sunday Event
We'll close with this notice of something happening this Sunday here
in Los Angeles:
From: "Warren M. Sherk" <wsherk@oscars.org>
You are cordially invited to: A Tribute to Mack Sennett and the
Keystone Comedies; Sunday, April 5, 1998
The Silent Society in cooperation with the Academy Foundation presents
a memorabilia gallery, reception, booksigning, and screening in honor of
the publication of The Films of Mack Sennett: Credit Documentation from
the Mack Sennett Collection at the Margaret Herrick Library, compiled and
edited by Warren M. Sherk.
Please join us for a reception, booksigning, exhibit and screenings
of Mack Sennett films. Musical accompaniment for the screening will be
provided by Michael Mortilla.
Free reception, exhibit, and booksigning starts at 4:30 p.m.; Screenings
(separate admission $6) begin at 6 p.m.
Hollywood Heritage Museum (The DeMille Barn) is located at: 2100
N. Highland Avenue (opposite the Hollywood Bowl) Hollywood, CA 90028
Free parking is available by entering from Odin Street.
For more info (the films to be screened, etc.), visit the Silent
Majority website at www.mdle.com/ClassicFilms.
Have a great weekend! Also, everybody in Los Angeles should check out
the great week's worth of Warner Bros. movies (celebrating 75 yrs. of WB)
playing at the Mann Chinese (this is also happening in New York). Cool
stuff like Superman, The Exorcist, Blade Runner, The Wild Bunch--see
it on the big screen!
Send your comments: MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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