bobbengan, if you are still here, do you happen to know what -- if anything -- John Scott did for "Dallas"? and if you don't know, could you ask? I'll be coming up on that writer's strike season soon and I need to know if I can skip it.
I'm sure I've read in a couple of interviews over the years that all they did was track in some of his library music...
just caught FINAL COUNTDOWN the other day on tv... his noble, triumphant main theme makes the silly movie even sillier
This seems like a backhanded compliment if ever I heard one!
Why is the movie silly, do you think? It's the typical grist for a Twilight Zone episode. The concept does have the inherent and obvious flaw in that, like all these stories (I recall a TIME TUNNEL where they end up on the Titanic, too late to do anything about it. of course) whether the heroes succeed in averting Pearl Harbor or not, the result will be dramatically unsatisfying.
Said this at another board yesterday about Shoot to Kill (one of my first listens of the new year), but this score is indescribable; so many themes, motifs and submotifs at play; two of my favorites are the lurching horn melody in track 11 and the melancholy ebbing string figure of track 17.
Scott is fast approaching his ninth decade on this planet and he could probably still write rings around most anyone working today. One of the most underrated action scores of the 1980s, if not of all time.
Hello John Scott fans. I hope this entry will make everyone very happy.
I haven't been on this board well over a year now, but given the state of the things at the moment, some (admittedly unwanted) free time has abruptly availed itself and so I thought I would take the opportunity to update the few readers of this thread with some of my Scott-related exploits of the past 18 or so months. I have also decided to share a number of unreleased works of John's on Youtube, against my better judgement, because I fear much of this music might otherwise end up lost indefinitely as not much has changed with regards to John's attitude toward seeing his music released commercially.
I do have a bits of good news that might be a bit premature to share - and may still fall through the cracks due to the ongoing Covid-19 fiasco - but hope springs eternal and I have been given no credible reason to doubt the project's future at this time. Late last year I was approached by a benefactor of a project who wanted to commission a short orchestral concert piece to celebrate the return of a certain famous vessel whose story is quite well-known and integral to the history of the United States. I was asked to recommend a composer and fought unequivocally for John whose Cousteau and Belem-associated music make him an ideal candidate for such an endeavor. The committee loved his music and after some back-and-forth between them, John and myself, during which I was tasked with writing a detailed programmatic guide to what the music will be like, said committee saw value in commissioning not merely a short fanfare or the like but rather a full-bodied, multi-movement symphonic tone poem with distinct movements to encompass various episodes of this vessel's history, culminating in an emotionally-charged yet heroic conclusive tableaux.
Initially a prestige orchestra in New England was approached and expressed interest after a conference call with their board of directors, but since a CD and digital release is part of the business plan behind this event, AFM costs proved this route to be impractical. At the moment the plan is to record with the Royal Philharmonic in London around the end of the year, and John is nearly finished writing the score in London. I heard a few themes John sketched before he left Los Angeles and I can imagine those of us who love his music will be well-rewarded by his efforts. If the recording does come to happen as planned I may or may not fly to London to "supervise" the session depending on the status of my own projects back here in Los Angeles at the time.
In my long absence from this board John has acquainted me with a lot more of his music, and I have decided to share a few odds and ends with you all, lest the music otherwise simply waste away forgotten on a hard drive.
Below you will find suites from a number of unreleased scores of his, with [likely typo-laden and overwrought] commentary and short thematic analysis provided in the descriptions of each: HAREM (1986), THE LONG ROAD HOME (1999), a short film from 2008(?) called THE GATES OF FREEDOM that features a marvelously adventurous and moving little score, several unheard Cousteau scores (MADAGASCAR, BENEATH THE MIRROR OF LAKE BAIKAL, and forthcoming still will be suites from CUBA: WATERS OF FREEDOM and CLIPPERTON: THE ISLAND THAT TIME FORGOT).
I also posted suites from ENGLAND MADE ME, WALKING THUNDER, KING KONG LIVES, THE NORTH STAR, MAN ON FIRE, KING OF THE WIND, THE DECEIVERS, several commercially-available Cousteau scores, his BELEM symphony and others... More to come as time allows over the next week or two. If you like Scott's music and don't know these works, I cannot recommend enough that you take the time to listen.
To my complete surprise, John's own master of SHOOT TO KILL has a handful of excellent pieces not found on the Intrada album, including a terrific unused prologue cue and an impressionistic variation of the main theme that sounds like it belongs in GREYSTOKE rather than an 80's thriller score. Speaking of which, I'll also be posting a lengthy suite of unreleased music from that score soon, also. As many of you know, the CD/vinyl program is woefully incomplete and does little justice to the thematic architecture of the score proper.
I have also uploaded excerpts from a few unheard concert works of his: The Guitar Concerto, CELTIC KINGDOMS; SOUTHWESTERN LANDSCAPES for string orchestra (after his 2nd string quartet), a piece for narrator and orchestra dedicated to Jacques Cousteau called L'HOMME QUE S'EN VOLA (with narration by Charlotte Rampling) and still a few more on the way, including a lot of chamber music. You will also find extant recordings of MOONFLIGHT (with its stunning chorale finale) and the uber-whimsical JULES VERNE FESTIVAL OVERTURE also.
Most of all, I am excited to share with you guys a 73 minute suite from his silent film score, ROBIN HOOD. This sprawling and varied work is, I believe, one of his absolutely best. It can really only be described in superlatives and the whole thing begs to be listened to beginning to end - and this is only half the score. I had hoped to synch the full score to picture but alas, it seems that none of the different iterations of the film to be found online are from sources captured at the same speed as the one Scott timed his score to, so inevitably the synch fails after a while. I think the suite gives a more than sufficient overview of how marvelous the score is.
None of these are "complete" works and I choose to respect the potential commerciality of eventual releases of some or hopefully all of these scores by withholding complete works. This music has brought a lot of joy and meaning to my life, just as my friendship with John has, and I hope you guys enjoy the new works. I envy the fresh discoveries awaiting you.
HAREM suite:
GATES OF FREEDOM short film score:
THE LONG ROAD HOME suite:
Guitar Concerto, CELTIC KINGDOMS (excerpts):
Cousteau/MADAGASCAR suite:
Cousteau/BENEATH THE MIRROR OF LAKE BAIKAL suite:
ODE TO JACQUES COUSTEAU for narrator and orchestra:
HAREM was my first listen. It is so gorgeous. So rich in melody as is typical of the works of John Scott. I truly hope that the missing parts have finally been found and we will finally see a complete commercial release soon. Thank you Bob for this gift of beautiful film scores you have posted here today. May you and Mr.Scott stay well in these trying times.
Hi Bobb, good to hear from you again!. In these long days of isolation it is a joy to listen to so many works by John that I haven't heard before. I recently watched two Alistair Maclean movies again namely "The Hostage Tower" and "Detonator 2" both sporting terrific scores by Mr. Scott. His versatility is amazing. Thanks for posting these great suites and keep safe during these troubled times.
Holy cow, bobbengan -- I hadn't realized you'd been gone THAT long, though you've been missed. Glad you are back and have brought these goodies to us! Crossing my fingers for official complete releases from the labels. (And I for one adore Shoot to Kill enough that I would re-buy it if Intrada wanted to expand it with that unreleased material!)
And SUPER exciting news about the new concert piece John has written! I can't wait.
as well as the complete score for the Pierce Brosnan film DETONATOR 2: NIGHT WATCH, which is basically the Bond score John never wrote!
Well, now I'm going to have to check that out.
Someone uploaded the end title below. I perused his complete score and the main theme here gets numerous workouts throughout. Not the side of his voice I personally love, but if you're a fan of this sound, you'll probably dig the score a great deal:
Hi Bobbengan, In relation to Detonator 2 would it be possible if you have it available to hear a suite from John's score? I love all aspects of his music but have a fondness for his more unusual scores like this, Doomwatch and Wake in Fright.
Well, my goodness. What can I say but that it's wonderful to see you again, bobbengan, and thank you for sharing all of this absolutely astonishing, magnificent, extremely rare music with us. I also visited your YouTube channel and found many other treats that you've recently posted by other composers ("Scissors!" Yes!!). I can't thank you enough for sharing this music, it has given me (and I imagine others) lots of joy.
I'm glad people are enjoying these, even if it's just four or five readers here. I will try and upload a few more odds and ends as my time allows in the coming weeks. I really wish I had access to John's London home. There's apparently tons more tapes and transfers there. I am all but certain it's where the missing HAREM reel resides as well.
I know it's a long one, but do give ROBIN HOOD a close listen, people. This one's a really inspired work. The wealth of memorable and varied material is astounding.
Also holding out hope I might be able to convince John to tack his unrecorded Viola Concerto or Pasadena Symphony onto the same recording as this other project I mentioned...
