But again, it's the SOUND of it rather than what they say.
I'm usually okay with weak lyrics, unless they're really, really awful. (Sadly, I think most of Leslie Bricusse's lyrics for John Williams songs fall into that category. "Here I am like a kid out of school, holding hands with a god! I'm a fool." Or "Santa is here again, yes!" Lyrics like those are ruinous.)
Exactly! I still want to hear a full women's choir version of that song.
I like the lyrics a lot. I can see that the choice in singers may be a little too 80s to have survived the trial of time (I think this is why I can't stand the song All Time High from Octopussy) but its got a kitsch quality to it that I like.
Ok, this song has been playing on a loop in my brain since yesterday morning, and I'm about to go insane. I'm afraid the only way to purge it is to listen to it. THANKS A LOT, JIM PHELPS!
Ok, this song has been playing on a loop in my brain since yesterday morning, and I'm about to go insane. I'm afraid the only way to purge it is to listen to it. THANKS A LOT, JIM PHELPS!
Do what I do: blame Mark Ford! (Mark, you're one of my favorites here).
Liking or not liking is a matter of opinion. I've got mine and you've got yours. Many musical compositions work best as just instrumental themes. Words do nothing to enhance the experience. Listen to the lyrics to Mancini's theme from Peter Gunn. Nuff said.
Listen to the lyrics to Mancini's theme from Peter Gunn. Nuff said.
Gahhh! I did hear those lyrics...once, about twelve years ago. Even the mannish voice of Sarah Vaughan couldn't breathe life into those wretched words.
Dan Hill's wretched lyrics to the It's a Long Road (Theme from First Blood) have forever sullied this great melody for me.
That mainstream and soppy song ruins the whole symphonic experience that Goldsmith provides. That intrusive song is designed like a marketing plan to attract the mass. It's really a torture and reminds how contrived the 80's was.
The funny thing is, Jerry's themes even sounded magnificent in that cruddy Ruby-Spears 1980s Rambo cartoon! That's how good Goldsmith's score is, no matter the context. However, when I heard the lyrics to that (once) powerful ending, it all died for me. I hadn't even known there were lyrics until I bought the old Intrada CD many years later. That's my problem, my view, but that's the way I see it.
I STILL don't get it. It actually sounds more like the song is memorable, that is, you can't get it out of your head. There are hundreds of themes out there but if someone adds lyrics you don't like that KILLS the melody? I never heard of such a thing. Good luck!
I STILL don't get it. It actually sounds more like the song is memorable, that is, you can't get it out of your head. There are hundreds of themes out there but if someone adds lyrics you don't like that KILLS the melody? I never heard of such a thing. Good luck!
It doesn't kill the melody for me. I just find Hill's performance humorous and cheesy.
As for that other guy you posted a clip of, I watched one of his videos once (Back to the Future, I think it was) and it made me want to stab my ears with a sharp pencil. Never again!
I always thought it was a great end titles song after a rather disappointing ending to a great action movie (I still can't believe only 1 man got killed in this movie).
Imagine if they kept the alternate ending where Rambo gets killed and then played the Dan Hill song!
Dan Hill's wretched lyrics to the It's a Long Road (Theme from First Blood) have forever sullied this great melody for me.
That mainstream and soppy song ruins the whole symphonic experience that Goldsmith provides. That intrusive song is designed like a marketing plan to attract the mass. It's really a torture and reminds how contrived the 80's was.
or how narrowminded some people here are...stop the movie before it plays then and skip the track when playing the CD...very easy, but for the rest of us that understands the meaning of the lyrics and why its there (to wrap up the story) it will forever be a great ending to a great movie...
This would also be a good place to provide suggestions to all the budding lyricists and real ones amongst us. Here are a couple of movies I always wanted to hear a full song version of. Feel free to add your own.
1) The Overture from Ben Hur. Hum it and try to think something up. 2) The shower scene from Psycho. No shrieking just good clean words needed.
I STILL don't get it. It actually sounds more like the song is memorable, that is, you can't get it out of your head. There are hundreds of themes out there but if someone adds lyrics you don't like that KILLS the melody? I never heard of such a thing. Good luck!
This board's travelled a "long road" of its own for so many here to defend a song. I can remember a time when people here liked orchestral film music. It's especially surprising that some of you can't understand why others dislike a song with banal lyrics and a "Soft Rock" singing style that undermine the beauty and pathos of what was a magnificent cue.
I STILL don't get it. It actually sounds more like the song is memorable, that is, you can't get it out of your head. There are hundreds of themes out there but if someone adds lyrics you don't like that KILLS the melody? I never heard of such a thing. Good luck!
This board's travelled a "long road" of its own for so many here to defend a song. I can remember a time when people here liked orchestral film music. It's especially surprising that some of you can't understand why others dislike a song with banal lyrics and a "Soft Rock" singing style that undermine the beauty and pathos of what was a magnificent cue.
The idea of selling records is never far from the hearts of the record producers. First Blood was one of JG's best selling albums. He had a copy of his Gold Record on the wall in his office area to the right of his Oscar nominations. You can see it at http://jerrygoldsmithonline.com/gallery6.htm I don't remember Jerry ever singing this song himself although he was a big hummer.
Personally I think you are exaggerating the importance of the song, Jim. It is merely a bonus and the real theme to First Blood is the opening credits, not the ending. Or the theme that is heard when Rambo charges out of the Police Station. Those are the cues I'm sure most fans associate with the movie or Rambo.
This isn't like Ghostbusters where you have a hit song that completely overshadows the Bernstein score and with good reason. It captured the spirit of that movie (no pun intended). In this case it's the other way around, as the poppy/big band material Bernstein wrote wasn't as 'hip' as the songs. I've learned to live with that.
It's a Long Road to me is an added bonus, just like the piper dream song from The Omen. It's fun it's there but I wont play it every time I put the score on. Plus the arrangement of the song is not the same as the instrumental version or main titles, So I don't make that connection when I listen to both of those cues I tell ya.
So as I'm watching LEGEND, I come upon: "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" and I instantly think of the "The Lyrics Ruin the Theme from FIRST BLOOD" thread.
LOL...what can I say
Here is "Is Your Love Strong Enough" -- I think this is an example of what works quite well within a film, and even outside it:
Just me, though.
And this is another 'song' that I believe works incredibly within the film...
It's especially surprising that some of you can't understand why others dislike a song with banal lyrics and a "Soft Rock" singing style that undermine the beauty and pathos of what was a magnificent cue. 
