Yes indeed, I hear a bit of a " groovy" touch in HOUR OF THE GUN. Especially within the Main Title... The use of cimbals, drums anb electric bass guitar ,- for me sounds -, really cool and seventies like..and I dont think they have that jive nowadays...
I hear the groove too in that not-in-the-film "pop" (for want of a better term) arrangement. Listen to the way the brass comes in at about the 1:40 mark - it's like Ron Grainer's THE OMEGA MAN! What a great piece!
Just imagine Goldsmith conducted by Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel, Riccardo Muti...
I was thinking the same thing while Michel Roux jnr served me my Big Mac at the motorway services. (I had to eat out, because Damien Hirst was painting my dining room.) I ate it on the way home in the back of Sebastian Vettel's minicab.
ps For a better way of saying the same thing, see TerraEpon's response above.
Goldsmith was a good friend of St Louis Symphony Orchestra conductor Leonard Slatkin, who conducted the premiere of Goldsmith's "Music For Orchestra" with the Minnesota Orchestra.
Just imagine Goldsmith conducted by Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel, Riccardo Muti...
I was thinking the same thing while Michel Roux jnr served me my Big Mac at the motorway services. (I had to eat out, because Damien Hirst was painting my dining room.) I ate it on the way home in the back of Sebastian Vettel's minicab.
ps For a better way of saying the same thing, see TerraEpon's response above.
Goldsmith was a good friend of St Louis Symphony Orchestra conductor Leonard Slatkin, who conducted the premiere of Goldsmith's "Music For Orchestra" with the Minnesota Orchestra.
Friendship =//= business, unfortunately. (That is supposed to mean "doesn't equal", but I'm not sure it works!)
I was wondering while looking at the general Tadlow recordings suggestions thread...will this new Goldsmith series be the main thing coming for a while from Tadlow/Prometheus, or will they also continue to record other composers' works in between Goldsmith projects?
A few people have suggested this. I'm in, but as that complete score isn't very long perhaps it would be appropriate to pair with the much lesser known (and officially unreleased although the following YouTube clip was put together from the bad-sounding bootleg) General with the Cockeyed Id:
What do you guys think? A very famous title which isn't missing much music paired with a very obscure but (officially) unreleased title -- The Goldsmith nuts will buy for the latter even if they think their existing In Harm's Way is a sufficient representation, and the regular film music fans will buy for the high profile In Harm's Way complete and in great sound...I could see it doing well.
I also found this excerpted suite from The Salamander on YouTube from the same poster as Cockeyed Id. It's terrific and just scratches the surface of this great score. Some of JG's greatest choral writing as well! Perhaps some of you will see why this is my second highest priority after QB VII complete:
Such a shame those original tracks no longer survive but I hope James does it right one day...it's the biggest totally missing item from his filmography now.
No doubt that there are many original score performances that could be improved on
Lately I've been reading (or in some cases re-reading) James Southall's (movie-wave.net) Goldsmith reviews, and was reminded of Jerry's all-synth efforts. He famously said that he didn't like it when synths were used to replace the orchestra (or parts of it), yet he did it on occasion. On three occasions to be exact he replaced the whole orchestra: ---- Runaway (http://www.movie-wave.net/titles/runaway.html)
The Varese liner notes for this say that the "orchestrated" this for synths. I know when I first listened to it I thought compositionally it was very good but couldn't stand the synths.
From the review: "I'm sure there was some deep and meaningful reason for going all-electronic, but here Goldsmith did something very strange because many of the cues sound almost like they were written as he would usually write and then electronic representations of real instruments were used...The most frustrating thing is that it is easy to imagine just how much better things would sound with an orchestra. A track like "The Body" could be a terrific piece of action music were it performed by real instruments; alas, it isn't, so it's something of an embarrassment - and there are a few more cues like that, notably the all-too-brief "Hostage", whose 46 seconds are easily the best on the album."
Also from the review: "Goldsmith often used to say that he saw synthesisers as being a natural extension to the orchestra, able to offer sounds that couldn't be achieved by traditional means, but never as a replacement for it. Indeed, looking at his finest scores which incorporate electronics, it's easy to see what he means; this, though, is a very long way from being one of his finest scores, and his laudable mantra seems to have been abandoned, because for sure, the synths here are being used as a replacement for the orchestra...What is so frustrating is that it is instantly obvious how much better so much of this score would sound if it had indeed been properly orchestrated and performed. There are some action pieces, like "Out Back", "Are You There?" and "Just Ugly" which would be terrific if played by an orchestra" ---
So my idea, obviously, is to suggest as a project in this new series an orchestral re-recording of at least substantial suites from these three. They sound as if they've already been "orchestrated" so why not just get a real orchestra to play it? Call it "Goldsmith Unplugged" (no need to pay me for the title idea, hehee). Say, 20-25 minutes minimum for the highlights of each score (and of course for Criminal Law, which I don't believe was released complete by Varese, perhaps some previously unreleased music of quality might even be found to include?)
Anybody else for this? I'd say it might even be a higher priority (and perhaps make more sense) than a new complete recording of Under Fire with acoustic instruments substituting for the synth parts...
Yavar
P.S. I wonder if James might give us an update on when we might expect the next Tadlow production to come out?
Although I'm perfectly happy with these all-synth scores as they are, I think it's an interesting idea to have this kind of an album. I do think however that it's not possible to take them as they are, that it would need some translation for them to be proper orchestral music.
I heard an all-orchestral version of the Gremlins theme once (on the infamous Deconstructing Goldsmith website), I don't know where it was from. It was different from Goldsmith's own rerecording and I never heard it again. Remember liking that one very much.
Of those scores already released, the one that comes readily to mind for me is THE BLUE MAX. The original recording is fairly thin and brittle sounding and could use a more sonically pleasing presentation. This Goldsmith score has more classical sensibilities in its style and construction than many of his other scores so I feel it would be a good candidate for a more concert like recording with full orchestra and improved sonics.
Have you checked out the Blue Max suite on Silvas "Essential Goldsmith Collection"? I believe it's quite good. (Of course, it's only 8 mins, not the whole score.)
Although I'm perfectly happy with these all-synth scores as they are, I think it's an interesting idea to have this kind of an album. I do think however that it's not possible to take them as they are, that it would need some translation for them to be proper orchestral music.
You're probably right, but I don't think it'd be too difficult for a talented arranger/Goldsmith scholar to manage...
Have you checked out the Blue Max suite on Silvas "Essential Goldsmith Collection"? I believe it's quite good. (Of course, it's only 8 mins, not the whole score.)
Have you checked out the Blue Max suite on Silvas "Essential Goldsmith Collection"? I believe it's quite good. (Of course, it's only 8 mins, not the whole score.)
It is excellent and my choice for listening.
The Blue Max suite in the "Goldsmith Conducts Goldsmith" CD (Silva) is double that length (16 minutes), and has an excellent performance by the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Of those scores already released, the one that comes readily to mind for me is THE BLUE MAX. The original recording is fairly thin and brittle sounding and could use a more sonically pleasing presentation. This Goldsmith score has more classical sensibilities in its style and construction than many of his other scores so I feel it would be a good candidate for a more concert like recording with full orchestra and improved sonics.
I think that with the key phrase "of those scores already released" I very much agree with you Mark. I'd just prefer that scores that don't survive in complete form (even if they aren't as good as The Blue Max) get priority...
I'm really dying for Mr. Fitzpatrick to throw us a bone here and provide us with, if not concrete news, at least a clue as to what the next Goldsmith re-recording might be!
