I thought I'd put in a word for Barton's score. Although it's mostly source music, there's a cue toward the end that acts as psycho-stalking underscore and it's just great. It's a kind of jazzy-pop-orchestral fusion featuring a lightly funky guitar groove overlaid with quiet woodwinds and brass. Very subtle, impressionistic and genuinely cool.
Taking that approach to a suspensful scene was, in my opinion, a touch of genius. It's a million miles from Herrmann's slicing strings, and it really shouldn't work, yet it does... for me anyway. Every time I catch the scene on the box, I find myself gyrating to it a tad, even when Clint is getting hacked about. But that's enough of my problems.
It's great that you mentioned Barton's music. I would say that the source music functions as underscore like in Barton's score for Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. I think his greatest achievement is the score for Eastwood's High Plains Drifter. The only release of music by Barton I know is the main theme from High Plains Drifter on a Silva sampler.
I remember that brief piece towards the end of PLAY MISTY FOR ME too. It was dubbed in pretty low and even faded in and out ineffectually, but it was pleasantly reminiscent of Billy Goldenberg in its chord changes. I think.
Is there any chance of a soundtrack release of Play Misty For Me ever making it to CD? I too loved that underscore towards the end of the film where Eastwood is being stalked by Evelyn as well as the music that was playing over the radio where Evelyn tells Donna Mills' character "I hope he likes what he sees shen he walks in here....'cause that's what he's taking to Hell with him."
so does anybody no the name of that song in play misty for at the end when clint eastwood left the radio station at the end when he figured out it was evelyn?...I thought it was stan Kenton..i searched for music under dee barton but found nothing
I'd go for a Dee Barton 'Play Misty For Me'/ Thunderbolt and Lightfoot double header in an instant.
One for Intrada, perhaps?
That would be a great double header for sure! But it might not be possible because Thunderbolt was produced by Malpaso/MGM-UA and Misty by Malpaso/Universal. But perhaps it could be done because of the Malpaso connection? Intrada is the only soundtrack specialty label doing Malpaso titles so far.
And the new blu-ray indeed has an Isolated Music Track for Thunderbolt! I pre-ordered this but still hope Intrada will continue the Malpaso score series with a CD for Barton's music.
