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Posted: |
Dec 26, 2007 - 9:37 PM
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By: |
Alex Klein
(Member)
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UPDATED AS OF JANUARY, 2010
It's 2010 and we're still SERIOUSLY lacking a great number of Barry classics and obscure gems. But, given Intrada's ground-breaking deals with Disney and Universal, coupled with La-Land's it-can't-be-true deal with Paramount, we could be looking forward to an amazing year with Barry releases. So, get ready for my yearly Barry wishlist. Under each film name, in parenthesis, you will find the possible reason that has deterred us from a CD release of the score and/or the label who might make us jump with joy this year.
The must-have Barry unreleased scores are in Bold
Here we go:
1960s (Barry's GOLDEN years):
What a decade. It seemed like Barry's musical gifts were just waiting to burst out - and they did, spanning what is among the most impressive decades in a film composer's career in film music history. Brass-dominated and jazzy scores with highly original instrumentations eventually gave way to a more lyrical and melancholic sound (eg. The Appointment and Midnight Cowboy).
Here's a short list of unreleased scores:
- Seance On A Wet Afternoon
(Lack of master elements)
Barry's second collaboration with Bryan Forbes - and an excellent one, as well. One of Barry's first innovative, experimental scores. Unique instrumentation and melodic content - eerie music at its very best.
A good portion of the score was re-recorded for the Walkabout Silva Screen release, and very well done, but we NEED the original tracks!
- Man In The Middle
(an Intrada possibility!!)
The score is a mixture of Lionel Bart, John Barry and previously written source music.
However, the Barry tracks are worth the price alone, especially "Chicken Delhi Cold", a beautiful piece for harp and oboe, one of the composer's early melodic treasures.
It was released on LP by 20th Century Fox Records. The total running time is so short that this would make for a perfect double-header with another score coming from the Fox vaults. Labels are probably not very interested in such an obscure score with such small contributions from Barry, but it should still be considered as a good candidate for a CD release this year.
- Mister Moses
(lack of master elements)
Barry's most exotic portray of Africa, with great percussion, big brassy sounds and the composer's trademark melodic writing. Makes Zulu seem like an essay!
A United Artists Picture - no score release whatsoever, except for a good re-recorded suite done for the Silva Zulu re-recording. Intrada's Doug Fake has repeatedly lamented the lack of tapes for this treasure.
- The Wrong Box
(lack of, and/or poor condition of tapes?)
A delightful listen from beginning to end. The main theme is a beautiful Barry classic, and the light-hearted underscore makes it a must.
The LP was released by Columbia, but a supposed and much-talked-about CD release by Sony Legacy was cancelled in the 1990s - no word from this wonderful score ever since.
Boom
(lack of paperwork in universal for the rights clearance)
Another Barry classic. Perhaps one of the truly unique Barry scores yet to be discovered by many. Very dark, at times psychedelic, cold and even exotic. Barry never returned to such an original harmonic scheme; it is completely unique in the composer's career. It is perhaps the most underrated Barry score.
The LP was released by MCA, but given the recent Intrada MCA releases, this could be a possibility. However, Roger Feigelson said universal has no paperwork whatsoever on Boom, making the rights clearance an impossibility. I can't help to ask a child-minded question: why not just do some new paperwork and get the thing cleared for a release?
1970s
The strangest decade in Barry's career, it gave way to the usual lyrical scores and themes but also to a dark and unusually dissonant sound, seldom seen in the composer's previous efforts. It is the decade in Barry's career with the most unreleased scores.
Here's a short list:
Follow Me
(rights issues?/ an Intrada possibility)
A Barry classic. A dark, dreamy and groovy score. The composer in psychedelic mode!
It's the type of music Barry will never write again.
The LP was released by MCA, and it definitely is at the top of my Intrada-possibilities list. The problem with this score is the following: the known LP release was limited to the japanese market. Apparently, this has proven to be an obstacle for a CD release (don't ask me why).
Mary, Queen Of Scots
Nominated for an Oscar, this third entry in Barry's quartet of historical films (the first two being The Lion in Winter and The Last Valley) is a perfect example of the lush and lyrical musical voice that would characterize the composer's overall style for the next two decades (and to this day). The main theme was originally scored for full orchestra and solo harpsichord (a very prominent instrument in Barry's 60s scores that would gradually disappear from the composer's palette), but was later arranged for solo violin. A secondary theme saw Barry in fanfare mode, beautifully capturing the epic character that has characterized royal music in history. To round it off, the composer wrote what can now be considered one of his most beautiful (and underrated) songs: Vivre et Mourir, a tender pastoral composition that summarizes the essence of the film's main character. Intrada made this dream come true when they released this wonderful score in 2008, and despite complaints regarding the 27-minute album, filled this important cap in John Barry's discography.
RELEASED BY INTRADA, 2008!!
They Might Be Giants
(An Intrada possibility!)
Yes, another classic. The theme is a beautiful composition and the score contains a classic Barry march.
There has been no release whatsoever (appart from a quite wonderful re-recorded track from the Silva Walkabout album). The film was released by Universal. James Fitzpatrick had initial ideas for a complete re-recording until he realized composer/orchestrator Ken Thorne's musical voice was as prominent in the score as Barry's own. However, Intrada now has access to Universal's vaults....are you thinking what i'm thinking?
Lolita My Love
(lack of recording)
Ironically, the best musical Barry ever wrote, and we still have no releases whatsoever. It had a planned release for LP by Columbia but it was cancelled due to the musical's disastrous reception. Barry's songs in this effort easily surpass his efforts for Passion Flower Hotel, Billy and Brighton Rock.
The Dove
(Rights issues)
A lovely Barry gem. A great title song (Sail The Summer Winds), and a varied, delightful underscore.
The LP was released by ABC records, and according to Roger Feigelson, Intrada was denied the rights clearance because Paramount's rules dictate that any re-issue of the LP must be released by a label called ABC (this is not a joke). However, given La-Land's recent miracle with the Paramount vaults, we could be talking about a complete score release this year!!
The Tamarind Seed
(lost master tapes)
A much-loved Barry espionage score that has never seen the light of day in any form (appart from a re-recorded suite from Silva). Not as good as the Bond scores or the composer's other 60s spy scores, but still a notable effort with some melodic gems.
Silva Screen apparently had a deal to release the score, but the tapes disappeared from the vaults, making the release an impossibility. There ARE bootlegs with good quality floating around, and if you ask me (plus many Barryphiles), i'd be perfectly content with an official release mastered from these sources.
Day Of The Locust
(A La-La Land possibility!!)
A beautiful main theme for harp and flute in the best Barry tradition. A good dose of Barry's trademark source cues (much missed in his 90s scores), and an early example of the composer's foray into string dissonance is the icing on the cake.
The LP was released by Decca, but the film was done by Paramount. Anything is possible these days, and La-Land could bring us a complete score release this year!
Americans
(Rights issues)
Barry's best concept album. It basically is an underscore of the many images of the United States. In Barry's own words: "In a strange way, it was about the superficiality of American life, but it was also done with a lot of love". A great jazz album from beginning to end, the kind of projects we all wish the composer were tackling these days. A must have.
The LP was released by Polydor, but apparently the rights issue is a royal mess, with no clue whatsoever - and hopes for a release are slim, as well.
RELEASED BY UNIVERSAL FRANCE, 2009!!
The Deep
(Intrada?)
Worth the price alone is the long suite (unnecessarily referred to as a ballet on the LP tracklist) containing Barry's unusually dissonant depiction of sea danger. Along with Boom, it's one of the composer's most challenging scores.
The LP was released by Casablanca, but appart from the aforementioned suite/ballet, the album is quite disappointing, score-wise. Rumours were flying that this score would see the light of day last year, but obviously it never came. Intrada could be put off with a straight LP re-issue considering the small amount of score it contains.
The Betsy
(Rights issues, possible missing masters)
This score is an overlooked effort. The main theme is a beauty, among Barry's most soothing compositions in the 1970s (pay close attention to that gorgeous sax line). The perfect music for a late-night dinner or a romantic moment with your loved one.
No LP release, nothing!! A nice re-recording of the main theme can be found on Silva's Walkabout release. Apparently, CBS is somehow related to the film's rights, but the legal situation could be a royal mess.
The Corn Is Green
(An FSM possibility!!)
Even though there's not much music in the film, the few minutes of it are worth preserving. It's a nice, string-dominated theme in the best Barry tradition.
No LP release, but the theme was re-recorded for the Silva Walkabout CD. The film was released by Warner Brothers so the tapes, if still in good condition, are probably waiting for the world-famous Lukas Kendall to pick them up and release the short score as a bonus (or double header) with another score. Fingers still crossed on this one!!
Hanover Street
What better than Barry scoring a romantic film? Despite a very memorable theme, the score remained completely unreleased for three decades. Nic Raine reconstructed and provided us with a short suite of the score back in the 90s for a Silva compilation, and despite some mistakes in the string lines, it is a highlight among Silva's re-recordings. The theme is Barry in comfort zone: It is in C major and the harmony is completely diatonic (eg. Indecent Proposal), and yet it captures the beauty that many of today's similar efforts fail at getting. Varése Sarabande rightly called this one a classic and a holy grail when they released it in early 2009.
RELEASED BY VARÉSE SARABANDE, 2009!!
The Black Hole
(one word: DISNEY)
John Barry's grandest space opus. Without question, one of film music's highlights of the decade. A powerful overture, brassy action music, a sinister robotic march, and ecstasy and catharsis itself in the musical depiction of entering the black hole. Priceless.
The same old story. Disney released an LP that is completely missing the robot march. The score was released via iTunes in 2008 in its LP form, but this clearly was far from satisfying. Intrada seems to be the only hope, but I still have this sentence sealed in my mind: "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we're not doing The Black Hole" - Roger Feigelson
1980s
A relatively low-key decade for the composer, despite grand moments with Out Of Africa, Body Heat and the last Bond scores of his career. It's still filled with a number of obscure gems.
Here's another short list:
Legend Of The Lone Ranger
(an Intrada possibility!!)
A well conceived western score. One of the last Barry scores to contain unashamedly adventurous music. This, coupled with the usual first-rate lyrical moments.
The LP was released by MCA, and i'm quite frankly waiting for Intrada to release it. It is a personal favorite of Doug Fake, and given their recent deal with Universal, this score HAS to see the light of day.
Bells: Murder By Phone
(Rights issues, possible lack of interest and tapes)
I'm listing this one because it's one of the composer's oddest efforts. It's a completely synthesized score, and it's a horror movie - the only one in this category to be on JB's filmography. The main theme is a curious mixture of out-dated synths, all in horror mode. Most of the underscore is quite subtle, and, as Barry might put it, it works "in a strange way".
There has been no CD or DVD release whatsoever (no wonder when the film's tagline is: "Your phone can pierce your brain, explode your heart and jolt you ten feet in the air!"). Only a re-recorded theme that my cousin did that I "published" on this board a year ago or so is available.
The rights situation must be a true mess: "A New World Pictures Release, with the participation of the Canadian Film Corporation and The Famous Players Limited". And given that this is one of the composer's most obscure of obscurities, it will likely stay that way forever (how different would it be if it carried the name Goldsmith? Oh yes). A shame.
The Golden Seal
One of the rare occasions of Barry collaborating with another composer (Don Walker and Ken Thorne being the others) is also one of the composer's main highlights in the 80s. The composer seemed inspired enough by the film's subject to write two memorable themes and leave some thematic material for collaborator Dana Kaproff to work with. It must be mentioned that Kaproff also composed original material and managed to keep the score as a cohesive whole (avoiding the two composers' personal styles to clash). Intrada released this gem in 2009 and deserves a big applause from the film music community. Note: The album doesn't name conductor credits. Kaproff conducted most of the score but Barry took the baton to conduct "The Frolic", which without question is the score's main highlight.
RELEASED BY INTRADA ON 2009!!
Mike's Murder
A low-key score for a low-key movie. Barry aptly combines simple romantic underscore (the score itself begins with a solo piano performing the C major scale, a very direct confession of the composer's decision to establish himself on simple musical grounds) and a sleazy jazz sound, both trademark Barry musical tools. Not a classic by any means, but to quote an overused film music cliché (that fans alter to include their favorite composer's name): "Barry on auto-pilot is usually better than....".
RELEASED BY PROMETHEUS, 2009!!
My Sister's Keeper
(Rights issues, possible missing tapes)
This is a must have. Barry wrote one of the most unique themes of the decade for harmonica and strings, filled with great harmonic twists. The lflute and strings ove theme stands among Barry's greatest, and couple that with a superb guitar blues piece used as source music and you have a gold Barry album. Also, the suspense music is some of the most intense and frightening in Barry's career; it's the only time he's used the harmonica to create tension, and he does it with great effect. All this, in one score, makes you wonder why it is seldom talked about in the film music community (and even Barry fansites).
There has been no release whatsoever, and despite a wonderful suite re-recorded for the Silva Zulu album, a complete CD release is still very much needed. But the film is virtually unknown, despite having Peter Weller and Kathy Baker in it (and not being a terrible movie, either). The rights situation must be a mess. Credited to Hemdale Film and Tomorrow Entertainment, the film has been released on DVD with countless different covers (their legitimacy being in question). But since there's a b**t flying around with acceptable sound, it makes one wonder (and hope) that tapes actually exist. I suspect close to nothing has been done to rescue this beautiful, overlooked masterpiece.
Howard The Duck
(an Intrada possibility!!!)
I love this score. Barry is known to hate it, and probably every single crew and cast member in the film's making wish they had never participated in such a dreadful project. Obviously that's the reason why the score hasn't seen a CD release. But Barry's score is a must. It's one of the last examples of Barry in action mode, and it's coupled with a rather delightful love theme and a wonderful uplifting, string and brass-dominated triumphant one as well (and more music that never got the LP treatment). It's an overlooked gem.
The score was released by MCA, but given that a good portion of it contains songs, the rights situation must be a nightmare. However, Intrada cracked Universal, so we could be talking about a CD release this year. PLEASE!!
1990s
Fortunately, all of the films Barry scored got a CD release, with the exception of "WITNESS", the obscure, early 90s film short dealing with WWII that contains a 15-minute score worth preserving.
And that's about it. I know I missed many gems here and there (but nobody will probably read the whole post anyway): the 60s had A Jolly Good Fellow with a wonderfully cheesy theme, (receiving a superb performance by Barry collaborator organist Alan Haven). Plus other scores, with not much material, but worth every note: The L-Shaped Room (wonderful jazz cues), Never Let Go, Dutchman (wonderful, experimental Barry), The Amorous Prawn, etc.
The 70s had A Doll's House, Love Among The Ruins, The Glass Menagerie (is it too much trouble to get an average pianist and record and license the themes?), Eleanor & Franklin, The Gathering, War Of The Tates, Willa, etc.
And the 80s had Touched By Love, Inside Moves, Svengali (with Jodie Foster on vocals).
Worth mentioning are the existing CD releases (Quiller Memorandum, Jagged Edge) that would benefit from re-issues and expansion (Peggy Sue Got Married, The Cotton Club, Moonraker, etc).
All in all, a wake up call (hopefully) to start giving this great body of unreleased material some attention.
I just wish to express my love and concern for this beautiful music.
Alex
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Posted: |
Dec 27, 2007 - 10:01 AM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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Not quite.
Jerry Goldsmith's career is very well represented on CD. All of Goldsmith's career highlights (with very few exceptions) have gotten a well-deserved and produced CD releases (a COMPLETE Alien and Wind & The Lion? Are you kidding??!!) plus we're getting the top-notch Early Years Volumes. If you ask me (and any other sane person), there's not much Goldsmith we can keep asking for.
And forgive me, but John Williams has a great amount of his work on CD. And there are no Williams masterpieces unreleased (plus, ALL of his scores from 1977 are released on CD. You can't compare).
The gaps in Barry's filmography are shameful.
Alex
I agree. Of the three gentlemen, Goldsmith is by far the best represented on disc.
Williams, however, has a large portion of unreleased material. Whether those things are "masterpieces" is hard to say, as I've never heard them. I would think they're just as much masterpieces as the missing Barry scores, though.
In either case, there's no point in making this a debate over whose favourite composers is least represented or deserves the most attention. All of them have fairly extensive discographies, but also have several "holes" that need to be filled.
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Posted: |
Dec 27, 2007 - 10:06 AM
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By: |
Alex Klein
(Member)
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I agree. Of the three gentlemen, Goldsmith is by far the best represented on disc.
Williams, however, has a large portion of unreleased material. Whether those things are "masterpieces" is hard to say, as I've never heard them. I would think they're just as much masterpieces as the missing Barry scores, though.
In either case, there's no point in making this a debate over whose favourite composers is least represented or deserves the most attention. All of them have fairly extensive discographies, but also have several "holes" that need to be filled.
I agree with the last part, but you can't compare an unreleased work like the Oscar-nominated Mary Queen Of Scots with something like Daddy-O. Even if you hate Barry's music, you can't put such a work in the same league as unreleased Johnny Williams.
Alex
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They Might Be Giants
(Rights issues and missing tapes)
I thought Ken Thorne had tapes of this? I could be wrong. Ken Thorne certainly had the Murphy's War tapes. Ford Thaxton would probably know.
Lolita My Love
(rights issues, probably)
More probably that it was never recorded. The unofficial LP that went round was taped live off the theatre sound system and by no means constitutes a releasable recording.
The Deep
(Rights Issue]
I don't think this is rights issues, I suspect it's more a studio enthusiasm thing. I have it on fairly good authority that one of our favourite labels tried to license this and even got Barry's support to do so but the studio weren't interested in participating. But I could be wrong, sometimes good authorities are wrong.
The Black Hole
(one word: DISNEY)
Disney have released this - it's just that it's only on i-Tunes, not CD.
My Sister's Keeper
(Rights issue, possible missing tapes)
I think I was told that Silva Screen had the tapes for this score when a release was being considered, back when the film was new. I could be wrong about that and am happy to be corrected by someone who knows better. This is probably the most do-able of all the Barry scores as I doubt the tapes are lost and I doubt there's a rights issue on it.
Adding to this:
Though Barry's personal copies of tapes recorded before moving to the USA are reportedly lost, I'd be surprised if he doesn't have copies of most of his recordings post 1975, or at least post 1980 when he settled down in the US.
I recall reading a story by William Fraker's son where he recalls Barry putting on a tape of Monte Walsh (before FSM released it). And that isn't even a "USA-era" recording.
And to answer an earlier question, I was told that The Tamarind Seed was copied onto a cassette (allegedly by Barry) for a fan back in the seventies. Same goes for The Glass Menagerie. Silva Screen failed to locate the original masters when they got access to the Carlton catalogue, so the master tapes may have been lost in the intervening years but that cassette would pre-date that.
I think the trouble with Barry is that he didn't have a lasting relationship with a studio like Fox. Many of his film scored were for smaller film companies that sunk, got acquired, etc. That's probably why much of his stuff is hard to locate and license.
Cheers
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Posted: |
Dec 27, 2007 - 11:06 AM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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I agree with the last part, but you can't compare an unreleased work like the Oscar-nominated Mary Queen Of Scots with something like Daddy-O. Even if you hate Barry's music, you can't put such a work in the same league as unreleased Johnny Williams.
Well, that's not a fair comparison. First of all, I could just as easily have said that you can't put a work like SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON in the same league as unreleased Williams gems such as NONE BUT THE BRAVE or FAMILY PLOT or BLACK SUNDAY. Second, MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS HAS received an LP release (and suites on CD), so it's not like it's totally unavailable. Third, it all comes down to our favourite artists. For example, I don't care that MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS has been Oscar-nominated. To me, a release of DADDY-O would be far more important, as Williams is my favourite composer and Barry is not.
BUT - as I said above - let's just leave it at the statement that both our favourite composers have had many scores released, but that there are still quite a few unreleased gems.
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