A pretty accurate assessment, SilentWitness. In a few cases the cue/slate names are different but the content is as you specified.
A few new videos this morning. First up is Scott's wonderfully quirky end title from the 2003 film SMALL CUTS. I wish very much that I had access to this one but I believe the score must reside in London. Only the closing music was accessible to me, ripped from the DVD of the (pretty decent) film:
This one desperately needs a release, it's a totally different side of the composer really and makes me wish his career had found a second life in the arthouse world, if nowhere else. The love theme is gorgeous:
Next up is his Cousteau score, CLIPPERTON: THE ISLAND THAT TIME FORGOT. This is Scott doing his thing with aplomb, adding textural atmosphere and abundant melody to accompany a typically excellent Jacque Cousteau doc which itself is well worth watching (amazing how much tragedy and bad luck can befall such a seemingly unremarkable island). The main theme is as always a lingering ear-worm:
Beautiful indeed. I love what he does with the bass lines in his romantic music.
Not sure if it's mentioned in this thread, but his score to RUBY has the most wonderful, heartbreaking love theme.
I wonder what the cue name for the theme variation from SHOOT TO KILL may be. Could it have been another alternate main title? The timing fits pretty well, only that it goes on much longer than the actual scene.
Just wanted to thank you again for uploading all of these John Scott works. I've always considered him a favorite based only on "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Man on Fire," as well as a compilation I used to have. But your endless passion and dedication has greatly illuminated the scope of his genius for me. I am actually overwhelmed by how magnificent this all is...
In any case, I've listened to almost all of the suites and I love, love, LOVE everything. My favorite, probably, is "Gates of Freedom," which moved me to tears. After that, the closest one to my heart is probably "Hennessy," because I have a tremendous, unconditional love for that specific and distinctly 1970s style of long-lined melody Scott wrote for that. But again, I love everything. So many masterpieces!
I'm actually still reeling from everything you've posted so far (and I still have a couple more to listen to!). Thank you again!
Just wanted to thank you again for uploading all of these John Scott works. I've always considered him a favorite based only on "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Man on Fire," as well as a compilation I used to have. But your endless passion and dedication has greatly illuminated the scope of his genius for me. I am actually overwhelmed by how magnificent this all is...
In any case, I've listened to almost all of the suites and I love, love, LOVE everything. My favorite, probably, is "Gates of Freedom," which moved me to tears. After that, the closest one to my heart is probably "Hennessy," because I have a tremendous, unconditional love for that specific and distinctly 1970s style of long-lined melody Scott wrote for that. But again, I love everything. So many masterpieces!
I'm actually still reeling from everything you've posted so far (and I still have a couple more to listen to!). Thank you again!
Dylan, I had a feeling you would enjoy his expanded filmography and I'm thrilled to hear you feel the degree of connection and awe of this man's music as I. He truly is a singular talent and his gift for brilliant melody, lush harmony and dazzlingly intricate orchestration is, by my estimation, virtually without peer in filmdom. Discovering the annals of his obscurer work has been like discovering a language I always wished I'd know and can't believe I've only just stumbled upon in very recent years.
Agreed about "Gates of Freedom". It's so gorgeous and addictive. Like "Man on Fire" crossed with his Cousteau/Belem scores. I haven't had time to make them but I think you'll love the suites I'll be uploading eventually for 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA and BECOMING COLETTE, the later of which is a gorgeous period score and essentially his career equivalent of Williams' JANE EYRE or Bernstein's AGE OF INNOCENCE.
Since I know you love thematic horror scores a la Richard Band or Donaggio, you'd do well to check out the suite I just uploaded for his most recent feature film score, THE WICKER TREE. It's amazing to me that well into his 80's Scott has continued to compose music as memorable and intricate as this (the film itself is a real dog; if I'll be damned if I allow this to be Scott's final feature film bow):
I've also posted a suite from 1989's BLACK RAINBOW, which is about as dark, violent and sinister as Scott gets, really more in common with 20th century concert music than most film scores. The percussion writing is particularly arresting and imaginative. Yet another unreleased one but a score that has special meaning for John, as he composed it concurrently with his mother's final days and channeled a lot of the dread, uncertainty and helplessness he was feeling into the music:
And then of course LIONHEART is about as sweeping, heartfelt and exciting a score as one could hope for with action music as ballsy as it gets:
I remember over a decade ago seeing a featurette about "The Wicker Tree" that included some scoring session footage, and being absolutely astounded by how great the music sounded. Then I saw the trailer for the film and I couldn't believe how shoddy it looked (especially considering it's the same director as "The Wicker Man"), so I avoided it. I of course intended to check out Scott's score, but somehow I never did. But I listened to the suite... and good lord! It's absolutely magnificent, maybe the best horror score of the century.
"Black Rainbow" is amazing. I've been through the slow and painful loss of a parent, and I follow what you wrote about Scott channeling that dread here. This music definitely comes from that very dark, sad place. It's quite cathartic.
"Lionheart" is also amazing! And again, overwhelmingly so.
Again, his work is so consistently magnificent that I'm sort of speechless. Must keep listening to further and better articulate my impressions!
I would love to see "Gates of Freedom," but per your write-up it's not in circulation (if it was even completed). I wonder if it's floating around out there under a different title? But yeah, that's my personal favorite. I've probably listened to it a dozen times, or more. And even with so many listens, it's still hard to describe how it makes me feel. It's so romantic and uplifting, but there is a sense of loss and heartbreak as well. And it ultimately leaves me so incredibly hopeful.
I completely agree with your writing about Scott's inimitable gift for orchestration, melody, and harmony. You're doing the world a great service by putting more of his music out there. And I can't believe there is even more to come!
Three more goodies to share today. First up is his incredible theme from an otherwise rather inhospitable concert work known as DEATH OF THE INDIAN NATIONS (or "Red & White" as it is available commercially). It's a mostly dour work and spiky work depicting the death of various Plains Indians at the advent of America's westward expansion, but the noble main theme Scott wrote for the Native American people themselves is just an amazing. One can almost "sing" it, as with so many of his works:
DEATH OF THE INDIAN NATIONS (main theme)
Next up is a lengthy suite from 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA which is about as rich as adventure scoring gets. There is such an incredible abundance of themes and as always, the orchestration dazzles the ear. Don't let the Korngoldian pomp that opens the suite fool you, the music deals with some incredibly grounded and complicated human emotions every bit as much as it does address the overarching concept of adventure. In musical terms, this is maybe the "most Jules Verne-sounding" of any score I've ever heard. It captures the essence of his writing quite brilliantly, as well as the 18th century sense of wonderment:
20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA
Last for today is a suite from his unreleased score to the jacque Cousteau documentary CUBA: WATERS OF FREEDOM. Written the same year as Harem, King Kong Lives and Man on Fire, it is one of his most flavorful Cousteau efforts with a wonderful title theme that feels like a Latin-born version of "The Final Countdown". Scott's balance of impressionistic orchestral music with Cuban-flavored percussion and dance rhythms is an intoxicating blend that works far better than you'd expect:
Brilliant stuff bobb (as usual). That Death of the Indian Nations piece is available on a french live concert 2CD (Concert por l'adventure or something like that). It is quite challenging and intense music that requires patience. You won't love it after one or two listens. Much like his Colchester Symphony. Keep this up bobb, you're making many John Scott fans very happy Kev McG
Thanks for all this great music and your stories Bob. Invaluable for somebody like me, having never had the opportunity to see most of the productions Scott has scored. I've only in the last few years really started to appreciate his work (other then The Deceivers, which i always loved). You can only help grow a greater and deserved appreciation of his work. Having subscribed to your YouTube channel, I can't wait to listen to everything you've posted. Cheers.
With my Bluetooth the sound of all these selections is wonderful. Your post this month, when most of the world is in lockdown, is so uplifting. Thanks again, Bob.
I had the pleasure in 1985 of seeing John conduct a suite from "Greystoke" at the long lamented FILMHARMONIC. It got such a great response. He also stepped up to conduct some work among others by Maurice Jarre and Anton Garcia Abril. Also there on the night was John Williams. But I have to say "Greystoke" shone.
John Scott Cousteau Cape Horn (1986) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
I have been playing this track off Bob's youtube page on a loop. It's fantastic.
There's an early part that puts me in mind of the later score for Perfume: Story of a Murderer by Klimek, Heil, Tykwer, and it has a touch of the beautiful desolation of that puts me in mind of Vaughan William's Sinfonia Antarctica
You probably don’t know that Scott also wrote original music (what little there was) during the strike season of DALLAS (the 1980-81 season with the “Who Shot JR?” storyline).
You probably don’t know that Scott also wrote original music (what little there was) during the strike season of DALLAS (the 1980-81 season with the “Who Shot JR?” storyline).
14 episodes of "Dallas" are listed on Scott's IMDB.
Meanwhile, bobbengan, thank you so much for continuing to post one rare/unreleased masterpiece after another. "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" in particular is absolutely breathtaking...
I could be wrong, but I believe the music used in that DALLAS episode were library pieces that John had composed for Bruton or one of those labels like that, and not original scoring. I've never asked him. Someone more informed might be able to advise (speaking of which, I also have quite a lot of Scott's purely-orchestral library music and will likely be uploading a suite of that stuff in the near future, also).
Dylan, I wholeheartedly agree with you about 20,000 LEAGUES. I love this score both musically and as a symphonic ode to Jules Vernes' work, whose essence it captures perfectly. It is also a primo example of how Scott manages to make smaller, character-driven "dialogue underscore" cues sound as interesting, sophisticated and poetic as the 'bigger' moments. Almost no other film composer achieves that (for me, anyway). The cues "Nemo's World" (1:14), "Dry Land" (7:04), and especially the duo of "A Proposal of Marriage" (20:47) and "Pearls" (23:30) in the below video brilliantly exemplify this... While most composers would have sufficed to pen a few sparse echoey piano notes and string sustains for 'background character interaction scoring' Scott instead takes as opportunities to write these ravishing mini-tone poems.
This is one of those scores I wish Scott has released complete... In particular there's one utterly stellar, soaring cue he inexplicably left off his JOS album release, for whatever reason, from about halfway through the film. I would have happily traded one of the later suspense cues in the film for that one on the CD. Ah well.
Dylan, if you haven't gotten around to it yet, do check out BECOMING COLETTE as well. This one is a gorgeous period romance/tragedy score. Highly classy and dramatic stuff with a strong late-romantic influence and a wonderful love theme:
Wouldn't it be great if bobb could get a project off the ground and enlist the talents of John Scott to score it (as it seems he is endeavouring to do). It would be a lovely flourish for and from the maestro to lend his considerable talents to something AND someone who would so appreciate it. And I'd be first in line to buy the CD release of it
You'd mentioned this score a few posts above and I'd taken note. This is absolutely one of his best. Great love theme. Heartbreakingly lush music. Curious if Danny Huston considered hiring Scott to score any of his subsequent films, not that there are many.
Bobbengan, who represents Scott, out of curiosity? Does he have an agent? And is Scott still interested in scoring films? Does he get many offers?
In regards to "20,000 Leagues," I agree with you completely on how "grand" the cues supporting dialogue-driven scenes are. At the moment, Herrmann comes to mind as having done this, but it's a very tricky approach to write something so big and yet delicate enough that it fits snug underneath dialogue.
Thank you again for continuing to make one masterpiece after another available. I also just listened to your personal "Antony and Cleopatra" suite, which is by and far the best presentation of that score I've ever heard.
