You could as easily say that North was influenced by Barry's 'Zulu' with that use of brass, or whatever. I'm not sure there are that many similarities.
Goldsmith was very aware of Alex North, and I would imagine the odds of him watching "Africa" on TV may have been higher than going to see "Zulu" in the theatre.
For many years, when people mentioned how they could hear strains of Alex North music in some Goldsmith compositions, I always rejected the notion, as I could never hear that much similarity between the two composers' individual styles. These days, having become much more accustomed with North's music - and finding it so much more accessible as a result - I can't listen to a North score now without hearing, quite clearly, the strains of Goldsmith's style embedded in the DNA of the music. I find it amazing that I couldn't detect it in my younger years. Playing CLEOPATRA yesterday was like listening to a new Goldsmith score at times, such was the stylistic similarities during certain moments. It's like Goldsmith took the more jagged, atonal style North employed and smoothed around the edges and made it more 'easy to swallow' if you will. I know none of this is news to many and Goldsmith himself never hid or denied his admiration towards his close friend's music, but it's fascinating to me, nonetheless.
Well, in my defence Mr Z, I came in at entry level late 70s John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith and back then there was also the likes of John Barry, Maurice Jarre, Elmer Bernstein, Ennio Morricone, Laurence Rosenthal et al firing on all cylinders. Not to mention the (then) new kids on the block such as Basil Poledouris, James Horner, Bruce Broughton, Lee Holdridge and such to keep me on my toes. Plus, North's music required much more effort on my part. But thanks for those recommendations, I will seek them out and report back in due time.
Well, in my defence Mr Z, I came in at entry level late 70s John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith and back then there was also the likes of ... Elmer Bernstein...
Plus, North's music required much more effort on my part.
Sure, I realize. [but your 'rediscovery' of Jerry Fielding or John Scott happened much sooner than your new North odyssey]
Excavating 'backwards' started early with me; 35 years ago, I was hunting down LPs of George Duning & Sol Kaplan after attaining age 18. By the late '80s, I had LPs of Alex North, Andre Previn & ... Elmer Bernstein. I don't refer here to The Black Cauldron Elmer but rather the Summer & Smoke Elmer. One day in 1988, I went into a used record shop and got myself a mono RCA on Elmer's Summer & Smoke, a mono UA Two for the See Saw by Previn plus a stereo Warner Bros on Frankel's Battle of the Bulge. I was getting into 1950s Bernstein such as Drango whilst still in my early 20s.
So ... when I read posts wherein Kev McGann states he's unable to connect with young Elmer's late-'50s music, the outlook seems gloomy for other composers who've toiled during that era - such as North.
Good luck on your trek North - Alex has different idioms & I hope his sultry/sleazy/jazzy William Faulkner modes don't turn you off too much or too soon.
Excavating 'backwards' started early with me; 35 years ago, I was hunting down LPs of George Duning & Sol Kaplan after attaining age 18. By the late '80s, I had LPs of Alex North, Andre Previn & ... Elmer Bernstein. I don't refer here to The Black Cauldron Elmer but rather the Summer & Smoke Elmer.
I am curious, does anyone know if Africa can be watched online? It would have been cool to see how North's score plays in context.
I'm afraid not.
Depends upon what entity is the current holder/owner of the elements.
My understanding, though, is that North's 4-movement "Symphony for a New Continent" is available from its publisher in manuscript form for performance rental. Either a classical album producer or a soundtrack album producer could rent this "Africa" symphony for a new recording.
Parts of it do sound like they could have inspired PLANET OF THE APES but I think it's more likely that both of them reside in a period of time when musical experimentation was in style. All the obvious ones like Arnold Schoenberg, John Cage, and Henry Cowell, but even Lou Harrison (I talk about him often) was experimenting with percussion and microtonalities as far back as the 50s. There are even parts of AFRICA that resemble Harrison's gamelan music and little melodic lines that follow scales found in the Balinese music Harrison explored (12:37-onward in the attached video):
I can't really comment on Alex North's influence on Goldsmith because I'm not familiar enough with North, but hearing AFRICA and PLANET OF THE APES, I do see those pop-culture tendencies of the time (at least with what was going on in the "classical" world). It's pretty much like the electronic ambient music of today, although the 20th century avant-garde/experimental music was driven more from an academic perspective, whereas now it's formulaic for the market.
"So when I read posts wherein KM states he's unable to connect with young Elmer's late '50s music..." ------------------------------------------------------- "You go ahead Zee...I'm done for...I'll only slow you down...save yourself..."
Don't forget we're all wired so differently Z. We might be similar ages, but your jumping off point might be so alternate to mine. You have no John Williams or Basil Poledouris or James Horner affiliations, so we were obviously watching different fillums and digging their respective scores during the 70s and 80s. It's that diversity that brings us to this hunting ground and unites us. Yes, I caught back up with John Scott* and Jerry Fielding* when the current movie scores started to bore me to tears, but I had so much other stuff to listen to back in dem days that there just wasn't enough time to hear it all at the time. And I doubt I will ever be a bona fide fan or completist of his, but I deffo have more inkling to listen to some unheard Alex North score these days than some new thing by Lorne Balfe or some other computer programmer. I look forward to YOUR Jay Dubya and Jimmy Horner journey/odyssey
*although I did know of them and owned the odd LP or three.
You have no John Williams or Basil Poledouris or James Horner affiliations, so we were obviously watching different fillums and digging their respective scores during the 70s and 80s. It's that diversity that brings us to this hunting ground and unites us. Yes, I caught back up with John Scott* and Jerry Fielding* when the current movie scores started to bore me to tears, but I had so much other stuff to listen to back in dem days that there just wasn't enough time to hear it all at the time. And I doubt I will ever be a bona fide fan or completist of his, but I deffo have more inkling to listen to some unheard Alex North score these days than some new thing by Lorne Balfe or some other computer programmer. I look forward to YOUR Jay Dubya and Jimmy Horner journey/odyssey
Actually, I did have my Williams, Poledouris, Horner, Barry, etc. odysseys during the late '80s/early '90s, too. I still own around 47 or 48 albums by John(ny) Williams, but Images is the only Williams within my Top 50. When Intrada was new, I had gotten (by '87) their LP on Red Dawn ... and I also bought RoboCop & Farewell to the King when they were new releases, so I liked Poledouris early on. Not so much anymore.
Never been a Horner fan, even though I kept trying by getting Where the River Runs Black, Willow & Glory. I still have some Horner titles left, such as The New World & House of Sand and Fog, but I purged most of my Horners from my collection. Same with John Barry. During the late '80s, I had most of the '60s John Barry LPs; now, there are only about a half-dozen of Barry's albums. Rarely do I listen to any of these guys' music anymore. Conversely, I still listen to Alex North's Africa and Jerry Goldsmith's POTA after all these years - they continue to be welcomed by me. These are both permanent residents.
