Revisiting Lord Jim tonight, I'd venture to say it's my favorite Kaper score. With its beautiful, yearning melodies, exuberant romps and thoughtful orchestration, Kaper's earnest brand of exotica sets the scene without veering into lounge/pop/camp territory (not that there's anything wrong with that). A true classic.
The Love Theme, "The Color of Love" must be one of the loveliest melodies ever written for films. Unfortunately it remains little-known. Lyrics were put to the tune by Bob Russell, and it was released on a 45-rpm single with vocal by Vikki Carr -
I agree with all the above and still cherish my LP with it's eye-catching cover design. It's a pity that more of the score could not be recovered. Kaper was writing at a time when the sun was starting to set on the heavyweight lush romantic film score, with all it's characteristic profundity of emotional expression and melodic generosity. In truth though, such scoring would probably be out of place with the style of contemporary film making where a systematic approach seems endemic. In my view, the contemporary film score with it's emphasis on sound-design, pulse and the genre-plagiarizing demands of studios, has been knocked back in importance in the last several decades to the point where it is now an entirely different aesthetic from the Lord Jim's of the past. Best not to despair though and instead think back to the way John Williams restored the then atrophying grand film score back to melodic life - it could happen again at a cinema near you! But be patient.
This brilliant video has probably been posted elsewhere on this site, but for those unfamiliar with it .......
