Join us here on Tuesday for our newest Intrada CD release, turning the wheels backwards many decades to examine some exciting orchestral music from a period Disney film. We get mail asking us to pay attention to the legendary studio’s vintage years and not just their post-70’s soundtracks so for you folks - and everyone else, of course - here’s one from yesteryear.
And in a more-recent yesteryear tidbit, dating from 1995, and one just for fun, Jeff and I were processing orders during a summer afternoon when the phone rang. I reached out to answer it. Jerry Goldsmith was on the other end. His hello was brief and he jumped right into the purpose of his call. How were the sales on the new CD for First Knight? For anyone wondering if he cared about such things, the call kinda proves he did… albeit with qualifications. I said it was doing well, having literally just come in stock. I then told him the activity on Congo was also doing well. That’s the movie of his that came out I think just a few weeks prior to First Knight. He literally said “I don’t care about that one. I’m just wondering about First Knight.” Hence the qualifications. Sometimes he cared about how well his music was being received. Sometimes he didn’t.
And in a more-recent yesteryear tidbit, dating from 1995, and one just for fun, Jeff and I were processing orders during a summer afternoon when the phone rang. I reached out to answer it. Jerry Goldsmith was on the other end. His hello was brief and he jumped right into the purpose of his call. How were the sales on the new CD for First Knight? For anyone wondering if he cared about such things, the call kinda proves he did… albeit with qualifications. I said it was doing well, having literally just come in stock. I then told him the activity on Congo was also doing well. That’s the movie of his that came out I think just a few weeks prior to First Knight. He literally said “I don’t care about that one. I’m just wondering about First Knight.” Hence the qualifications. Sometimes he cared about how well his music was being received. Sometimes he didn’t.
His hello was brief and he jumped right into the purpose of his call. How were the sales on the new CD for First Knight? For anyone wondering if he cared about such things, the call kinda proves he did… albeit with qualifications.
Maybe he was checking its popularity before constructing his subsequent concert suite.
I'm not surprised. First Knight was a beautiful score, obviously close to Goldsmith's heart. I remember working on the tv campaign for the film when the studio sent over the original score "hot off the presses." We were all just dumbfounded: it really opened up the film's action and romance in a significant way. When the film itself was test screened a few nights later with the new score audiences noticed it and specifically mentioned it as a huge positive for the movie, which is unusual for underscore rather than songs. One commenter on a response card was reminded of Star Wars in how it delivered a sense of old-school romantic adventure. We ended up reworking several spots to feature Goldsmith's score.
First Knight is the last Goldsmith score that I personally loved. He did fine work after that but it seemed professional rather than inspired.
I'm not surprised. First Knight was a beautiful score, obviously close to Goldsmith's heart. I remember working on the tv campaign for the film when the studio sent over the original score "hot off the presses." We were all just dumbfounded: it really opened up the film's action and romance in a significant way. When the film itself was test screened a few nights later with the new score audiences noticed it and specifically mentioned it as a huge positive for the movie, which is unusual for underscore rather than songs. One commenter on a response card was reminded of Star Wars in how it delivered a sense of old-school romantic adventure. We ended up reworking several spots to feature Goldsmith's score.
First Knight is the last Goldsmith score that I personally loved. He did fine work after that but it seemed professional rather than inspired.
I had a JOHNNY TREMAIN record and marched around to "The Sons of Liberty" way before collecting soundtracks. 1957? I must have been 6. Disney, Jerry Lewis/Danny Kaye and then monster movies were my entire cinematic world.
Not to mention the LP program was already released on CD by FSM and it doesn't fit the clue of half the original LP having little interest to film music collectors.
