SFPM Tribute To Jerry Goldsmith
 
 

Back in 1993 if you were lucky enough to have been invited to The Society for the Preservation of Film Music's tribute to Jerry Goldsmith you would have been one of the recipients to have received one of the 500 copies of this CD. At the time the content was almost the Holy Grail of unreleased Jerry Goldsmith film music. Produced by Intrada supremo Douglas Fake, it showcased highlights from ultra rare scores that had been sort after but remained unreleased then and for some years later. These were the days before the Internet and that modern marvel of communication - Email. So when news started to filter across the globe to soundtrack fans, who had no hope of attending the gala evening, the race was on to try and source a copy. Some who had advertised in the SPFM programme were lucky enough to receive a copy, others purchased copies at exorbitant prices from local soundtrack dealers who got hold of a handful of these almost mythical discs from somewhere!

It's difficult to put into words what an event this disc was then, as we have come accustomed to seeing rare and previously unreleased scores get issued. But at the time this was the biggest soundtrack event for a Goldsmith fan who up until this point had only dreamed of listening to some of these scores. Admittedly in 2004 the excitement surrounding this release and obtaining a copy has waned slightly as three of the scores have been properly preserved in complete form. But one remains elusive and the selection from Disney's Baby is still a jaw dropping proposition and reason to seek out this disc.

The disc opens with selections from one of Goldsmith's finest scores for the American mid west. A genre that Goldsmith would visit and re-visit in both film and TV throughout the 60's and 70's. The Flim Flam Man, a likable caper with George C Scott, featured a tender main theme capturing both Scott's wily con man and the often baron landscapes and one horse towns. Along with the comedy and drama, the major highlight comes in the form of a chaotic car chase around a small town (No Rest For The Wicked) with Goldsmith whipping up the dust with his tuneful action cue featuring harmonica, accordion, banjos, guitar and percussion, plus "tack" piano.

Take A Hard Ride remains an odd entry in the Goldsmith western canon, essentially for being filmed on the volcanic Canary Islands and perhaps due to the proximity to Italy being classed as a Spaghetti western, of sorts! Goldsmith's score calls upon minor Morricone influences but yet again it's an exercise in great western scoring from Jerry Goldsmith with a catchy piccolo motif building to a rousing main theme, brilliantly expanded to encompass some major action workouts and suspenseful moments. The lengthy 5 minute plus cue The Wagon is the selection highlight.

Next up is one of Goldsmith's most admired and sort after scores from the composer's barnstorming 1978 and the only score not to get an album release! 78 went on to feature some of Goldsmith's most admired works, from the military action thrillers The Swarm and Capricorn One, to the chilling sequel score Damien Omen II, the suspense thriller Coma and the popular grand waltz to The Boys From Brazil. Magic may have been a minor hit but was noteworthy for being an early entry displaying the acting genius of Anthony Hopkins, who allows his ventriloquist's Dummy to take over his life with chilling consequences. Goldsmith's score essentially plays to the love story through an elegant Gershwinesque main theme, featuring harmonica. As Corky takes over and murders Goldsmith provides chilling dissonance with strings. The final cue from the score; Us Was You remains the highlight though as the sad final act reveals one of Goldsmith's most moving finishes.

Baby Secret Of The Lost Legend was a brave attempt by Disney to try and convince us that a family of Dinosaurs have survived the Ice Age and are living a peaceful existence in modern day South America, without the luxury of CGI. In the end the only memorable element was Jerry Goldsmith's exciting score. Goldsmith's approach was to provide a score that was essentially half electronics and half orchestra. The selections here contain the majority of the 'meaty' orchestral music and avoids the light hearted electronic elements. The Family establishes the first views of the shocking discovery of living Dinosaurs, with Idyll and Rampage perfectly describing the peaceful existence of the Brontosauruses before tragedy strikes as hunters attempt capture, Goldsmith's powerful cue exciting as it is moving. The Rescue is one of Goldsmith's greatest action cues and the score highlight as our heroes attempt to free Baby from the back of a pickup truck. Goldsmith's percussion assault leaves you gasping for breath and literally shaking. A thrilling ride that just keep on building and building. While The Legend signals the end credits and a lengthy build up to a grand statement of the main theme. Incidentally Baby was one of the earliest scores recorded by legendary engineer Shawn Murphy and as far as I know the only one with Goldsmith.

The SPFM tribute to Jerry Goldsmith remains a must have amongst Goldsmith fanatics, especially as Disney continues to show indifference at allowing Baby to be released in even a limited edition form (forget the awful sounding boot CD).