Lately, the Soundtrack business has
been booming, if the flood of new releases is any indication. Between releases of brand
new scores, reissues of classic scores, and re-recordings of classic scores, not to
mention the original Broadway Cast recordings, we are living in amazing times. These two
discs are part of a new series put out by RYKO/MGM. These ‘Deluxe Editions" not
only include music originally issued on LP’s long out of print, but also include
bonus tracks and CD-ROM material featuring the film’s original trailer or other
related material. The booklets aren’t actually booklets, but fold out to a large
size, with lots of pictures, commentary and a copy of the original theater poster. The
production values score high marks.
The Misfits features a score by one of my favorite film
composers, Alex North. A highly eclectic composer, he could write a melting, melancholy
tune, whip up some jazzy sounds, or pen some brilliantly, exciting, modernistic orchestral
writing. All can be found in The Misfits. We begin with The Misfits theme
which is hot, sultry and brooding and can haunt you for days; this film was written for
Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable after all. A perfect start to the film, it serves the
composer well appearing in various guises, sometimes slow and bluesy, other times dark and
menacing. North’s masterful use of various forms come into play in this score, from
the clarinet tinged jazz combo music of "Rendezvous" to the knock out big band
sound of "Rosyln" and the rock and roll heard in "Paddleball." However
it is North’s brilliant orchestral music in the extended cue "The Round-Up
Suite," that steals the show. Most of this music was not put onto the earlier LP.
Over 14 minutes long, North later stated that he wrote this as a ballet. It underscores a
long scene where Gable and Montgomery Clift set out to capture wild horses. The cowboys
are on the fringes of society and sell these beautiful wild creatures for meat! Rosyln
(Monroe), tries to stop them. It is an action filled sequence, reflected in North’s
incredible music. The cue starts with an uneasy but not too confrontational stating of the
love theme. Then ominous and dissonant brass fanfares announce the beginning of the chase,
which is derived from the main theme. Finally the music slows for a bit, only to reach a
great climax of pain! Pick up the CD and marvel at the great music of Alex North. (Just
avoid track 8, which is a hillbilly number so banal it sticks in you head for days,
playing ad nauseum!).
Previn’s score for Elmer Gantry, features a similar
openness to a wide variety of styles. The music underscores a great movie, based on the
novel of Sinclair Lewis, featuring Burt Lancaster as the somewhat soiled Gantry - a
huckster who turns to evangelical preaching to make a buck and leaves a trail of ruined
women and burned out (literally) temples in his wake. Previn gives us a brilliant American
inflected score, with nods to Copland and more importantly William Schuman and Roy Harris.
(you do remember my review of 3 Schuman symphonies in the March/April 98 Guide, don’t
you?) Well anyway, this score features exciting orchestral writing with a strong dose of
dissonance. In fact Previn’s dissonant chords are a joy to hear, glowing and
shimmering under and in the flowing brass lines and angry fast passage work in the
strings. "Lulu’s Room" is a period jazz/dance band number and later, a
sultry trombone and muted jazz trumpet are heard. The film also features vocal and
instrumental versions of the revival hymns, "Shall We Gather at the River" and
"Stand Up for Jesus." All these music styles combine to give us a score as
thoroughly American as its subject matter. A great score for a great movie, and I’m
thrilled to have is on disc. The bonus material includes a short suite of the orchestral
score, and special numbers. A demented rendition on trumpet and drum of "Onward
Christian Soldiers" heard when a Revival meeting has gone very, very bad, and most
importantly the rendition of "I’m On My Way." This wonderful piece of
source music occurs when Gantry wanders into a black church, and receives his calling as
it were. Lancaster then joins the congregation and chorus in his rich baritone at first
intruding and then soon leading the congregation in song. It is a pivotal and thrilling
moment on the screen and on record.
We will hear both these great scores and more on February 22,1999 for our
bi-monthly Monday Night at the Movies program on Monday Classics, only on WWUH.
Copyright©WWUH: January/February Program Guide, 1999 |
