Search - Jerry Goldsmith, P. / Pockriss, L. Vance, Wayne Newton :: Stagecoach [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Two Great Jerry Goldsmith Scores

allemande | Columbia, MO USA | 09/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Stagecoach" was a classic Western movie of the 1930s. It was remade in the Sixties featuring an all-star cast and the score heard on this CD. Jerry Goldsmith's music captures all the appropriate moods (and subtexts) of the movie and, as is so often the case with this composer, it stands as an enjoyable listening experience independent of the movie.

But the big news here is the inclusion on this CD of Goldsmith's music for the television series "The Loner", a Western starring Lloyd Bridges as a man attempting to cope with a transformed, post-Civil War America. Rod Serling ("The Twilight Zone") created "The Loner" and it was a ratings failure. Airing in the mid-Sixties, shortly after the end of "Twilight Zone"'s run, it was cancelled in one season.

The sad fate of the series, however, is no reflection on Jerry Goldsmith's music. The main title theme has to be one of TV's great ones, rendered obscure only by association. And included here is the underscore for two episodes, also by Goldsmith.

Among several musical aspects which strike the listener upon hearing "Stagecoach" and "The Loner", economy of writing may be foremost. These two scores were written at about the same time, and felt effects of the shrinking budgets available for film music. The major studios had dismissed their "house" orchestras by the mid-1960s, prompting composers to become resourceful. Jerry Goldsmith was one of the most resourceful, making a handful of instruments sound like a roomful with his peerless ability to blend tone colors and cater to the idiomatic strengths of each instrument or family of instruments.

One segment of an episode underscore for "The Loner" opens pastorally with a lyricism reminiscent of Aaron Copland's 'Western' pieces. One has to listen for a while before recognizing this music as belonging to a TV show. The effect is accomplished with just a few instruments, used masterfully for maximum effect. This is sheer genius.

Just a couple more comments: The sound quality on this CD is uniformly good. It is issued by arrangement with the Film Score Monthly magazine as an evident labor of love. There are several more Jerry Goldsmith releases in this series, and they include the authentic movie or TV recordings of his music from "Patton", "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", and "Room 222" (among others). My copies of these gems say that 3,000 of each title were produced. Assuming that no more are ever to be made, interested listeners should get these while they are available."