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Artwork copyright (c) 1971 Turner
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2004 James Southall
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WILD ROVERS Wonderful
western score A review by JAMES SOUTHALL With a shrill blast of the main theme on solo trumpet, so
begins Jerry Goldsmith's most outstanding western score. He worked in the
genre on many occasions, but most of the movies have now been forgotten - things
like 100 Rifles, Bandolero and Take a Hard Ride may have
produced outstanding scores, but who remembers the films? That's probably
the only reason that Goldsmith's western themes and scores are not as celebrated
as those of his peers, for he wrote some truly stunning music for the wide open
plains of the west, though often concentrating on the personal relationships and
emotions at the heart of the stories rather than going for the landscape
itself. Wild Rovers actually falls somewhere in between the
two. The movie - made by Blake Edwards in the wake of the
"anti-westerns" like The Wild Bunch and Once Upon a Time in
the West, concentrated on a pair of cowboys who are to go a tragic and devastating
journey after they rob a bank simply as something to do. Director Edwards wanted a different sound from those he
usually got from Henry Mancini for his movies, and so tasked Goldsmith with the
unenviable task of following in the footsteps of Aaron Copland and writing
something along the lines of Billy the Kid. While Goldsmith has
often been accused of plagiarising Copland's work, in truth he was only
utilising the same folk elements as Copland had done, most notably the
traditional "Goodbye, Old Paint"; but, of course, Goldsmith went far
further and contributed numerous ideas of his own for a wonderfully melodic and
uplifting score. After the piercing trumpet opening, the composer drafts
in guitars and harmonica for a rousing performance of his theme.
Highlights are two tracks in the middle of the score, "Wild Horses"
and "Bronco Bustin'" - full-bodied western music in the greatest
tradition of The Magnificent Seven etc, with Goldsmith's distinctive
touch. Rousing and exciting, it's difficult to tire of listening to the
two pieces. Also included, interestingly, is a radically different early
version of "Bronco Bustin'" which is far more restrained, though still
nice. "Cattle vs Sheep" is at the other end of the spectrum, a
powerful and dissonant blast of orchestral menace for a gunfight sequence; its
impact is such that the cue that follows, a lengthy rumination on the main theme
for solo guitar, seems unusually powerful and emotional. "The
Knife" is another great piece of action music, while the score concludes
with a moving end title piece. For the album release in 1971, Goldsmith - as was common at
the time - re-recorded the score in London. Film Score Monthly present
both readings of the score here. While not radically different, the
original tracks contain a few bits that didn't make the re-recording, but there
are a couple of songs from the original album which weren't in the film, sung by
Goldsmith's daughter Ellen. (The album tracks had already been released on
CD twice when this CD came along - first, coupled with The Great Train
Robbery, and later with The Last Run. Both of those albums are
now out of print.) With excellent sound and liner notes, this is a
first-rate package of one of Goldsmith's best scores. Original
tracks
Album
re-recordings
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