Intrada Soundtrack Forum

7/1/06

This is really random but if you want to hear a great action cue - read on.

My typical website capsule routine. I play a new CD in the front room, whip up a few ideas, spit out a capsule. Some CDs take thought, some just go in one ear, out the other. Meanwhile, Jeff and George process orders, do their mail room thing, tune me out. Unless I'm checking out a new John Williams album. If I'm not playing anything at all it's a safe bet they'll be playing JAWS or SUPERMAN or DRACULA, working back there in total bliss. I can't say they have bad taste.

So I'm playing THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT the other day. For nearly an hour it thumps, grinds. Electronics, wailing guitars, keyboards up the wazoo. Definitely not their kind of stuff. Nor mine either, by the way. Then, finally, the last track comes on.

The thumps are there but they're now coming from trombone. The wails are gone, replaced by chopping basses, cellos. Ideas from earlier stuff in the score, primarily the opening two tracks, show up. It's like a reprise of them both - but without the junk. It's long, too. Maybe it's put together from several pieces in the movie. I don't know. It's not one of the movies on my list to see. (If Paul Walker can give up on the franchise, so can I.)

Okay, anyways, so the last track's playing. First Jeff comes out, drops his jaw. Then George. Yep, they were hooked. Brian Tyler style. No doubt about it. This track's a showstopper! So I spun it again. Same thing. They go back to work, tune the noise out. When the last track comes on, they pop back out!

If you need a yardstick to decide what makes a great action cue - just use this as an example.

7/6/06

Going in the other direction. We've spotlighted composers nailing their moments. We've made lists of good stuff. So let's do an aboutface, shine light on some misfires.

Not a list of worst scores. Read elsewhere for those. I'm talking misfires. The music may be good, it may be fun to hear. On album it may even be divine. But right for the particular movie it isn't. Not in my book, anyway.

No harm's intended here. Just some grit for those passionate folks who assume I like everything.

So here goes. I stick my neck out and offer the following misfires.

THEY WERE EXPENDABLE. I'm just not in synch with Herbert Stothart here. John Ford offers a grim war movie about battles we were then losing and Stothart keeps playing all those upbeat marches. Maybe Ford was happy with them, he liked familiar tunes on his soundtracks. But even as counterpoint, this score loses me.

THE BIBLE. Quasi-experimental stuff by Toshiro Mayuzumi for an oddly-paced epic by John Huston. Cool soundtrack album but just weird movie music. Long-winded visuals and narrative for various tales from the Book of Genesis. And long-winded music that fails to move me. For already slow scenes it just adds more drag. In any case, it's too cerebral to engage. I'm not sure that's what Huston wanted but I wasn't there. Maybe counterpoint would've worked better.

Sure, there's a convoluted music history for DR. NO, but that first 007 adventure has an amateur-ish score to go with it. Lamest example: the music Bond gets when he smacks the smile off the spider. Credit Monty Norman, folks. No James Bond theme here!

Elmer Bernstein was a pro. Top drawer, in his own league, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But he did crash and burn once. And this one even has a great title song in there somewhere plus some outstanding music dotted about. Yep. BABY THE RAIN MUST FALL. Surprised? I love it too but just what movie was Elmer scoring? It doesn't help that the album was a jazz-rock presentation without a single soundtrack selection, but still. Lee Remick's incredibly resilient to all these bad things going on. She's raising a daughter all by herself and we care about her in-and-out-of-jail husband Steve McQueen but he just can't stay out of trouble and we have lonely Don Murray staying loyal to them all. He's straight, stable, the helping hand that Remick needs. BABY THE RAIN MUST FALL is a vulnerable, touching, powerful tale of three people caring for each other, trying to connect, not succeeding. But Elmer keeps playing with an upbeat marimba and xylophone and woodwind melody that misses by a country mile. I've tried to convince myself he was writing to the little girl and that chinaberry tree, but I'll never know.

LADYHAWKE gets picked on a lot. It deserves it. Knights and swords and chain mail and clashes of steel and - rock rhythms from guitar and keyboard. Sorry Mr. Powell. Not even as counterpoint.

So, slings and arrows aside. I'll wrap with this one. CAPRICORN ONE.

Okay, okay! Just kidding! But not entirely, there's still a misfire here. But it ain't Goldsmith's doing, as far as I can tell. Still, someone should take a hit for the could've-been sensational final helicopter chase that plays WITHOUT any music. I can only wonder who really decided to leave that one unscored.

If you've got other scores that sound like misfires to you, pop onto the forum and fire away!

7/11/06

Update on Anthology Two.

With more than 2000 copies of our first AMAZING STORIES anthology sold, I'm happy to say approvals on Anthology Two are wrapping as I write. It's a lengthy process. We design it, we build it, they approve it. That means each prospective album goes to Universal, then passes through DreamWorks - and eventually reaches some dude named Steven Spielberg. We should be getting his final thumbs up just about now.

For all of you who've asked, yes, this one has Jerry Goldsmith's "Boo!", which is quirky and complicated but sports a pretty theme at heart. There's also an exciting one by Leonard Rosenman called "No Day At the Beach" and a lively one by Bruce Broughton called "Thanksgiving". I'd have to say my own favorite score in this batch is "Santa '85", by Thomas Newman. He uses an orchestra of strings and woodwinds but gives center stage to piano. Not one, not two, but three of 'em! After his orchestra swells and his rhythms get going, he brings in all three pianos with virtuoso figures ringing out from just about everywhere. With trumpet adding extra splendor, the sound is absolutely brilliant!

We're still working on the third anthology. Boasting John Williams' complete "Mission" score, it'll probably be the most dramatic album in the series. This one should show up late in the Summer.

But we're not just idling until then. In addition to the second anthology, we've got two more special releases coming up before we get to Anthology Three. Official announcements on all of these will pop up shortly, as the projects come on-line. Stay tuned!

7/12/06

Bargain hunter alert! We've rummaged through our regular catalog and thrown several new titles into our "Anything Goes" category. They're all over the map. We won't necessarily claim they're top drawer scores but the super low prices may encourage you to experiment. Grab one (or all) of them while prices are cheap and supplies last.

Collect 'em, trade 'em with your friends!


7/13/06

Still more titles tossed into "Anything Goes" this morning. If you bargain-hunted yesterday and found everything you needed, visit again today. You may find something else! Isn't housecleaning fun?

7/19/06

For collectors of rare stuff. We've taken in some sizeable collections lately. If you keep up with our one-of-a-kind categories, watch for some rare goodies to appear. To keep the lists from getting overcrowded, we'll spread titles in with discretion over time. But there'll be some great collectibles passing through. Some stuff will be pricey, some won't. But check the site regularly. You may just find that one elusive CD you've been looking for!

7/22/06

Something some of you have noticed. Pictures are now appearing where generic CD icons once appeared. It's just one of several features being monkeyed with behind the scenes around here. Naturally, implemention will be more a process than an event. My own preference is to keep things simple and functional. I don't enjoy busy, uber-cluttered sites. So our designers keep this in mind. It's one of the luxuries of being the owner! Anyway, we'll always be working to enhance your visits with us, of course. But this stuff's fun for us, too. So don't be surprised to catch us smiling while we work!

AMAZING STORIES: ANTHOLOGY TWO has wrapped as well and arrives soon. We'll post a proper date in the next couple of weeks or so. We've also got two more cool releases wrapping ahead of schedule. Between them and the third anthology in the works, you'll see us juggling a lot of balls this summer. Don't worry, though. We're pretty good jugglers!


7/26/06

A sort of unexpected summer scheduling fiasco here has me going off to jury duty in downtown Oakland tomorrow while Jeff kicks back on a Vegas vacation. No point in saying where I'd rather be. Given our current heat wave, I just hope the courthouse is air-conditioned. Jeff gets wonderful "climate-controlled" casinos, free drinks, some serious poker competition and I get... well, nothing like what Jeff's getting.

On the other hand, he'll be surrounded by cigarette smoke. At least I'll be able to breathe freely!

Anyway, we'll be on very short staff for a couple of days as a result. Orders should still get filled within 24 hours or so but if it takes a day or two longer for us to respond to your emails - now you'll know why.