Intrada Announces
WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN
Composed and Conducted by LAURENCE ROSENTHAL
INTRADA Special Collection Volume 71
The 1978 United Artist film Who'll Stop the Rain posed an interesting challenge to composer Laurence Rosental. The film tells of Viet Nam veteran Ray Hicks (Nick Nolte) getting conned into helping his buddy John Converse (Michael Moriarty) smuggle heroin, only to wind up on the lam with Converse's wife (Tuesday Weld) when the deal goes sour. "My first question to myself was: how am I ever going to compose a score which will correspond to this dark, agonized, desperate atmosphere, often anesthetized into a kind of emotional numbness?," writes Rosenthal. "It never seems to lighten, even for a moment. It is hard to watch. The totally nightmarish experience of Viet Nam, even though almost the whole of the film takes place in California, remains a constant presence."
Rosenthal met the challenge with a powerful, psychologically rich score. He expertly taps into the film’s undercurrent of moral confusion and alienation, seeding the score with dissonance. As Hicks and Marge flee across the American landscape, pursued by corrupt federal agent Antheil (Anthony Zerbe), they find only brief respites. For these fleeting moments, Rosenthal’s secondary theme becomes appropriately romantic–even achingly so. But Hicks’ ultimate darkness dominates the film. As his mission becomes less about preservation and escape, and more about taking command of destiny, the score charts a downward spiral of desperation, chaos and phyrric victory. The result is one of Rosenthal's darkest, most psychologically intense scores.
The score for Who’ll Stop The Rain is presented here in its entirety, according to the composer’s intentions. Listeners familiar with the film will note that much music has been restored, and is heard here for the first time, including substantial portions of tracks 5, 6, 7 and 9, as well as two complete tracks, “Hicks’ Rage” and “The Mountain.” The original 24-track elements have long since been lost, and this recording is made from the only surviving mono elements in great sound, preserving this stunning score -- one of Rosenthal's favorites -- to be enjoyed finally on its own terms.
This release is limited to 1200 copies.
INTRADA Special Collection - Volume 71
Retail Price: $19.99
IN STOCK NOW
For track listing and sound samples, please visit
http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.5844/.f
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