INTRADA Announces:
PLAYERS
Composed and Conducted by JERRY GOLDSMITH
INTRADA Special Collection Volume 115
With Intrada's release of Jerry Goldsmith's 1979 score to Players, the list of unreleased Goldsmith scores continues to dwindle. With the generous cooperation of Paramount Pictures, one of Goldsmith's most requested scores, never before available in any form, gets its premiere release. Players marked an interesting
turn in Goldsmith’s output following a long cycle of often grim and downbeat dramas and genre assignments, including among others The Omen, Damnation
Alley, Coma and The Boys From Brazil. With its goal-oriented focus on the sporting world and romance, Players afforded Goldsmith the opportunity to write one of his most boldly optimistic and celebratory pieces of music. The main theme is something of a British fox hunt -- rhythmic horn voluntary steeped in the sound of the
British countryside. Tambourines, strings and bells double the horns before the rhythm breaks for an ecstatic seven-note brass fanfare, accompanied by a bouncing, Patton-like trumpet line. This is the music for competition. And winning. While the tennis action music is the most dynamic material in the score, Goldsmith tackles
the film’s romance with a subtlety and sophistication. There’s an aimless, uncertain theme associated with Nicole’s ambivalent relationship with her rich “keeper” Marco, frequently voiced by solo trumpet in what may be an echo of Goldsmith’s famed Chinatown score. Goldsmith introduces a second love theme for Chris (Dean Paul Martin) and Nicole (Ali MacGraw), featuring a wistful treatment for flute, gradually developing the full, sweeping romantic melody as there relationship blossoms. All told, Players is a passionate, exuberant work and well past due for a CD release.
The narrative of Players unspools as a flashback, as Chris faces down real tennis star Guillermo Vilas at a championship match at Wimbledon—Chris being the first unseeded player to make it so far in the legendary tennis venue. The flashbacks show Chris developing his skills as a tennis player, goaded on by Rusty’s (Steve Guttenberg) lust for the short con, and his growing—and rocky—romantic relationship with Nicole, who leaves him the night before the Wimbledon finals. Consequently, while it’s Nicole’s love that causes Chris to “go straight,” train with veteran tennis player Pancho Gonzales and make his way to the top of the tennis circuit and Wimbledon, Chris’s romantic problems with the older woman eventually threaten his playing skills; the finale turns on whether Nicole will return as Chris faces his climactic game. The plot echoes Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky, with a damaged up-and-comer given his chance at the big time and discovering that love, and not victory, is the more important element of a championship contest.
The music elements for Players were stored on 1/2" 3-track music masters in mint condition, affording a crisp, dynamic sounding release. This release is limited to 3000 units.
INTRADA Special Collection Vol. 115
Retail Price: $19.99
AVAILABLE 2/2/2010
For track listing and sound samples, please visit
http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.6407/.f
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