Intrada Soundtrack Forum

I listened to some of the audio samples from Intrada's 'Escape from Alcatraz" and liked what I heard (haven't seen the film for a while and didn't remember the score). Very moody writing. I'll probably take the plunge, but does anyone have recommendations for the best Jerry Fielding scores on CD? I just haven't exposed myself nearly enough to his work in films.

"Gray Lady Down?" "The Enforcer?"

_________________
Most Wanted: Moonraker - complete; Inside Moves (John Barry), Volunteers; The Hand; Brainstorm - complete (James Horner); MacArthur; Supergirl -expanded (Jerry Goldsmith).

Can't go wrong with Film Score Monthly's 3-CD release of THE WILD BUNCH! Although I may be a bit biased.

If you like a high dose of Fielding's suspenseful experimentalism à la Escape from Alcatraz, then you will likely enjoy Demon Seed as well.

The Enforcer is a lot of fun and I definitely recommend it. It has moody dramatic scoring, but it also features plenty of jazzy excitement that Fielding did just as well. Some awesome bass lines heard in those jazz-funk cues.

The Super Cops is another excellent jazz-funk score.

As for more traditional suspense scoring, definitely consider Beyond the Poseidon Adventure before it goes away.

The Wild Bunch is of course one to look into; it's considered by many to be Fielding's masterpiece. Straw Dogs, The Killer Elite and The Outfit are composer highlights as well, but are probably very expensive these days.

The score for "The Outfit" shows many aspects of Fielding's art. From his dramatic writing to his beautiful melodic side. His gift for writing a melody is often underappreciated.

I hope we will someday see a re-release of this. There are still many alternate versions and source cues which could be included in a new album.

_________________
My Intrada wish list:

The Outfit (Fielding)
The Other Side of the Mountain I (Charles Fox)


and extremely unlikely, but...
Junior Bonner
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

The Wild Bunch is Fielding's masterpiece, classic movie, classic score, a career highlight.

A personal favorite of mine -- a score that (among a few select others) piqued my interest in film music way back when I was a kid -- is Lawman. To this day one of my all time favorite releases by Intrada. The same goes for another Intrada/Fielding release: Scorpio.
Lawman and Scorpio are no longer in print, but as we know, nothing has to remain unreleased forever.

the closest to Alcatraz is the already mentioned Demon Seed, and also The Mechanic, likewise a very cold score, but my personal favorites I think sit halfway between that eerie sound and the orchestrations of his more mainstream output:

The Gambler, which was released last year by Quartet, is based around Gustav Mahler's haunting 'Titan' symphony, and is in the running for my favorite score of all time.

and Intrada's own Straw Dogs, which is still available online with a bit of searching.

Both are quite low key and moody, with unmistakable Fielding flourishes throughout.

also Beyond the Posiedon Adventure, it's in the same vein, but with a gutsier, more dramatic flair to it.

As much as I like The Wild Bunch, the score is inter-weaved with all the source music, which I find makes it not quite as accessible as the above-mentioned.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions everyone. I really appreciate it.

Going to get some of these Fielding CD's along with Deep Rising next week.

_________________
Most Wanted: Moonraker - complete; Inside Moves (John Barry), Volunteers; The Hand; Brainstorm - complete (James Horner); MacArthur; Supergirl -expanded (Jerry Goldsmith).

The Big Sleep and The Black Bird... Just about anything else really, all of it has a lot of power and punch. Like to get my fingers on a few others I don't have yet. As for the vinyl side of it, The Outlaw Josie Wales is a classic!

_________________
"I used to worry about losing my mind. Now that I've lost it I don't worry about it anymore." -Wavy Gravy