Intrada Soundtrack Forum

INTRADA Announces:



IN HARM'S WAY
Composed and Conducted by JERRY GOLDSMITH
INTRADA INT 7143

As part of Intrada's 30th anniversary celebration, Intrada is bringing back one of Jerry Goldsmith's most important scores of the '60s. In Harm’s Way was the most ambitious picture Goldsmith had tackled up to that point in his career. With more than a dozen feature scores under his belt, he was a veteran. But working with the legendary Otto Preminger on a massive production with a cast including John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda represented a zenith. Although the film is quite lengthy, it is spotted carefully, with very little music in the first part of the picture. But when Goldsmith steps up to the podium, he unleashes a powerful, militaristic score that remains one the strongest in his body of work.

The previous Intrada issue of the RCA album sold out fairly quickly. It was a straight reissue of the LP master, quite saturated in reverb and the only available elements at the time. When Intrada decided to pursue a reissue, a second perusal revealed the original 1/2" multitrack reels that had collected all the tracks planned for the LP master, before the reverb had been added. They also included three additional tracks originally planned but not included in that final master. Those two source cues and new score track are now added to this newly mastered and considerably crisper recording.

The film itself features the tale of naval officers and their wives, of the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor and its aftermath, and of the dramatic events that comprised those early days for America after entering WWII.

INTRADA INT 7143
Retail Price: $19.99
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For track listing and sound samples, please visit:
http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.9839/.f

A very different experience than the original, heavily processed presentation. Thanks for taking the opportunity to address this unnatural reverb issue that is not so uncommon with LP masters.

Well, there are somethings a man's got to do in this life and "ordering" this (again!) is one of them! Well done, and thanks again Intrada folks!

One thing about already owning a score on CD, is that you know how much you like it & listen to it. I love this, & the only downside is the over-bright & sometimes downright shrill sound, so I'm in for this. I also really like the film & it's about time we had a great looking Blu-ray of it (& a few other MIA Duke movies).

What a great discovery. Cannot believe how incredible this score now sounds. Breathtaking stuff. Thank you Intrada for another Goldsmith treat.

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Jason Needs
Webmaster, Jerry Goldsmith Online

Will be picking this up again for sure.
Congrats to Intrada & the Grand Poobah for making this one the best it can be.

IN HARM'S WAY has still more great nautical Goldsmith cues (combat and otherwise) which would have been nice to get on disc this time. However, I might be the only person who was excited to learn that Intrada's new edition finally delivers my favorite of this score's source cues.

It's now a bit embarrassing to recall that when I finally got the LP in 1973, eight years after having seen the picture, I complained about feeling that so much of that album was source music instead of underscore. (Hey, teenagers always complain.) But even as I didn't care for those styles, I gradually softened over appreciation of how convincingly Goldsmith had composed those source pieces, including Big Band, swing, and Don Ho-type Hawaiian resort music. (And while I cared nothing for jazz back then, "Night on the Beach" grew on me as I gradually remembered its rather ominous context in the picture.)

But when I finally watched IN HARM'S WAY again in 1993, one unreleased cue really surprised me through my reaction to it: the second Hawaiian source cue that immediately follows the one ("Hawaiian Mood") that we've long known from the album. Both pieces establish the mood of their outdoor, daylight party setting, as the John Wayne and Patricia Neal characters have their first conversation. But while the first one fits the occasion persuasively yet generically, that second cue is beautiful -- both musically and dramatically. That latter part of the scene is poignant (as Wayne confesses estrangement from his son) but not tragic. Yet the cue is among many stray Goldsmith pieces that sometimes, somehow, can make me tear up in response.

On the several times I have watched IN HARM'S WAY in the years since, I always wished that could have been the Hawaiian cue picked for the LP instead. Now that the premiering "Silver Sea" must be my cue, I'm very happy to obtain that music at last; even more than I am over the remastering. And I thank the Intrada team for pursuing and investing in this welcome re-release!

No further remark from anyone else in two weeks regarding IN HARM'S WAY? (I sure hope its sales haven't been drenched in the wake of so many high-profile releases of late.) Then I'll add a follow-up to my own post.

"Silver Sea" is indeed the long-missing Hawaiian source cue I had expected. But on first play, the piece didn't sound quite right to me; the music seemed busy and didn't give me the reaction I remembered, due to unfamiliar notes played on a guitar. Sure, it all works musically -- but it just wasn't what I had fallen in love with decades ago in the movie. Well, it turns out that by simply dialing out the left channel on my receiver, I achieved essentially what's heard in the film mix. That's the way I love that cue -- even if I now realize it might represent Otto Preminger placing his boot on Goldsmith's back to wave his authority.

So while the CD presents the cue as Jerry conceived and recorded it, I truly appreciate what I see as an Intrada decision to mix it in this way ... so that the guitar part could be evaded, while losing nothing else. (Even if I'm the only customer who prefers listening to that single cue in mono.)

The composer's reaction might have included a grumbling mention of "bottle caps;" but I have to thank you for that choice, Doug. Even if I'm alone on this particular beach, I'm grateful to the producer!

I listened to this release a while ago. I'm admittedly not very much into the film, but have naturally been attracted to the album as I'm both a jazz buff and an early Goldsmith action buff. Natural acoustics, as presented here, does this recording a huge favor.

Got my CD today along with BTTF2, wow !

Thanks to all involved in this new release.
And WOW to the sound, i wonder why (to my ears) some 50 year old recordings sounds better than new ones. So much depth and detail!
This thing sounds incredible. !!!

And it must be a inspiration for Barry Gray's Thunderbirds.

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Andy