SOUNDTRACKS
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Soundtracks are a lot more than movie music...
...or so I'm ready to argue as a 30 year devotee of this sorely under appreciated genre. So, in an effort to do my part, each week
I'll be making recommendations of soundtracks current and vintage, make a fuss over long awaited soundtrack scores finally getting
a well deserved release, and in general, make some noise about this often overlooked category. Beyond my long experience as a
listener and as a pianist and songwriter, both of which I've put to use in writing a quarterly soundtrack column for the Chicago
Tribune, I can only offer my recommendations. You'll discern my taste soon enough and upfront I'd like to make it clear that I'll
focus most heavily on SCORE soundtracks. In the end, all criticism is subjective but if I can point a listener toward a little heard
soundtrack or strongly advise you to either ORDER IMMEDIATELY or SKIP ALTOGETHER, all the better.
...or so I'm ready to argue as a 30 year devotee of this sorely under appreciated genre. So, in an effort to do my part, each week
I'll be making recommendations of soundtracks current and vintage, make a fuss over long awaited soundtrack scores finally getting
a well deserved release, and in general, make some noise about this often overlooked category. Beyond my long experience as a
listener and as a pianist and songwriter, both of which I've put to use in writing a quarterly soundtrack column for the Chicago
Tribune, I can only offer my recommendations. You'll discern my taste soon enough and upfront I'd like to make it clear that I'll
focus most heavily on SCORE soundtracks. In the end, all criticism is subjective but if I can point a listener toward a little heard
soundtrack or strongly advise you to either ORDER IMMEDIATELY or SKIP ALTOGETHER, all the better.
Film composer Elmer Bernstein had already scored the gritty but overdramatic The Man with
the Golden Arm and the acidic Sweet Smell of Success when he wrote the music for Some
Came Running. This 1958 melodrama from director Vincente Minnelli stars Frank Sinatra,
Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine playing the first of many sympathetic floozies to come.
The film basically has Sinatra as a writer who returns home to Indiana following WWII trying
to decide between the good girl but icy and prim schoolteacher (Martha Hyer) his jealous
brother (Arthur Kennedy) wants him to hook up with or the sluttish good time girl Ginny
(MacLaine). Into the “bad” side comes a boozing professional gambler with the bizarre
name Bama Dillert (expertly played by Dean Martin) who, naturally, edges Sinatra toward a
life filled with vice and the eager, waiting arms of Ginny.
Minnelli, who was famous for his use of hot colors to denote emotion, goes overboard and
then some in telling this story which was based on the novel by James “From Here to
Eternity” Jones. The hyper dramatic performance of MacLaine (she is alternately so cute and
pathetic one isn’t sure whether to hug her or drown her) is matched by Bernstein’s florid
score. His melodic and syrupy love theme (a song version titled “To Love and Be Loved”
was given lyrics by Sammy Cahn) is expressive and contrasts beautifully with his “menacing”
and aggressive main theme, a sultry, blaring (the horn section is wondrous) musical
encapsulation of illicit pleasure. Big, bad jazz – with its siren call to come and “be bad” –
was often used in the repressive Eisenhower era to represent a catalog of wanton behavior.
Bernstein’s theme is like a precursor to the masterful, seductive theme he wrote for Walk on
the Wild Side four years later. These two themes – warm and nostalgic versus swing jazz –
perfectly sum up the theme of the picture and hint at the movie’s tragic and moralistic
ending.
The soundtrack for Some Came Running has now been issued on CD as another of those
scrupulously compiled discs from soundtrack experts Film Score Monthly. This FSM release is
another in their Golden Age Classics series and joins several others reviewed here at KATM
(7 Faces of Dr. Lao, Bell, Book and Candle, The Swimmer, and Dead Ringer). All were issued in
limited editions and if you haven’t grabbed them already, do so now. As for this latest
edition to the FSM library, it’s another winner. In addition to variations of the two main
themes discussed above, the soundtrack (a whopping 43 cuts in all) includes a batch of
bonus tracks (including a vocal version of the title song sung by a choir) and a lavishly
illustrated booklet.
The inclusion of the booklet is something I’ve remarked on before and will always point to
as a HUGE benefit for even the average soundtrack collector. Having the story behind the
creation of the music, cue by cue explanatory notes, and then detailed information on the
creation of the disc itself – all with rare photos – is an enormous addition to the pleasurable
listening experience of these releases. In the case of the Some Came Running soundtrack it
also explains the slight warping sound I detected that accompanies several of the tracks (it’s
most prominent in track 14 – “Gwen’s Theme/Metamophosis”). When I first heard the disc I
thought it had to be a mistake but when I went to the booklet, naturally, there was the
explanation – the slight wobble effect I encountered was due to a mixture of the only
available source tapes in order to bring the aural presentation of the score up to FSM’s high
standards. Believe me, this is not a criticism in light of the fact that this long overdue classic
score from Bernstein is at last available in such a fabulous addition. Here here FSM!
P.S. I’m still waiting patiently for Wait Until Dark, The Catered Affair, What Ever Happened to
Baby Jane, an expanded edition of Inside Daisy Clover, and The Parallax View – my top five
most wanted scores – and hope that FSM gets around to these at some point.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Don't forget to check out previous soundtrack recommendations by visiting the ARCHIVES
Next Recommendation: TBA
the Golden Arm and the acidic Sweet Smell of Success when he wrote the music for Some
Came Running. This 1958 melodrama from director Vincente Minnelli stars Frank Sinatra,
Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine playing the first of many sympathetic floozies to come.
The film basically has Sinatra as a writer who returns home to Indiana following WWII trying
to decide between the good girl but icy and prim schoolteacher (Martha Hyer) his jealous
brother (Arthur Kennedy) wants him to hook up with or the sluttish good time girl Ginny
(MacLaine). Into the “bad” side comes a boozing professional gambler with the bizarre
name Bama Dillert (expertly played by Dean Martin) who, naturally, edges Sinatra toward a
life filled with vice and the eager, waiting arms of Ginny.
Minnelli, who was famous for his use of hot colors to denote emotion, goes overboard and
then some in telling this story which was based on the novel by James “From Here to
Eternity” Jones. The hyper dramatic performance of MacLaine (she is alternately so cute and
pathetic one isn’t sure whether to hug her or drown her) is matched by Bernstein’s florid
score. His melodic and syrupy love theme (a song version titled “To Love and Be Loved”
was given lyrics by Sammy Cahn) is expressive and contrasts beautifully with his “menacing”
and aggressive main theme, a sultry, blaring (the horn section is wondrous) musical
encapsulation of illicit pleasure. Big, bad jazz – with its siren call to come and “be bad” –
was often used in the repressive Eisenhower era to represent a catalog of wanton behavior.
Bernstein’s theme is like a precursor to the masterful, seductive theme he wrote for Walk on
the Wild Side four years later. These two themes – warm and nostalgic versus swing jazz –
perfectly sum up the theme of the picture and hint at the movie’s tragic and moralistic
ending.
The soundtrack for Some Came Running has now been issued on CD as another of those
scrupulously compiled discs from soundtrack experts Film Score Monthly. This FSM release is
another in their Golden Age Classics series and joins several others reviewed here at KATM
(7 Faces of Dr. Lao, Bell, Book and Candle, The Swimmer, and Dead Ringer). All were issued in
limited editions and if you haven’t grabbed them already, do so now. As for this latest
edition to the FSM library, it’s another winner. In addition to variations of the two main
themes discussed above, the soundtrack (a whopping 43 cuts in all) includes a batch of
bonus tracks (including a vocal version of the title song sung by a choir) and a lavishly
illustrated booklet.
The inclusion of the booklet is something I’ve remarked on before and will always point to
as a HUGE benefit for even the average soundtrack collector. Having the story behind the
creation of the music, cue by cue explanatory notes, and then detailed information on the
creation of the disc itself – all with rare photos – is an enormous addition to the pleasurable
listening experience of these releases. In the case of the Some Came Running soundtrack it
also explains the slight warping sound I detected that accompanies several of the tracks (it’s
most prominent in track 14 – “Gwen’s Theme/Metamophosis”). When I first heard the disc I
thought it had to be a mistake but when I went to the booklet, naturally, there was the
explanation – the slight wobble effect I encountered was due to a mixture of the only
available source tapes in order to bring the aural presentation of the score up to FSM’s high
standards. Believe me, this is not a criticism in light of the fact that this long overdue classic
score from Bernstein is at last available in such a fabulous addition. Here here FSM!
P.S. I’m still waiting patiently for Wait Until Dark, The Catered Affair, What Ever Happened to
Baby Jane, an expanded edition of Inside Daisy Clover, and The Parallax View – my top five
most wanted scores – and hope that FSM gets around to these at some point.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Don't forget to check out previous soundtrack recommendations by visiting the ARCHIVES
Next Recommendation: TBA
| The Cover of FSM's latest spectacular release and composer Elmer Bernstein around the time he wrote the score for the 1958 film. |
