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      CommentAuthorCobweb
    • CommentTimeAug 27th 2014 edited
    #35: DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS (1958) by Elmer Bernstein, on '58 DOT LP and Intrada CD (2008) - both mono.

    My 2nd favorite soundtrack album (and film score) by Elmer is, like my #1 Bernstein (@ 12th place in my list), based upon a play.

    Here the setting is in New England and the story material is by Eugene O'Neill. Plays-into-films are likely better suited to the Criterion Collection connoisseurs than soundtracks collectors (who seem to prefer genre items). This is unfortunate because there does exist a number fine film scores written for cinema derived from stage plays. As with SUMMER AND SMOKE or ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS offers its composer an inspirational canvas with which the composer can respond on multiple levels.
    These types of dramatic music, though, seem not to be high priority on the radars of many soundtrack fans (especially since movies based on plays are typically greater than 40 years old).
    While Alex North is recognized as a master of this type of film scoring, Franz Waxman had written for a large amount of filmed stage plays from the 1930s onwards.

    Elmer's own notes on the reverse side of the DOT LP indicate his appreciation for the source material he worked with. Bernstein elected to compose themes for events, locations and the psychological states of the characters. I think his music works wonders and emerges as one of the finest examples of this sort of film scoring. I consider EB to have been in his musical 'prime time' right after THE TEN COMMANDMENTS and just before THE GREAT ESCAPE.

    DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS is my final Elmer Bernstein within this Top 50 thread. The Intrada disc is simply a reissue of the LP program with neither additional music nor improved sound, so I don't have any significant preference for one over the other.
    In closing, though, this entry is good spot at which to mention album covers for 12" LPs.

    http://img.soundtrackcollector.com/cd/l … LP3095.jpg

    Sophia Loren and Anthony Perkins are in the center of a solid blue background - clothed - exerting sexual allure and tension. This LP may also be considered as a 'collectable' in other circles (such as film poster art), not so much for the music as for its photo of its stars.
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      CommentAuthorsdtom
    • CommentTimeAug 27th 2014
    i thought this was a pretty darn good score too
    Tom
    listen to more classical music!
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 1st 2014
    sdtom wrote
    other than Alan we don't seem to have Herrmann lovers on this board.
    Tom


    I thought you knew that I was a huge fan of Herrmann's music Tom? However, he doesn't make my top 50 and I'll explain why after number 50 has been done and dusted.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 1st 2014
    I'm a bit knackered from travelling right now so # 36 goes up tomorrow hopefully.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 2nd 2014 edited
    oops dp
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 3rd 2014 edited
    Another great Brit...


    # 36 THE FILM AND TV MUSIC OF - CHRISTOPHER GUNNING



    Chandos have produced such an excellent range of film and TV scores from primarily British composers, the majority conducted by Rumon Gamba. When this one was announced I knew it was a no-brainer that I would buy it and its turned out to be my second favourite release from their quite extensive catalogue ( my first favourite being THE FILM MUSIC OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS VOL 1 my # 12 ), Christopher Gunning is a massive and severely underused talent in the world of film scoring and it's fair to say that like the equally talented Lee Holdridge, most of his work is in the field of television where his scores have always been nothing less than top quality, mostly thematic and melodic and superbly orchestrated he, IMO, far surpasses many of the excuses working in Hollywood today.

    Everything on this album is a highlight, from Poirot to La Vie En Rose and Cold Lazarus and Firelight to When The Whales Came, many of the scores are represented in suite form. I don't really know what else to add except that this is top quality, class music from an exceptional talent and if you've never checked any of his scores out before then you couldn't start from a better place than this release.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 3rd 2014
    I've been wanting that album for a while. I love pretty much everything I've heard of him.
    I am extremely serious.
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 3rd 2014
    I'll stick my neck out here and tell you you'll love it! Well worth your time and then some.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 3rd 2014
    My pick:

    36. THE PHANTOM (David Newman)

    OK, so first of all I have a looong relationship to the comic book version of The Phantom. While everyone else was into Marvel and whatnot, I was into The Phantom (and Disney) in my childhood and teenage years. So when the first-ever feature film adaptation by Simon Wincer came in the mid 90s, I was utterly disappointed. Gone were the mythic themes; instead there was a cheesy Billy Zane in purple suit and a tongue-in-cheek pirate story to boot. Oh, well. What it DID have, however, was a FANTASTIC score by David Newman -- classical symphonic heroism, ethinc/African elements, lush love themes and whatnot. To me, this is still Newman's best score and continues to give me listening pleasure even after all these years.

    Even if the film was pants, the score continues to work as a great concept album of the hero and the environment in which he moved in the comic book.
    I am extremely serious.
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 3rd 2014
    The film is indeed seriously pants...big ones!

    Excellent choice. I agree with you that it's his best score, well, my favourite of his. Easily in the top 5 superhero scores ever.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
  1. The Gunning album is oustanding. The whole anthology was a late discovery for me but what a discovery it was. And: nice story Thor! We all have such childhood treasures I guess.

    No 36:

    Rain Man (1988) by Hans Zimmer

    Normaly the film comes first. Not this time. I catched the little suite "Leaving Wallbrook / On the Road" and I could not get it out of my head. It is still my singel most favourite cue by Hans Zimmer. As electronica music I rank it with the theme from "Chariots of Fire" and "Oxygene IV". I just doesn't get any better. I roamed LP shops back then, whisteling the tune to staff members, everybody knew it, no one knew where to find it. Then one day, when I entered my favourite LP shop, the owner would smilingly hand me a CD that he had reserved for me. I was puzzeld. I had heard the name Hans Zimmer a few times, but I was not familiar with any of his music. When the music started playing the whole staff watched me and I did not disappoint: There were actually tears of delight.

    What a magnificent film it is. I'm not the biggest fan of Tom Cruise but acting against Dustin Hoffman elevated his performance into a whole other league.

    For reasons of nostalgia I still name the original release my favourite album (Capital). I am very happy though to have obtained the score (Preserverance) from Thor a while back.

    Volker
    Bach's music is vibrant and inspired.
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 3rd 2014 edited
    Nice story from you too!

    It's such a gorgeous score, that one! I only wish the sound quality was better.
    I am extremely serious.
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 3rd 2014
    Lovely story Captain. ( though you may guess I don't share your love of the score smile )
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 3rd 2014 edited
    Rain Man was also the very first time I noticed Hans Zimmer's name, on Koh San Road in Bangkok of all places, in one of those "video cafe's" with a billboard outside telling you which films they would be showing that night. Sat in there, watched the film while drinking Singha and eating food.

    That was in 1990, oddly I'd had a Zimmer in my collection at home as early as 1986, CASTAWAY, but I obviously never looked at the sleeve credits properly and just considered it a Stanley Myers score.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
  2. Wrong thread.
    Bach's music is vibrant and inspired.
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 3rd 2014 edited
    Earth calling Captain Future.....Earth calling Captain Future, come in Captain Future
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
  3. This is Captain Future to Ground Control
    I'm stepping through the door
    And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
    And the stars look very different today

    For here
    Am I sitting in a tin can
    Far above the world
    Planet Earth is blue
    And there's nothing I can do
    Bach's music is vibrant and inspired.
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      CommentAuthorCobweb
    • CommentTimeSep 4th 2014 edited
    The one Ennio Morricone soundtrack in my Top 50 is ...

    ... #36: LA TARANTOLA DAL VENTRE NERO (BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA) (1971) on Digitmovies CD (2007).

    My Top 50 wouldn't be complete without at least one Italian giallo and this is the one.
    A favorite amongst fans of Morricone, LA TARANTOLA DAL VENTRE NERO is a Euro-trash B-movie with a difference - it was directed by Paolo Cavara and written by Tonino Guerra (using a pseudonym). Guerra wrote scripts for "art" directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni. The resultant flick is a unique blend of exploitation thriller and character-based melodrama.

    The score, too, reflects this fascinating dichotomy between the respectable and the trashy.

    Morricone created one of his most iconic lounge-type numbers for the main title credits. It has pop rhythms, an unforgettable melody and sensuous female vocalise by Roman diva Edda Dell'Orso.

    A secondary theme appears several times with flugelhorn soloist.

    The bulk of this score, though, is Morricone in his experimental/avant-garde mode. A variety of keyboard and percussion instruments (including an early synthesizer) accompany a string orchestra in depicting various states of disorientation. Up-to-the-moment col legno string effects from then-contemporary academia abound in this score, with a lot of unconventional performance techniques applied within the percussion section.

    Not an album for a listener's ear untrained to digest post-modernism, LA TARANTOLA DAL VENTRE NERO is nonetheless quintessential Ennio Morricone. It demonstrates the multiple facets of Morricone's musical id during his most innovative prime.
    Indeed, the year 1971 is (what I consider as being) a peak year. My 2nd & 3rd favorite Morricone titles (UNA LUCERTOLA CON LA PELLE DI DONNA and ADDIO FRATELLO CRUDELE) are also from 1971, but there's no room for them in my Top 50.

    THE BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA was on a 1981 Cerberus LP and a 1990s C.A.M. CD in incomplete versions. The Digitmovies CD expands the material and displays this score in its most comprehensive version thus far.
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 4th 2014
    I have THE BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA but I can't remember it at all?
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 4th 2014
    Sorry, but "Morricone in experimental/avantgarde mode" always has me running for the door. I literally hate it.

    But there's so much else about him that I adore, and that main theme sounds very intriguing.
    I am extremely serious.
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      CommentAuthorCobweb
    • CommentTimeSep 4th 2014
    Timmer wrote
    I have THE BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA but I can't remember it at all?


    Hi, Timmer.

    Do you have it on CD?
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 4th 2014
    No, on vinyl.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
    •  
      CommentAuthorsdtom
    • CommentTimeSep 4th 2014
    Timmer wrote
    Another great Brit...


    # 36 THE FILM AND TV MUSIC OF - CHRISTOPHER GUNNING



    Chandos have produced such an excellent range of film and TV scores from primarily British composers, the majority conducted by Rumon Gamba. When this one was announced I knew it was a no-brainer that I would buy it and its turned out to be my second favourite release from their quite extensive catalogue ( my first favourite being THE FILM MUSIC OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS VOL 1 my # 12 ), Christopher Gunning is a massive and severely underused talent in the world of film scoring and it's fair to say that like the equally talented Lee Holdridge, most of his work is in the field of television where his scores have always been nothing less than top quality, mostly thematic and melodic and superbly orchestrated he, IMO, far surpasses many of the excuses working in Hollywood today.

    Everything on this album is a highlight, from Poirot to La Vie En Rose and Cold Lazarus and Firelight to When The Whales Came, many of the scores are represented in suite form. I don't really know what else to add except that this is top quality, class music from an exceptional talent and if you've never checked any of his scores out before then you couldn't start from a better place than this release.


    Can't utter a word against this one.
    Tom
    listen to more classical music!
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 4th 2014
    Timmer wrote
    No, on vinyl.


    I just listened to the theme on YT. It's really good but I still didn't remember it. I'll have to dig the LP out sometime and give it a proper listen, I do remember not liking it but my tastes have changed dramatically since the 1980's which is likely when I last played it.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
    •  
      CommentAuthorCobweb
    • CommentTimeSep 4th 2014
    Timmer wrote
    Timmer wrote
    No, on vinyl.


    I just listened to the theme on YT. It's really good but I still didn't remember it. I'll have to dig the LP out sometime and give it a proper listen, I do remember not liking it but my tastes have changed dramatically since the 1980's which is likely when I last played it.


    I was hoping that maybe you have the CAM CD for a handy listen, but unearthing LPs and turntable is probably too much of an effort.
    YouTube can be a quick fix. Sample this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p … fHN1kPprPY

    Perhaps you'll like BBOTT a bit more? smile
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      CommentAuthorMartijn
    • CommentTimeSep 8th 2014
    I'm slowly catching up!

    21 The Greatest Story Ever Told - Alfred Newman
    The polar opposite interpretation of Rozsa's take on the New Testament, Newman centers his work on quiet reflection and spiritual inspiration. A deeply moving score on many levels.
    There is a three-CD version available, which is great to be sure, but I heartily recommend the original album representation which is one of the most coherent and narrative representations there is, even (or maybe especially?) with Handel's Hallelujah chorus rousingly rounding it off.

    22 Thief Of Bagdad - Miklos Rozsa
    This may actually be my most personal choice as I have a strong, personal connection to both score and film, which was my late father's favourite. So yeah. A lot of bias in this choice. That said, this is easily Rozsa's finest oriental score with absolutely classic, outstanding tracks like The Harbor Of Bagdad and the incredibly moving Eternal Love (I really prefer the vocal version on Bernsteins FMC rerecording, but sadly it's not on YourTube).
    But while the Bernstein rerecording is very worthwhile, at the end of the day I'd recommend Rozsa's own rerecording with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, which is far more lyrical.

    23 Kelly's Heroes - Lalo Schifrin
    It certainly helps that this film is in my top three war movies, but even aside from that Schifrin's deeply ironic (and yet exciting and thematic) score is a fantastic listen, from the the whistle-driven march to the faux-Morricone standoff (with a Tiger tank) to the Burning Bridges end theme, this is a seriously fun listen all the way through.

    24 Voyage En Ballon - Jean Prodromidés
    This score is just charm incorporated. Based on a lovely, playful theme that exudes a sense of innocence and wonderful, open-eyed adventure of wonder and beauty that greatly speaks to me. This is how travel should sound: it's the soundtrack to an Awfully Big Adventure.
    The Grand Voliers track may well be another entry of mine into the Singular Great Tracks thread, it really is that jaw-droppingly awesome (in the original meaning of the word).
    (I cannot find a link on YouTube! crazy )

    25 Jaws - John Williams
    The greatest marriage of avant-garde post-Romanticism and neo-Romantic lyricism in score history. With arguably the most recognisable theme in the world. This score simply cannot fail to be in anyone's list. Even for a theme-fiend like me the atonal bits are so clever, so exciting and so well integrated into the album's 'narrative' that it's almost impossible to just lift out any cue. It really is one of the very best albums ever produced in film music history.

    26 Cleopatra - Trevor Jones
    A text book example of a solid album. Starting off with one of the finest themes Jones has ever composed which anchors the score, the whole album just goes from strength to strength. And interestingly even though there are tracks and cues and even entire scores from Jones I prefer (Runaway Train, for example, or The Dark Crystal), this is his most solid ]album that I always listen to all the way through.

    27 Stara Basn - Krzesimir Debski
    Some serious Sturm und Drank in this Polish epic. No idea what it's about, but clearly there are epic battles and grand historic events to relate and Debski, as a Polish Poledouris, with a deeply Romantic and thematic score supports this perfectly without any shame or reticence, pulling out all the stops to deliver a top-notch album.

    28 Casino Royale - Burt Bacharach
    Yeah, it's pretty monothematic...but WHAT a theme.
    I can't help it, I just really love this firmly tongue-in-cheek score (that incidentally introduces one of Bacharach's finest hits for Dusty Springfield).


    29 Dead Man Walking - David Robbins e.a.
    A rather left field entry, this oddball album which mixes a moody Americana bluegrass-ish style with even moodier Sufi music, with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan being present on most tracks. It really is a very dark, emotional score that will not appeal to everyone. But I find Ali Khan's wailing, that seems to come from the deepest recesses of his heart and soul, to be incredibly touching and effective. Not an easy listen.
    But then the film by no means was easy viewing.
    Very highly recommended.

    30 The Adventures Of Pluto Nash - John Powell
    Nothing very deep here: this is simply to me the most funky fun score Powell composed (and that's saying something!). I can't listen to the theme without it inviting me irrepresibly to listen to the rest of the album. Just one big smile all the way through.
    Incidentally I've heard the movie is absolutely terrible.
    'no passion nor excitement here, despite all the notes and musicians' ~ Falkirkbairn
  4. Martijn wrote
    30 The Adventures Of Pluto Nash - John Powell
    Nothing very deep here: this is simply to me the most funky fun score Powell composed (and that's saying something!). I can't listen to the theme without it inviting me irrepresibly to listen to the rest of the album. Just one big smile all the way through.

    Ahahaha, awesome. I really like this one too (not Top 30 like, admittedly), especially the main title and "Moon Travel". Been a while since I gave the whole thing a whirl, though, so I'll put it on the list. smile

    Martijn wrote
    Incidentally I've heard the movie is absolutely terrible.

    Oh, it is. vomit
  5. Wow, Martijn, what an interesting selection. I shows me how much I have still to explore.

    Please allow one remark:
    The three-CD-set of The Greatest Story Ever Told (VS) includes the album presentation on disc one. It features the Halleluja by Händel. Disc two and three feature the OST with Newman's original music for the film's final.

    smile Volker
    Bach's music is vibrant and inspired.
  6. Martijn wrote
    21 The Greatest Story Ever Told - Alfred Newman
    The polar opposite interpretation of Rozsa's take on the New Testament, Newman centers his work on quiet reflection and spiritual inspiration. A deeply moving score on many levels.
    There is a three-CD version available, which is great to be sure, but I heartily recommend the original album representation which is one of the most coherent and narrative representations there is, even (or maybe especially?) with Handel's Hallelujah chorus rousingly rounding it off.

    Am I right in remembering that the album is one of the 3 CDs in that set?
    The views expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not reflect the opinions of maintitles.net, or for that matter, anyone else. http://www.racksandtags.com/falkirkbairn
  7. I own the three-CD set and I have to say that Newman's twist on religion is closer to my own. It's reflective and more importantly, introspective.
    http://www.filmmusic.pl - Polish Film Music Review Website