Jerry Goldsmith: 40 Years of Film Music

Jerry Goldsmith

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Jerry Goldsmith: 40 Years of Film Music Review

by William Ruhlmann

This 57-track, four-CD set running nearly four-and-three-quarters hours and containing re-recordings of music composed by Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004) for film and television scores over a period of more than 40 years was compiled from previously released Silva Screen collections, notably the 1989 album Goldsmith Conducts Goldsmith by the Philharmonia Orchestra (originally on Decca but reissued by Silva Screen in 2002) and the 1998 two-CD set The Omen: The Essential Jerry Goldsmith Film Music Collection by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. As such, it is not the ideal Goldsmith album, despite its length, because there are odd repetitions and omissions. For example, Goldsmith's music for the TV series The Waltons is part of a medley of "Television Themes" performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra, but it also gets its own separate track performed by the Daniel Caine Orchestra. Similarly, musical excerpts from the Oscar-nominated films The Wind and the Lion, Poltergeist, and Papillon are part of a medley of "Motion Pictures" performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra, but there are also separate tracks for each score performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Goldsmith was nominated for 18 Academy Awards (he won only for The Omen), and it's a shame his nominated scores are not better represented: The Boys from Brazil, Star Trek®: The Motion Picture, Under Fire, Basic Instinct, and L.A. Confidential all get tracks of their own; but A Patch of Blue, The Sand Pebbles, Patton, and Chinatown are represented only in medleys; and Freud, Planet of the Apes, Hoosiers, and Mulan are not heard at all. (For those keeping count, his 18th nomination was for the song "Ave Satani" from The Omen.) But even if there is too much of some scores and none of others, this album does give a good sense of Goldsmith as a composer. Running in roughly chronological order, it shows his versatility (sometimes derided as facelessness), which allowed him to adapt to changing musical trends from the early 1960s to the early 2001s. Goldsmith could hold his own against the classically influenced writers who preceded him, but he also kept pace with the pop-influenced, synthesizer-savvy young composers coming up behind him, and that is made clear in this sprawling compilation.

Track Listing - Disc 1

Sample		Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
The Blue Max Suite for orchestra
	1	Overture Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:23	Amazon
	2	First Flight Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	03:01	Amazon
	3	The Bridge Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	03:14
	4	The Attack Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	05:09
	5	Finale Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:39	Amazon
Work(s)
	6	Television Themes - Medley: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. / Doctor Kildare / Room 222 / The Waltons / Bar Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	09:47	Amazon
In harm's way, film score
	7	Suite. Intermezzo / The Rock / Final Victory Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	09:40	Amazon
Work(s)
	8	Motion Pictures - Medley: The Sandpebbles / Chinatown / A Patch of Blue / Poltergeist / Papillon / Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	14:26	Amazon
	9	The Generals Suite, for orchestra Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	05:28	Amazon
Tora! Tora! Tora!, film score
	10	Main Title Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	03:28	Amazon
Wild Rovers, film score
	11	Bronco Bustin' Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:11	Amazon
Pursuit, television film score
	12	Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:22	Amazon
The Wind and the Lion, film score
	13	Suite. Raisuli Attacks / I Remember - Love Theme / Lord of the Riff Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	09:12	Amazon

Track Listing - Disc 2

Sample		Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
QB VII, television film score
	1	Suite. Main Title Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:02
	2	Suite. Holocaust Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:52	Amazon
	3	Suite. Visit to the Sheikh Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:14
	4	Suite. The Wailing Wall Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	03:15
	5	Suite. Kaddish for the Six Million Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	03:17
The Waltons, television score
	6	Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	03:58
Papillon, film score
	7	Out to Sea Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	03:55
	8	Police Story, television series theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:05
The Omen, film score
	9	Suite Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	11:47
Capricorn One, film score
	10	Overture Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	03:17
The Swarm, film score
	11	Suite. The Bees Arrive / End Title Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	07:42
The Boys From Brazil, film score
	12	Suite. Waltz / The Boys Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	07:09
The Great Train Robbery, film score
	13	Overture Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	04:57
Alien, film score
	14	The Nostromo / End Title Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	04:52
Star Trek I, film score
	15	End Titles / Klingon Attack Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	09:18

Track Listing - Disc 3

Sample		Title/Composer	Performer	Time
Masada, television miniseries score
	1	Main Themes Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	05:40
Poltergeist, film score
	2	Main Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	04:18
Work(s)
	3	First Blood / Rambo II Suite: Rambo II theme / It's a Long Road from First Blood Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	05:58
The Twilight Zone: The Movie, film score
	4	Suite Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	06:28
Under Fire, film score
	5	Suite. Prelude Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	01:52
	6	Suite. Bajo Fuego Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	05:47
	7	Suite. A New Love Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	04:20
	8	Suite. The Rebel March Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	03:16
Gremlins, film score
	9	Suite Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	07:43
Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, film score
	10	Baby's Alive / End Titles Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	07:24
Legend, film score
	11	Faerie Dance / Reunited Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	07:12
Lionheart, film score
	12	Robert's Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	04:08
Rambo III, film score
	13	Questions Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	03:03
Total Recall, film score
	14	Main Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:35

Track Listing - Disc 4

Sample		Title/Composer	Performer	Time
Star Trek: Voyager, television score
	1	Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:00
Basic Instinct, film score
	2	Main Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:31
The Russia House, film score
	3	Love Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	05:13
Gremlins 2: The New Batch, film score
	4	Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	05:33
Medicine Man, film score
	5	The Trees Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	04:14
The Shadow, film score
	6	Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:37
Forever Young, film score
	7	Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	05:12
First Knight, film score
	8	Suite. Arthur's Fanfare / No Surrender / Arthur's Farewell Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	11:11
Powder, film score
	9	Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	04:30
Air Force One, film score
	10	Main Title Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	01:50
L.A. Confidential, film score
	11	Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	04:44
The Mummy, film score
	12	Sand Volcano / Love Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:55
The Haunting, film score (1999)
	13	Theme Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	02:53
Star Trek: Nemesis, film score
	14	Suite Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	07:40
The Sum of All Fears, film score
	15	The Mission Jerry Goldsmith	Jerry Goldsmith	05:43