CD Reviews: Dollars and Rush Hour 2
Dollar$ ****
QUINCY JONES (1971)
Warner Music France 9362-47879-2
12 tracks - 37:17
The early 1970s saw the emergence of a mini-genre of lighthearted action
films centering around heists and chases. Oftentimes a genre will emerge
with a single composer creating the breakthrough "sound," like Ennio Morricone
for spaghetti westerns or John Barry for spy thrillers. For these heist
films, Quincy Jones was the best and brightest, combining cutting-edge
timbres, spine-tingling suspense and an ambiguous, ironic sheen. They are
The Hot Rock, The Getaway (where Jones replaced Jerry Fielding)
and Dollar$, set in Hamburg and starring '70s headliners Warren
Beatty and Goldie Hawn.
Dollar$ is seeing its CD premiere from the French division of
Warner Bros. Records, presenting the previous LP master in sterling, widely
separated stereo sound. The main theme is performed by Little Richard ("Money
Is") and also presented in instrumental form ("Money Runner"). Its pulsating
rhythm section creates a nervous, driving energy that is all one could
ever want from a lighthearted '70s action score, a hyperkinetic bullet
train of activity. Jones utilizes the amazing vocal effects of Don Elliott
for added color, confusing typical notions of voice, percussion and brass
to the point where one has no idea where the orchestra ends and Elliot's
effects begin.
As is typical for many soundtrack albums of the '60s and '70s -- and
the scores Jones provided at his creative peak -- the CD is a strange potpourri
of straight-ahead action/suspense, easy listening instrumentals, straight-ahead
songs (featuring Roberta Flack and Little Richard), and top-notch "blaxploitation"
scoring (referring to the style of the music, not necessarily that of the
film). The last track, the 9:35 "Brooks' 50¢ Tour" (so-named after
the director, Richard Brooks), is itself a bizarre collage of musical worlds
-- and it's the main title!
The palette today of what can be movie music is so broad that virtually
anything can and often is used in film. That was not always the case, however,
and one can hear in the rattling textures of Dollar$ the granddaddy
of so many of today's techniques. Besides which, it is unbelievably cool.
-- Lukas Kendall
Rush Hour 2 *** 1/2
LALO SCHIFRIN
Varèse Sarabande 302 066 279 2
13 tracks - 52:08
One of the great things about the work of composers, and of all artists,
is that so many different approaches to the craft can co-exist and succeed.
Goldsmith's style is to defy style. Williams' is a grand consistency. Just
about smack in between, Lalo Schifrin is a stylistic explorer who nevertheless
almost always leaves us an obvious fingerprint. His score for Rush Hour
2 doesn't ignore this tendency, but nor does it best illustrate the
composer's rare knack for integration.
It's not that this Chinese-American menu isn't inviting; it just doesn't
quite gel as a listening experience. Like the hyper-kinetic martial arts
action it tails, this score is a series of well-timed ambushes. The musical
ideas hit and run so fast you barely have time to react. A big part of
what typically makes Schifrin's work so effective (and popular) is his
deft balancing of orchestral brains with hook and groove driven brawn.
That talent for laying it down in order to goose up a score until it all
but rocks is less evident here.
But there are moments. The biggest bangs of the disc come from the early
action cues. This is your father's Lalo, with the punch of those glorious
TV roots. The main title itself has "'70's airport drama" written all over
it. The textures are mainly orchestral with dashes of synth. Among the
spices from Schifrin's Asian kitchen: flurries of poly-rhythmic tom figures,
gongs and other percussion to tinkle the senses, pensive flutes and reeds,
as well as other ancient Chinese not-so-secrets. There's nothing wrong
with that, especially considering the perfunctory nods to Schifrin's pioneering
score for Enter the Dragon. But once the suspense cues subside,
brace for a sudden spike on the kitsch-o-meter thanks to what I can only
describe as generic, Kung Fu "light" Chinese muzak of sorts.
To be fair, the film is as much comedy as action and the functionality
of the score in that regard is not at all in question. But if you combine
the Hong Kong clichès with about half a disc's worth of perfectly
pleasant but underwhelming cocktail lounge wallpaper (some of which Schifrin
did not write), this already short CD doesn't add up to the kind of score
most Schifrin fans are going to keep in the tray. -- Stephen Greaves
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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