CD Reviews: Harrison's Flowers and Silk Stockings

Harrison's Flowers ***

CLIFF EIDELMAN

Varèse Sarabande 302 066 331 2

15 tracks - 36:30

French director Elie Chouraqui's first major American film picks up on a popular new genre: women going into war settings to find the man they love. Like Proof of Life and Charlotte Gray, Harrison's Flowers (such an unfortunate title) has Andie McDowell going into the war-torn Balkans to rescue her photographer husband even though officials say it's hopeless. While many critics supported this movie, it quickly faded from the multiplexes. And while I would like to say that Eidelman's score will outlast the movie's box office, as his scores did with ChristopherColumbus and An American Rhapsody, the music, while often beautiful, is not up-to-par.

Eidelman is probably the best-kept secret in composer-land. While most film score fans know his contribution to the Star Trek canon, he has racked up a nice collection of smaller scores (like One True Thing) which keeps me on the lookout for his next great work. This one isn't it. Eidelman incorporates a lot of mood scoring and while many of the individual cues play well on their own ("Real War" has a nice intensity), the music frequently recalls Barber's hackneyed Adagio for Strings, just without actually quoting it. And yet, Eidelman is too talented a composer for this to be just a throwaway score. There's a lot to admire here, especially when his piano motif makes a rare appearance.  -- Cary Wong
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Silk Stockings ****

COLE PORTER

Rhino R2 74368

30 tracks - 79:02

Broadway music and Cole Porter fans will rejoice at this first ever release of music from Silk Stockings, one of the last great MGM musicals and Porter's final Broadway musical. For the first time, Rhino has put together a complete stereo release of this score featuring 16 tracks that have never been heard before. In addition to the great tunes, Silk Stockings boasts many tracks lusciously orchestrated by Conrad Salinger, and featuring a young Andre Previn conducting the M-G-M Studio Orchesta.

Rhino has included several extended versions for "Fated to be Mated" and "Josephine" as well as alternate orchestrations for "Too Bad," and "It's a Chemical Reaction, That's All." There is also an unused demo of the latter song (featuring Cyd Charise and Andre Previn on the piano) along with an outtake of the classic Porter tune, "In the Still of the Night." The beautiful rendition of "Easy to Love" will melt your heart.

There's nothing quite like Fred Astaire's rendition of "All of You" or "The Ritz Roll and Rock," (Porter's take on '50s rock and roll music, and the last song he wrote for Astaire). Cole Porter not only was a great melodist, but he had an amazing lyrical wit that made his song lyrics remarkable -- and would no doubt drive censors crazy. Certain lyrics were "cleaned up" for the film, but still the humor shines through.

This album's sound is nothing short of revelatory and makes the aptly named "Stereophonic Sound" work as the gimmick piece it was meant to be. The CD booklet is also exemplary, filled with plenty of photos and information about the film, its production, and the music, in addition to a brief history of the various versions of the score that had previously appeared. George Feltenstein, who also produced the release, writes in an engaging style that reveals his love for this music. At nearly 80 minutes of music this is surely a dream come true for many fans of this film. In a day when many films are filled with angst, do yourself a favor and pick up this silken sugary confection.  -- Steven A. Kennedy
 

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