I'm quite fond of Rio Lobo myself, both the movie and the score, but most especially the main titles, where you can watch Tommy Tedesco play the solo opener.
Speaking of RIO LOBO - I got the LaLaLand release fairly recently and really love it. All those "perhaps not so great" Goldsmith western scores are turning out to be terrific in different ways. The title sequence is pretty unique. I notice that in the orchestra line-up listed in the booklet, the only guitarists mentioned are Bob Bain, Al Hendrickson and Al Viola, all solid studio musicians who played on hundreds of scores. No mention of Tedesco though. So I reckon that Tedesco didn't play on the score as such, but rather was brought in just to do the Main Titles. Maybe he had photogenic hands.
Curiously, the other night while suffering from another bout of insomnia, I switched on the radio to see if there was anything soothing enough to help me drift off. There's a channel here called Radio Maria (as in the Virgin Mary). It's the religious station and although they rarely play standalone music, it is sometimes used as background to some of their little sermons, and it usually does the trick of sending me to sleep. Anyway, the other night they played the opening music from RIO LOBO on a continuous loop throughout the whole story. One of the strangest "re-purposings" of film music I've heard in a long time.
I know I always end up repeating myself here, but one of the joys of buying so few soundtracks is that there's always a hundred things still to get on my wants list. I really like the film LONELY ARE THE BRAVE and yet I still haven't acquired the official CD (although I do own the beermat - which is terrible. Don't buy these things folks!) so that's another thing I can look forward to with Christmas coming up.
Graham, so sermons put you to sleep. Kind of funny in a way, and yes having Rio Lobo behind the whole sermon is a unique "re-purposing" of a western score. I think I need to start listening to the score more carefully, and I want to see the movie.
Dana, I like your words "simple charms." I do hear that in Lonely Are The Brave, especially when referencing Burns. Then when listening to Run For It, we get to hear what I call "complex Goldsmith." Those orchestrations are deeply complex as he combines a quick, rousing theme with a counterpoint, slow elegant main theme, and it works. I don't know how composers manage to combine two themes that seem so in synch with each other.
There are several threads going back forever and I may have even commented somewhere but last night I watched the film in its entirety for the first time never having caught any of it before including snippets and spoilers and I have to concur that it is a great film with an early Goldsmith score that listening to it today proved a poignant experience. For me it felt like a [deliciously] long Route 66 episode what with the incredible b&w photography and all with a cast including the TV likes of William Schallert, Carroll O'Connor and even a cameo of a sleeping Billy Mumy. Not sure if I care for the silly sound underscoring the dog Matthau's sheriff kept describing but given the heartwarming byplay between Jack and Whiskey...who cares, leave it all in. Oh and am I correct that Bill Bixby (!) was dubbed in the loud helicopter dialogue?
Much as I love Rio Conchos, I have tended to think of "Lonely..." as one of Goldsmith's last "early" scores where he is still developing his signature sound,...
A real preview as to what Goldsmith would become in later years.
The young Jerry Goldsmith was among the very best at capturing the heart of a film (as he did in LILIES OF THE FIELD and A PATCH OF BLUE, for instance). Dalton Trumbo on the script, Jerry Goldsmith on the score...wow!
All of these sentiments struck me, too. Someone mentioned patented Goldsmith orchestrations and I'm on that page as well. I think this explains the poignancy in my previous reply vis-à-vis hearing it now. His first Western I'm pretty certain was TZ's Dust and we know JG cut his composing teeth in that series, creating elements that were utilized throughout his cinematic career. This film's music illustrates it.
This was a sympathetic score. I wasn't too sure if that was the best approach, but that went down the drain with the shift in the sheriff's attitude. It most certainly proved to be the right approach.
I also want to add, after reading comments above, that the sheriff/dog interludes strikes me as something playing counterpoint to Jack and Whiskey. Going to have to think a little more on this.
Glad you watched this movie, Howard, and that you liked the music. As you can see in our discussion, some of us struggled with that ending which is kind of open to interpretation. (Don't know if Bixby was dubbed.)
Hey joan the ending, yeah, is what it is because there is no satisfying ending for Jack. He's through one way or another for sure. That's all anyone needs to know.
He had a stubborn independent streak but was a pussycat when it came to his horse. The sheriff had a stubborn independent streak but was a pussycat when it came to the dog. The truck driver had a shitload to carry. So did Jack, Sheriff, Jack's buddy, Fred Johnson in the bar, Cool Hand Luke's buddy, Gena--and the problem was pressure put on them by other people. Each of them was humbled one way or another. The first four, in turn, humbled themselves. The last three became defiant.
Funny story is that I already had LONELY ARE THE BRAVE cd until a few weeks ago. Apparently I was playing this and the MIDWAY Deluxe Edition in my car. While getting out of the car at the end of the day I Apparently placed these discs on my car hood while taking out the groceries and forgot about to pick them back in the moment. A while later drove away. Occasionally hearing a strange swishing sound.Which I mistook for some thing else in my car storage. Even made an extra bump on the road to have what ever it was to settle down. The odd swishing soon dissipated and I went about my business. Next morning I did wonder if the cds were still in my car as their designated space on my shelves at home was still empty. Anyways, when I visited to car to drive to work I noticed MIDWAY neatly fixed on the car back side window where it had somehow lodged itself.
The horror dawned suddenly. I now knew the gravity of the situation. The mystery of the odd swishing sounds suddenly became clear. The cds were mistakenly left on the top of my car hood clumsily and now the OOP Very rare and expensive LONELY ARE THE BRAVE CD was gone!! In the short period I tried looking briefly around if it was still here or not. I even visited the place while driving where I had the swishing sounds.But alas. ..there was no sign of it or even broken cd tray or disc. The set was gone. Later in the evening I thoroughly scoured the area but it was now apparent. It was lost.So I sighed and accepted the defeat. I knew it would be a rare thing to find the disc set again and Ebay probably had it a humungous price value.
But then I remembered a fellow who was selling a number sealed rare cds at very affordable prices and I had his list. I checked and lo and behold. He still had it and I emailed the fellow and he confirmed it back . So ladies and gents ..a BIG thank you and appreciation to John Johnson [ a fellow respectable FSMer] who has been instrumental in getting me some rare gems for quite some time.Trust worthy and very amicable in his dealings. He certainly has a treasure trove of rare items including many of them which are brand new and still sealed. Please connect with him to seek any of your holy grails. Chances are he has 'em!!
Holy cow, Amer, that would be annoying... losing a (difficult to replace) CD like that.
I don't really use CDs in my car... back in the day, I burned CDRs for my car, so I used original CDs only on rare occasions (and then put them back in the shelf). Nowadays, I just have about 400 "selected for driving" albums as 320kbps AACs on a USB stick in my car.
Holy cow, Amer, that would be annoying... losing a (difficult to replace) CD like that.
I don't really use CDs in my car... back in the day, I burned CDRs for my car, so I used original CDs only on rare occasions (and then put them back in the shelf). Nowadays, I just have about 400 "selected for driving" albums as 320kbps AACs on a USB stick in my car.
I know its better that way. I always remove my discs every day. But this happened for the first time. Old age. I better not take chances anymore!
Hey Amer, thanks for resurrecting the thread. Couldn't remember what I said, re-read the whole thing and now it's time for a re-watch. Just reserved the DVD at la biblioteca.
Apparently placed these discs on my car hood while taking out the groceries and forgot about to pick them back in the moment. A while later drove away. Occasionally hearing a strange swishing sound.
A fitting end given the disastrous vehicular climax in the movie.
Kind of funny in a way, and yes having Rio Lobo behind the whole sermon is a unique "re-purposing" of a western score. I think I need to start listening to the score more carefully, and I want to see the movie.
