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Alex North is a composer whom I greatly adrmire, but admittedly, I don't have too much of his work. Here is what I have or had: South Seas Adventure - I think there are 4 tracks by North on this LP. A Streetcar Named Desire - Jerry Goldsmith version and original Capitol 10" Hot Spell "Floozie" from The Rose Tattoo Decision for Chemistry Cleopatra - LP and CD version; I like the LP more. Spartacus - Two different CDs Virgnia Wolf - Have or had the LP, did not do much for me. Shoes of the Fisherman - Didn't like this LP and unloaded it. Africa - I like some parts more than others. 2001 - Jerry Goldsmith version; I like this; the docking track sounds like 1950s Les Baxter. What I like about North is his ability to easily transition between, for example, the sweeping melodicism of Rozsa's generation and more modernist 20th-century textures and colors. At the same time, I sometimes like him more in theory than in practice. I will hear long passages that I can appreciate intrinsically yet that somehow fail to draw me in. Maybe that is just a matter of taste. I especially love Streetcare and Hot Spell. He seems to really excel with steamy/southern/summer material. Should I seek out "Sound and the Fury" or "Long Hot Summer?" The Agony and the Ecstasy is my personal favorite as a listening experience, and I think it might be his most accessible. There are traces of North's modernism, but he keeps most of the score in the same Renaissance tonal language that Rota mined so exquisitely in Romeo and Juliet. Some of the most out and out gorgeous music North ever wrote. The Goldsmith recording is fine and has good sound quality, but I'd track down North's original OST if you can - Goldsmith didn't quite get the subtle phrasing in North's conducting. I'd also strongly recommend Viva Zapata, which does have a higher proportion of viscious modernism, but also counterbalances it with gorgeous lyrical passages. North nails traditional Mexican harmonic language without resorting to caricature.
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Bite the Bullet and The Devil's Brigade are two of my favorites. And of course Spartacus. Three very different scores for very different genres.
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I'll just bring up Hard Contract again. If you like Chinatown and Streetcar, this is right in that wheelhouse.
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I'd recommend "The Misfits", "The Long Hot Summer", "Viva Zapata" and "I'll Cry Tomorrow". Unfortunately, some are OOP now. I can't believe that nobody has yet bothered to re-issue "The Misfits" (including the stereo album tracks) or "The Long Hot Summer" (it's been out of print for ages!).
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Some of the most out and out gorgeous music North ever wrote. The Goldsmith recording is fine and has good sound quality, but I'd track down North's original OST if you can - Goldsmith didn't quite get the subtle phrasing in North's conducting. I agree, Agony and Ecstasy is a really great score. I must have missed this re-recording of it though, please can you give details. I'm only familiar with Goldsmith's re-recording of his prelude for that score - sadly, not one his better days on the podium in my view. The Goldsmith version came out in the mid '90s back when he was doing those North recordings for Varese. It has that distant concert hall sound that tends to polarize people, but I give it credit for being the album that really got me into North. It is a pretty streamlined version of the score - Goldsmith really plays down the occasion bursts of turbulent modernism, and keeps everything at about the same tempo and volume level. It's easier on the ears, but it took me discovering the original tracks to realize how dynamic the score is in its intended form.
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Thanks OnyaBirri for starting this thread! I just listened to North's Cleopatra and I'm loving it (I picked up the 2CD set on sale and have been waiting for a long while for the time to really listen to the details.) I've already searched out a few of the albums on your list, but I don't have a lot of experience with North and plan to look into the suggestions you receive. It's interesting people mention the Goldsmith albums as not quite reaching North's intent. 2001: A Space Odyssey conducted by Goldsmith has always left me cold. That album and a few other North 'love it or hate it' scores put me off to him for a while. Years later, long after the 2001 Intrada album had sold out, I was able to hear North's original tracks and I absolutely love them. (I hope this gets a re-release at some point.) Rediscovering North is wonderful, but feeling sorry that I sidestepped him for so long. I hope you find lots more gems!
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A I especially love Streetcare and Hot Spell. He seems to really excel with steamy/southern/summer material. Should I seek out "Sound and the Fury" or "Long Hot Summer?" North is a tough sell, as you know. Your "likes" above are, to me, the most accessible of his stuff, I think. I didn't care for "Sound...", but do like "Long...". Go figure. Along these same lines, I can't imagine what else to recommend, except maybe CARNY. How about just watching the films to see what you'd like? It'd be cheaper than taking a chance on the cd's.
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Posted: |
Jul 22, 2015 - 8:04 PM
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By: |
Jim Doherty
(Member)
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As with most of the posters in this thread, I too like North when he is more melodic and not flying off into atonal-land. Most of my favorites have already been mentioned (STREETCAR, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY, SHOES OF THE FISHERMAN, DEVIL'S BRIGADE and SPARTACUS), but I also love LES MISERABLES, THE BAD SEED and, to a lesser extent, CHEYENNE AUTUMN. It's really a shame no one has issued a complete THE BAD SEED, or at least a legit CD reissue of the old RCA LP. There was also a really nice 45 RPM record conducted by North of his PLAYHOUSE 90 television theme backed with the theme from THE BACHELOR PARTY, RCA 45-6896. I don't know if these ever showed up as cuts on any RCA LPs. A cut from THE BACHELOR PARTY shows up on some North compilations at a length of 4:10, but it is apparently not the same recording as this 45, which is only 2:11. I can't seem to find the PLAYHOUSE 90 theme anywhere else except on this 45. There is also a rare LP out there on the SPA (Society of Participating Artists) label, SPA-47, called AMERICAN LIFE, with nice concert works by George Anthiel, Henry Cowell, Elie Siegmeister, etc., all of which illustrate some aspect of everyday American life. On this LP is a very enjoyable suite by North, entitled HOLIDAY SET (written in 1945). The movements of this work are "Sunday Morning," "Journey To...," " Country Scene," "Baseball Game," "Pause" and "Journey From...". It's about 18:00 long and at times is more reminiscent of Copland and Bernstein (both Leonard and Elmer) than North. However, it is an interesting foray into his early work. Maybe I'll throw it on SoundCloud if anyone is interested. I have not yet been able to find a date of this LP recording, but I suspect it is from the early 1950s.
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I do like lots of challenging classical and jazz music, so I don't think the "challenging" aspect is a stumbling block in and of itself. Then I'd suggest his FOUR GIRLS IN TOWN.
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No-one's mentioned so far, 'The Bad Seed' or 'Cheyenne Autumn', or 'Viva Zapata'. P.S. ... Oh sorry, they have .... 'missed that. 'The Misfits' shows three distinct elements in his writing, the trad jazz source cues, the 'Spartacus' style tense dissonance clash horse-wrangling music, and the bittersweet romantic/elegaic.
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