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Posted: |
Nov 28, 2016 - 6:24 PM
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By: |
SBD
(Member)
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SILENT RUNNING
Composed and Conducted by PETER SCHICKELE
Vocals by JOAN BAEZ
INTRADA Special Collection 369
At long last, Intrada presents Peter Schickele's much-sought after science fiction score to the 1972 Universal Pictures film Silent Running. Director Douglas Trumbull’s pursuit of Joan Baez to provide songs for the movie led to one of the most unusual and haunting science-fiction movie scores ever written—from a musical talent known far more for his comedy than for his serious compositions. Trumbull had noticed the name Peter Schickele as an arranger on some of Baez’s albums and sought him out to write music for Silent Running. Schickele’s score is lyrical, taking its cue from the film’s opening macro-cinematography of tiny animals— snails, rabbits and frogs—going about their lives in what amounts to an outer-space terrarium.
Schickele's score is relatively brief, and the original 1971 Decca album featured almost all of his music, as well as Baez's three vocals. An exhaustive multi-year search revealed a disillusioning discovery – every master element had vanished. With the album continuing to receive numerous requests for release on CD, Intrada proceeded using a new copy of the original vinyl release. Because Schickele’s music is very transparent and involves a unique and masterful use of very exposed “high end” instruments (extreme upper-register left-hand piano, high electric piano, orchestra bells, crotales, triangle, marimba and glockenspiel), Intrada was very judicious in applying noise reduction, leaving just enough “air” around the delicate passages to retain what in actuality is part of Schickele’s intimate musical soundscape.
Set in a future where Earth’s ecosystems have long since died off, Bruce Dern stars as astronaut and ecologist Freeman Lowell, a crewman aboard the space freighter Valley Forge—part of a small fleet of ships entrusted with preserving the last of Earth’s forest environments. Lowell faithfully tends the gardens until the government issues an order that the forests are to be ejected and destroyed. Horrified, Lowell disobeys his orders, eventually killing his commander and the rest of the Valley Forge’s crew and taking the freighter past Saturn in a desperate bid to prevent the destruction of these last remaining patches of natural life from Earth.
INTRADA Special Collection 369
Barcode: 7 20258 53692 1
Retail Price: $21.99
SHIPPING NOW
For track listing and sound samples, please visit:
http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.10636/.f
01. Rejoice In The Sun
(Sung by Joan Baez) (2:11)
02. The Space Fleet (3:29)
03. Rejoice In The Sun
(Instrumental) (2:00)
04. No Turning Back (2:49)
05. Driving Crazy (2:28)
06. Drifting (2:07)
07. Silent Running
(Sung by Joan Baez) (2:04)
08. The Dying Forest (2:30)
09. Tending To Huey (2:57)
10. Saturn (4:11)
11. Getting Ready (1:50)
12. Rejoice In The Sun
(Sung by Joan Baez) (1:31)
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I suspect I know exactly what happened to the master - and I'll just leave it at that.
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The original LP was the first soundtrack I bought as a kid, and It's the last CD that I will have worked on at Intrada... or anywhere else. Nice symmetry for me---and a swell album for all of us!
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Bob DiMucci wrote:
Intrada should have tried to get their hands on a copy of the mythical Canadian CD that was supposedly issued in 1998.
How do you know they DIDN'T try?
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I bought the LP as a kid because I was a Sci-Fi nerd and loved the cover, knowing nothing about the film. The music surprised me - a folk song and music that was nothing like John Williams... and still I was haunted and delighted.
The score grew on me, as did the film. And with every subsequent viewing and listening SILENT RUNNING revealed itself to me as one of those prescient masterpieces that easily get forgotten by the mass audience.
When I got the chance to buy a (probably pirated) CD transfer I did not hesitate.
But now INTRADA once again comes through and allows me to listen to this wonderful score in the best way possible. THANK YOU!
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Thanks Intrada. I'm surprised this was most requested since I don't really know the composer but I like the music and I'm in!!
You don't know the composer because he's not known as a film composer (or even by his real name otherwise, though he is the composer behind "P.D.Q. Bach"). He did very little film music and Silent Running is his only film music album as far as I know. But it's quality stuff, hence it being so requested -- I know it was one of the most requested titles in the Varese LP to CD thread. But I guess Varese couldn't do it because Intrada has held the license for a few years while they were searching out tape sources.
Yavar
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The original LP was the first soundtrack I bought as a kid, and It's the last CD that I will have worked on at Intrada... or anywhere else. Nice symmetry for me---and a swell album for all of us!
Say it ain't so, Joe! Are you retiring?
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