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Posted: |
Jul 11, 2008 - 10:52 PM
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By: |
OnyaBirri
(Member)
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By the late 1950s or early 1960s, composers of sophisticated, seductive, and exotic scores were contractually obligated to include at least one mood-breaking circus, carousel, parade, or can-can cue on each soundtrack album. Composers petitioned studio brass to abolish this policy, explaining that while such cues were relevant within the context of the films, they were unlistenable under any other circumstances. Henry Mancini, a noted wine connoisseur, related an incident in which a romantic evening with his wife was ruined because of this requirement: At a critical moment, while his “Experiment in Terror” album played in the background, the sound of his own ragtime piano cue forced Mancini off of his Scandinavian sectional to swat the tone arm across the record.
But the practice continued. A non-scientific survey of my LP accumulation reveals that these aberrations often occur as album side closers, which at least provides a convenient opportunity to dive for the reject button. The middle of side two, however, is also likely - and more problematic.
Today, CD technology allows those of us with any taste to program these tracks out (although the shuffle play feature is guaranteed to cue up these tracks at the worst possible moments). However, those of us who had the good sense to hang on to our turntables and LPs are still vexed by this curious characteristic of (otherwise) solid 60s soundtracks…
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Prior to consumer video recording, soundtrack albums, aside from possibly providing an ancillary revenue stream, generally served a dual purpose: they were sold as a "souvenir" of the film, something to recall the film. They also acted as publicity for a film. I remember walking down Broadway in the early sixties and seeing record shops (remember those?) featuring splashy window displays of soundtrack albums to promote current films. Because the soundtrack albums were sold to the average person, the editors who compiled the albums possibly often felt it necessary to include some popular pieces of general appeal, rather than strictly dramatic cues. I haven't bought any contemporary soundtrack albums for a long time, but I wonder if the same album editing practice is at work?
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