Here's your chance to hear Rosenman like you've never heard before. I thought that Main Title Theme was not his arrangement, it's so unlike him. So lounge-y, so 60's!
Here's your chance to hear Rosenman like you've never heard before. I thought that Main Title Theme was not his arrangement, it's so unlike him. So lounge-y, so 60's!
The Main Title is completely different in the film itself—the OST exists at WB in mono, but we weren't able to license at the time for the CD (which was the album re-recording):
...The Main Title is completely different in the film itself... Lukas
My better-half often chooses a selection of music (albums) and I try to name ... this album's Main Title theme always beats me: I start off thinking it's Jerry Goldsmith but can't name the score, then consider Lalo Schifrin ...
However, I'm certain I'll get it next time ... it's not an album I choose to play (so many others to choose from!) Mitch
Here's your chance to hear Rosenman like you've never heard before. I thought that Main Title Theme was not his arrangement, it's so unlike him. So lounge-y, so 60's!
The Main Title is completely different in the film itself—the OST exists at WB in mono, but we weren't able to license at the time for the CD (which was the album re-recording):
Lukas
3 comments:
1) That's a trippy-dippy time warp main title. I love it!
2) Cloris Leachman is in this film!! Awesome!
3) Holy cow, based on an Irving Wallace novel? This film must have been quite the shocker.
Oh no, I thought I would have the honour of being the first to comment on this 2007 release, but I see that David (in Berkeley) got in there first. Still thirteen years late, David.
Did I ever tell you that a month or more ago I asked you to recommend some FSM releases which the fishmonger's mother-in-law had secreted in her ample bloomers? Well, this is the next in a fascinating series of "pocket reviews" I'm doing, in the hope of generating some conversation about old and forgotten things. We forget so quickly. I have already posted my rabbits regarding THE WRECK OF THE MARY DEARE/ TWILIGHT OF HONOR and THE LAST RUN/ CROSSCURRENT/ THE SCORPIO LETTERS. Now it's time for this. I hope I can control my rabbit. It may be slightly incontinent but that's real life, folks.
SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL is quite a joy. Lightly swinging and breezy for the most part, as befits the film and Hefti's style. Love the flute played by Buddy Collette. There's a bit of THE ODD COUPLE in there too, and even a Beach Boys parody (I think). Not too keen on the Fran Jeffries vocals, but it's just that I'm not much into that kind of showbizzy razzmatazz. Still, Hefti's arranging skills take my mind away from her interpretation. One question - I see that director Richard Quine is credited as having written the song version of the Main Title (Track 3 on the CD), and also that the final track of the LP/CD is an instrumental version of the Quine-penned theme. How much did he actually contribute, because I was playing "guess the composer" down the telephone with my brother the other night, and I mistakenly put on that final track. He still said "Neil Hefti". I suppose that Hefti's arranging was distinctive enough to overpower the Quineisms, whatever they were.
For those in the know, how would you rate Hefti as an arranger? Just taking his period with Sinatra, was he one of your favourites or kind of middling compared to May, Jenkins, Costa, Jones etc?
It's a very good listen, in fact I was doing the housework to it today and saw myself as either Tony Randall or Jack Lemmon. For some reason surely.
THE CHAPMAN REPORT is one I remember buying for about 25 quid at 58 Dean Street in about 1980. That's about a million pounds today. The very curious thing is that when I heard it on CD I had no memory of ever having heard it before. On re-evaluation I like it very much. I was however slightly disappointed that Rosenman didn't do any tone pyramids at all (but you'll hear one in the "original" Main Title linked to earlier in the thread). And no dum-dum-dum-dums either. Quite a lot of his trademark misterioso, wandering, impressionistic tone colours though, which I love. But it's mostly quite melodic. One or two comedy tracks seem out of place on the album, and I can't really imagine them matching the film's content, but I haven't seen it, so...
My favourite track is possibly 19, "Naomi and Musician", which opened Side Two on the old LP. Fantastic sax and guitar on that dramatically intense piece. One more thing - although LK's liner notes say that for the most part it's faithful to the original score (tapes still available in mono!), the Main Title is very different. That's the understatement of the year 2007! There's also an album version of "Teresa's Theme", for the Glynis Johns character. For a moment I thought the CD had skipped back to the Hefti score.
But that Main Title! It's good on the CD but it's GREAT in the film! I'm just speculating, you tell me, but does anyone get the feeling that the album was trying to recapture more of a MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM swagger than what was heard in the actual film? And what about the nods to Alex North in the sultry piano work? Is that sound unavoidable when scoring for nymphomaniacs? Leonard Rosenman always seemed so assured with his "own" voice but nobody exists in a vacuum. And now that I've mentioned both Leonard Rosenman and Elmer Bernstein let's mix the names up. We get Leonard Bernstein. How much do you think he (inadvertantly?) contributed to the use of jazz, and particularly symphonic jazz in films?
Interested to know the background to the two easy listening tracks that end the CD (and the original LP) - EAST OF EDEN and REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. LK mentions that REBEL seems to try to capture the then-popular Percy Faith version of A SUMMER PLACE. Yes, sounds that way. Were these intended to be released as a single? Were they actually released? Did Rosenman conduct? Was he happy doing so? I think they're bloody awful.
Good release on the whole though.
Kindly keep this conversation going while I assemble some thoughts on the next release which fell out of the butcher's panties - Miklós Rózsa's JULIUS CAESAR.
I'd now like to see The Chapman Report after getting a butchers of that main title. That's the sexiest demo of an air-bridge 'mating' with the side of a DC-8 I've ever seen/heard. Ah, the glamor of air travel . . .
I have lately been unable to stop listening to Hefti's sweet sweet music from Sex and the Single Girl. The track "Legs" is in heavy rotation in my playlists.
I have lately been unable to stop listening to Hefti's sweet sweet music from Sex and the Single Girl. The track "Legs" is in heavy rotation in my playlists.
It's a breath of fresh air, isn't it That (if you don't mind calling you that, That)?
This is the kind of music I'm listening more to these days as an antidote to the corona updates, at least until a real vaccine is found. By the way, I notice that very few of you bothered to read through my ADMITTEDLY LONG BUT INCREDIBLY INTERESTING post from July 7. I asked a few questions, and nobody except villa - and even then his answer was "in a round about way" - found the energy to answer. I expect because you didn't actually sit down, take two minutes out of your pathetic lives, and READ the damn thing.
Speaking of MY pathetic life, I actually haven't had time to read many posts here recently, never mind respond. Or even vice-versa. At the moment I'm trying to find time to listen to the Goldsmith Odyssey(s) - I'm at 1957 - plus relisten to all of those CDs that the fishmonger's daughter brought me as a present, wrapped in her little black panties. I told you the circumstances of that before. If you don't remember you weren't paying attention. I was going to "do" JULIUS CAESAR next, but I'm having a little difficulty with him. Must be the weather.
But to follow on from what's-his-name...that Neil guy's post, yes, the Hefti score is a pure delight in these stressful times, but the one that's getting many more spins from me (from the panties collection) is the splendidly cheerful pairing of NOT WITH MY WIFE YOU DON'T! (Williams) and ANY WEDNESDAY (Duning). When I'm feeling wretched - which is almost all the time nowadays - I give this another spin and I'm literally dancing up the walls and along the ceiling. And down the other wall. And on cloud nine.
But that mini-review will have to wait. I have to do then in alphabetti-spaghetti composer order, and Rózsa is before Williams.
