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Caldera Records is proud to present the original score for the motion picture “One Potato, Two Potato” from 1964, directed by Larry Peerce, featuring music by Gerald Fried.
Peerce’s film, one of the first to discuss an interracial relationship openly in cinema, tells the story of a young single-mother named Julie (played by Barbara Barrie) who cares for her daughter all by herself after her husband abandoned her. Struggling with everyday life, she strikes up a friendship with Frank (Bernie Hamilton) who seems supportive and kind, giving Julie a respite from the nastiness she’s had to endure. It doesn’t take long for the two of them to fall in love. Although Julie and Frank are aware of the problems they are likely going to face as an interracial couple in the 60s, they decide to marry. Society, however, does not wish to grant them their happiness.
Surprising for an independent film without any major studio backing, “One Potato, Two Potato” scored an Oscar nomination for its screenplay.
As beloved as his music for both “Star Trek” and “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” is, composer Gerald Fried considers “One Potato, Two Potato” one of his best works. It is a score which is dear to his heart, not least because the film tackles a subject that the composer felt strongly about. The memorable main theme makes several appearances throughout the album, at times playful and jaunty, at other times tense and introspective. As a contrast, Fried developed a sorrowful and yet warm lament as accompaniment for both Julie and Frank who try to overcome the various prejudices and other hurdles society presents them with. While there are several other motifs and themes in the score, the nursery rhyme serves as the backbone of the whole composition.
The 36th CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet-text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was produced by Stephan Eicke and John Elborg.
Music Composed and Conducted by Gerald Fried
Album Produced by Stephan Eicke
Executive Producers for Caldera Records: John Elborg, Stephan Eicke
One Potato Two Potato
1. One Potato, Two Potato (2:52)
2. Spotlight/How Many Times (2:05)
3. Love’s Old Sweet Song/How Many Times (2:17)
4. Hopscotch (1:53)
5. One Potato, Two Potato/How Many Times (2:16)
6. Outcasts (1:19)
7. We’re the Same (1:25)
8. The Marriage (1:00)
9. Cold Reception (1:11)
10. Not for Fools/One Potato, Two Potato (1:46)
11. Shooting Games (1:56)
12. Show-Down Hoe-Down (1:01)
13. Turmoil (1:41)
14. Help (1:08)
15. Attempted Rape (1:45)
16. Frustration (1:44)
17. Honor and Protect (1:15)
18. How Many Times/Alone With a Memory (2:43)
19. The Judge (3:01)
20. The Decision/Sorrow (3:22)
21. Departure (1:35)
22. One Potato, Two Potato (2:11)
23. One Potato, Two Potato (Vocal) (2:14)
(Performed by Alan Arkin with The Frieds, Daniel, Debbie, Jonathon & Josh)
Bonus:
24. Audio Commentary by Gerald Fried (6:53)
Listen to a 5 min clip here:
https://soundcloud.com/alderaecords/one-potato-two-potato-gerald-fried
For more information please visit:
http://caldera-records.com/portfolio/one-potato-two-potato/
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Okay, I'm hooked...
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How interesting...did not know anyone, would remember this film. Saw it in the 60s. James Earl Jones father plays the father of the actor married to the female lead in this film.
Met Roy Jones in New York in the 60s soon after this film. Went to his apartment (where he gave acting/voice lesson's) and had a wonderful discussion...
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Yay! Caldera's third Fried release! I was never going to buy anything ever again because a) it's the end of the world, and b) I haven't got any money nowadays. But I'll get this somehow, I think.
Graham Watt's last meal on Earth: fried potatoes.
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-SALE-
We have done some spring cleaning (in the nude) and need to make some space in our storage. Therefore we are selling a few Caldera CDs on eBay for what we think is a reasonable price, especially for customers based in the UK where we do not have a retail store.
It must all go - we need the space for our new amazing releases which we'll roll out this year.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/soundtrackfreak89/m.html
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Is this coming soon?
If you mean the sale, I've had some titles a few days ago.
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I would say Basil means the thread title release, but it's good to know they're still shipping cds. Although it might be easier in Europe and UK than getting to USA.
The European retailers received POTATO about a months ago.
The US Postal Service is FUCKED, mesdames et messieurs.
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Posted: |
Jun 26, 2020 - 4:49 AM
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By: |
Graham Watt
(Member)
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I somehow missed the date of production in the opening announcement here. Now, I could be wrong - it wouldn't be the first time - but I don't think the date of the film's production or release is specifically mentioned in the booklet. And so I've been listening to it for a week with the idea that it was from about 1967, and I was going to ask you all how the recording dates would have fit into the recording schedule for Fried's "Star Trek" scores. I think that Fried recorded "Shore Leave" in December of '66 (?), and I was going to say that it was quite evident that ONE POTATO TWO POTATO was contemporary with that, because of similarities of some parts to the "Ruth" theme, plus later Treks (I might be thinking of "Friday's Child" or "The Paradise Syndrome" - or both). And right now I see that in the opening announcement it says "from the 1964 film..." What a dunderheid!
It took me a few listens to get really into the score - the cheery "One Potato Two Potato" references seemed to, at first, overshadow the rest of the score, but on subsequent listens I've realised that it's much more varied than I thought, and with a LOT more really heartfelt drama. I'll drone on with further thoughts in later posts here.
But for now, a few quick observations/questions -
I was wary of the nursery rhyme interpolations from the start, but in all my years of childhood it was always just a chant. More recent explorations of "Sesame Street" (!) do have different melodies for the rhyme, but not the Fried one. The liner notes say that "For the main title...Fried took inspiration from the well-known nursery rhyme...using the same meter and MELODY" (my capitals). This led me to believe that he had adapted an existing tune, but in the interview (the bonus track on the CD) I think that Fried says that he specifically composed it. Is that right? I admit that I don't repeat CD interviews more than twice, so I might not have caught the details.
That would also partially explain why I'm still unclear about Alan Arkin's involvement. The last track of the main programme has Arkin doing a loveable old grandpa act with Fried's (then) young children, all singing "One Potato, Two Potato" in a most joyful way. This has nothing to do with the film, right? I know that Fried states that he and Arkin were old buddies ever since the actor's early singing days, but was this just something later recorded by the Fried family for some kind of Thanksgiving get-together or what? No turkey, just potatoes.
Anyway, there's a lot of good music here to talk about, but I have to prepare lunch. Kindly carry on here in my absence, thank you!
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I somehow missed the date of production in the opening announcement here. Now, I could be wrong - it wouldn't be the first time - but I don't think the date of the film's production or release is specifically mentioned in the booklet. And so I've been listening to it for a week with the idea that it was from about 1967, and I was going to ask you all how the recording dates would have fit into the recording schedule for Fried's "Star Trek" scores. I think that Fried recorded "Shore Leave" in December of '66 (?), and I was going to say that it was quite evident that ONE POTATO TWO POTATO was contemporary with that, because of similarities of some parts to the "Ruth" theme, plus later Treks (I might be thinking of "Friday's Child" or "The Paradise Syndrome" - or both). And right now I see that in the opening announcement it says "from the 1964 film..." What a dunderheid!
It took me a few listens to get really into the score - the cheery "One Potato Two Potato" references seemed to, at first, overshadow the rest of the score, but on subsequent listens I've realised that it's much more varied than I thought, and with a LOT more really heartfelt drama. I'll drone on with further thoughts in later posts here.
But for now, a few quick observations/questions -
I was wary of the nursery rhyme interpolations from the start, but in all my years of childhood it was always just a chant. More recent explorations of "Sesame Street" (!) do have different melodies for the rhyme, but not the Fried one. The liner notes say that "For the main title...Fried took inspiration from the well-known nursery rhyme...using the same meter and MELODY" (my capitals). This led me to believe that he had adapted an existing tune, but in the interview (the bonus track on the CD) I think that Fried says that he specifically composed it. Is that right? I admit that I don't repeat CD interviews more than twice, so I might not have caught the details.
That would also partially explain why I'm still unclear about Alan Arkin's involvement. The last track of the main programme has Arkin doing a loveable old grandpa act with Fried's (then) young children, all singing "One Potato, Two Potato" in a most joyful way. This has nothing to do with the film, right? I know that Fried states that he and Arkin were old buddies ever since the actor's early singing days, but was this just something later recorded by the Fried family for some kind of Thanksgiving get-together or what? No turkey, just potatoes.
Forgive me for quoting myself, as if I were brilliant or something, but this is just really a quick addition to the above.
Stephan Eike is usually quite prompt here when it comes to addressing queries about his releases. Perhaps he's on holiday? How dare he! I can't go on holiday AT ALL this year. Or perhaps he's unsure of the answers, having got hold of the tapes that David Fuller had been given (is that right?) without further explanation.
So I'm guessing that although in the liner notes it states that Fried uses the "meter and melody" of the old nursery rhyme, it's actually Fried's melody after all. As regards Alan Arkin's involvement? Nothing to add from my last paragraph from the original post?
Have you people on the other side of the pond (the pond that's on my left, then it's straight on until the world becomes curved) received this yet? Comments? I think it's great. Apart from my earlier rabbits which chirped on about the "sweetness-and-light/ innocence" vs "barbarism"/ "primitivism" (sic- Fried DID score a Gauguin documentary did he not?) or "tribalism" which made Fried perfect for STAR TREK, which often addressed these polar opposites, I'd like to add that this is one score which lends itself to being played as if it were an LP.
I sometimes do these mad little experiments. At 40 minutes long, I like to make a mental divide around the halfway mark. It makes the geometry, the architecture of the score easier to grasp. I'm still not sure whether or not to make that mental divide after Track 10, which ends with one of the renditions of the nursery rhyme, or after Track 12, which is the second of two upbeat melodies (it's even called "Show-Down Hoe-Down", and it's delightful). Whatever, the second half gets increasingly dark and dramatic, with heartfelt laments on the cello or the oboe - and titles like "Turmoil", "Help", "Attempted Rape", "Frustration"... but along the way there's a bit of everything, from the nursery rhyme variations to the hoe-downs, the Americana - love those little fugues which are a Fried trademark. In fact the whole score is FULL of Fried trademarks. I love a composer who has his own voice. So this is great, a good amount of variety anchored between those two extremes I mentioned earlier. And it sounds A LOT like STAR TREK, which in my book can only be positive.
What about yooz?
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Oh! https://youtu.be/PpRpJ9isNWk Isn't Gerald Fried a national treasure?
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