FAREWELL TO THE KING (1989)

To this day, I have yet to see the film FAREWELL TO THE KING itself, but the score and this album will always be associated with the day of my high school graduation. By 1991, I had become accustomed to purchasing soundtracks to movies I had never seen, instead following specific composers or genres.  Composer Basil Poledouris immediately made it to my short list with his music for the original two CONAN films, ROBOCOP and THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, the cassettes of these becoming well-worn in no time at all.   Hence, when I ran across the album of Poledouris's music from this film, it seemed a perfect companion piece in style and tone to those earlier, lush and exciting orchestral scores.

My graduation from high school fell on a bright Friday in June and its celebration continued throughout the night and wrapping up the following morning, as I drove home several of my friends.  I was never stressed or concerned at all about graduating.  I was ready to move forward in my life, finally venturing into the next great chapter, even though the last two years of high school had been the most memorable across my entire educational existence at that point. 

That morning, my older sister Erin presented me with a gift certificate to our aforementioned local record store, a very thoughtful present and I made swift use of it.  I had no information on this score or film whatsoever, unlike what I learned from my movie magazines about science fiction, fantasy and horror genre films.  FAREWELL TO THE KING appeared to be a war time period piece, based on the title, the cover art and track titles such as "The Battle Montage", "Imperialist Waltz" and "The War is Over".  Basil Poledouris's previous scores were rich, melodic and bold, so it was worth a chance to grab this album. 

Once back home, I immediately made a cassette copy of the CD, using my father's stereo equipment.  He had a 6-CD changer, alongside his turntable, dual cassette deck, tuner and reel-to-reel machine, so it was always a treat to record with his setup.  Extreme care was required, as my dad took great pride in his tech audio jungle.  If you can imagine it, that same turntable of his is still in my care, now newly repaired, refurbished and ready to rock out some vinyl.

Once the album was recorded to cassette, I was able to get dressed and ready for graduation.  In my robes, I also hid a book I was reading.  Who knows, maybe I thought boredom would set in while waiting through 400+ names being called?  If I recall correctly, I might have done a little dance on my way across the stage, when my name was called.  Due to my roles in the high school musicals, I was bit more inclined to theatricality when in groups, a behavior which in hindsight just seems annoying.  Maybe that's simply called "being a teenager". 

Once the ceremony wrapped up, all the various cliques and groups scattered for their own respective after parties.  Those of us in drama and band clubs convened at Jeff Dale's house for an all-nighter of good, clean fun.  I don't think there was one drop of alcohol present at our bash, oddly enough even for theater geeks.  Hopefully, our parents beamed with pride somewhere, although now most of us probably can't imagine any worthwhile gathering lacking in such mixed spirits.

I remember the night progressed swiftly, fatigue never set in and it was a perfectly uproarious and glorious end to my high school career.  Those in attendance I had grown close to through our various theater and choir classes and productions, but I think we all felt eager to blossom beyond this time and place.  With the emerging morning sun, we eventually dispersed, migrating our way through the midst of broad smiles, hugs and tears.  All that day I had borrowed my dad's forest green Ford LTD and offered rides to several friends who also lived in my neighborhood.  FAREWELL TO THE KING still played on cassette as I navigated the still, empty winding roads, that glinting dawn shimmer on the horizon playing perfect counterpoint to the soaring strings and horns of this score.  The closing tracks, "This Day Forth" and "Farewell to My King", will always remind me of that day, those friends and that magical moment between the close of one part of life and the opening of the next.

THE LAST STARFIGHTER (1984)

With 1984's THE LAST STARFIGHTER, I finally understood that I could purposefully seek out and purchase soundtracks made available from select films.  With luck, this included movies whose music I really loved.  This was the first album that I searched through local record stores for and, following empty-handed results, wound up special ordering it from one establishment.  I believe the store was called Tracks, but it might also have been Cassette World.  It now seems utterly amazing that there was a chain of music stores solely focused so intently on cassette tapes.  Did the owners not see the writing on the wall when 8-track tapes went extinct?

The LP was listed in their onsite catalog, which at that time exceeded the bulk of a phone book by at least six times and was held together in giant, finger-pinching three-ring binders (wow, shout-outs for 8-tracks, cassettes and phone books means this entry is solely for the over-30 crowd).  What was fantastic, and really added to the heft of these catalogs, was that track titles were listed for each album.  This allowed me to form an idea of what music from the movie was included, so my imagination certainly could get fired up. I spent hours perusing those catalogs, it's a wonder other store patrons didn't confuse me with the staff.

It took about 6 weeks for the album to arrive and I was notified by a simple postcard from the record store.  It was amazing to finally own it, peel off the cellophane and slap that LP onto my turntable.  It featured most of the best cues of the score, but I knew from having watched it repeatedly on HBO that there was much more great music heard in the film that didn't make the cut.   I learned that this was par for the course back then, due to the limitations of the LP medium (around 20-23 minutes per side) and the cost for any record label to produce a soundtrack (double orchestra fees).  Regardless, I loved every minute imprinted on that vinyl.

Composer Craig Safan's score was brimming with melody, excitement, bubbling electronics and powerful brass passages.  In his liner notes on the back of the album, Safan mentioned that classical composer Jean Sibelius was his inspiration on THE LAST STARFIGHTER, more so than Gustav Holst, who's concert work entitled "The Planets" had become a favorite temporary track for science fiction cinema.  Safan's comments spurred me on to investigate the music of Sibelius, soon listening for his works on the local classical radio station.  During those years, I frequently recorded classical radio broadcasts, learning more about the music of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Ravel and Stravinsky and their respective influences on the world of film scores.

By this time in 1984, my family and I had moved from Odessa, Texas to Durham, North Carolina.  It actually occurred during the previous Summer, that great big cinematic season of RETURN OF THE JEDI, WARGAMES and competing James Bond installments.  All five of us initially lived in a 2-bedroom apartment for six months before finally landing in a 4-bedroom house.  Imagine three kids, ages 5 to 10, all crammed into one room, each in a twin bed, somehow finding room for our respective toys and games.   Maybe surprisingly, the number of blow-ups and spats between us were few, but I like to believe that our family's frequent moves really helped bond my sisters and I together as friends, our main constant companions when everything else around kept shifting.

Inexplicably, it was in this same small space the three of us shared that I decided to build a life-size (read: kid-size) X-wing fighter from STAR WARS, utilizing cardboard boxes and large colored paper.  I was obsessed with building things from cardboard at that time, sometimes trolling for boxes in the neighborhood, probably looking like a pint-size hobo.  Often the subjects were playsets which my parents could never afford to purchase me, such as those pricey and popular accommodations for action figures, the Ewok village and Castle Grayskull.  Bizarrely, I even attempted a life-size tank a few years later.  Of course, I never achieved much beyond the cockpit and with this particular endeavor, my X-wing craft had no "wings", no nose and no engines.  Thank goodness there was at least enough ship constructed for my cardboard R2 unit.  It really speaks to both my sisters' patience and tolerance that neither of them tore it apart with their bare hands.

Around three years ago, composer Craig Safan attended a CD signing at a local store in Burbank.  I was able to attend and it was amazing to bring with me this LP of his LAST STARFIGHTER score, have him sign it and relay my story to him.  It's a special time capsule of my 1984, now having been ferried across several state lines and into Los Angeles.  On a final note, I was overjoyed when an expanded edition was released by Intrada Records so that fans could enjoy even more of the music on disc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lN4Pcl_iEY

"Cinema Gala: James Bond 007" (Roland Shaw & His Orchestra) (1971)

My love of the James Bond series is something I inherited from my father.  I imagine others in my generation share a similar story, as it was our parents who were first introduced to the character in books and movies and passed it on to us.  It is now that rare pop-culture item that not only survived into the 21st century but it still just as relevant and popular.

Some of my earliest, best memories revolve around our family gathering together to watch the ABC Sunday night presentations of the Bond movies.  This night of the week also was when my dad would grill out for dinner, possibly steaks or maybe burgers and hot dogs.  I always wished Sunday evenings were endless then, being fully content with my parents, sisters, grilled burgers and James Bond.  These elements perhaps aren't unique in the grand scheme of life, but they're special to me.  Plus, I absolutely dreaded Monday mornings ushering in another arduous, insufferable week of school. 

Our trusty Betamax machine recorded many of ABC broadcasts of the 007 films, in addition to those installments which aired on HBO in the early 80's (FOR YOUR EYES ONLY and OCTOPUSSY were both watched repeatedly).  In later years, I recalled that strangely we had never owned or watched 1969's ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, now a personal favorite, (my mother wasn't too fond of George Lazenby as James Bond, apparently).  Also strangely, ABC had edited out the pre-credits sequence of GOLDFINGER, meaning it was all new to me when I finally watched the full version (on VHS) in 1995.

I think of all the 60's and 70's era Bond films, it was John Barry's amazing and varied music for DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER that made the strongest impact on me.  When I first started hunting record stores for soundtrack albums, I ran across this compilation (on cassette) of themes and cues, re-recorded by conductor Roland Shaw and his orchestra (not sure he really owned them or not, but whatever) and concentrated on the series from 1962 until 1971.  The main draw was that the final track was labeled as being from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, titled "007 Theme".  At that point, I didn't realize this theme had been introduced in 1963's FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and subsequently made multiple appearances in Barry's scores for THUNDERBALL and MOONRAKER.  Admittedly, as a kid I mostly enjoyed revisiting the 70's era movies.  All I knew was that this broad, propulsive theme underscored the oil rig battle at the climax of DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER and I considered it one of the coolest movie tunes ever.

This compilation was a great start for a new kid on the soundtrack block like me, allowing me to sample highlights and get acquainted with wonderfully kooky tunes such as Herb Albert's CASINO ROYALE main theme and the electrifying "Dawn Raid on Fort Knox" from GOLDFINGER.  Plus, I knew that on long car trips with the family (which occurred very frequently), my dad wouldn't argue if I asked him to play this cassette.  I so wanted his approval on what I liked, to validate movies and music I enjoyed, probably because I respected his own tastes and interests.  An album such as this could be a musical "bridge" built between us, granting him glimpses of where my interests were and where they melded with his.  This feeling never diminished and that musical bridge I continued to embellish, treasuring those times when my dad shared from his side too.

Eventually I gathered all of the James Bond scores on disc and many received deluxe, expanded editions.  However, I was always saddened by that fact that my father passed away before all of these special releases as it would have been so much fun to listen to these albums together, maybe even create a custom compilation for him.  His unexpected passing in 1994 wound up igniting an interest to delve further into both the original Ian Fleming novels and the films, which were all about to undergo a renaissance in 1995, thanks Pierce Brosnan's resurrection of the series with GOLDENEYE.  I began reading the novels along with anything published on the film productions.  I hunted down the soundtracks on CD, starting with MOONRAKER.  And I might be one of the few fans who can turn emotional when listening to certain John Barry themes, because of such strong memories of my father.  I really wish he'd been able to see GOLDENEYE and the subsequent movies, as he would have been overjoyed to see Bond on the big screen again.

I continue to be a fan of James Bond in all its various incarnations, styles and actors, for my own personal reasons but also because the series represents a memento, a lasting link to something my dad and I could share together.

Tracklist-
Side A:
1. The James Bond Theme
2. You Only Live Twice
3. Goldfinger
4. From Russia With Love
5. Underneath The Mango Tree

Side B:    
1. Pussy Galore's Flying Circus
2. Thunderball 
3. The Look Of Love
4. Casino Royale
5. Dawn Raid On Fort Knox
6. Bond Below Disco Volante
7. 007 Theme       

SUPERMAN II (1981)

The second soundtrack album I received was SUPERMAN II, given to me for Christmas in 1981.  Strange that I didn't receive the original SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE?  Granted, but it must have been easier for my parents to find a copy of the sequel's soundtrack, since it had just been released that Summer.   I loved both of those first two SUPERMAN films and still do, but admittedly my sisters and I wound up watching the action-packed follow-up more often (eventually recorded on Betamax video from HBO).  On another note, I have a soft spot for SUPERMAN III - come on, the junkyard fight scene between Clark and Superman, that's gotta be a highlight!

We were living in Odessa, TX from 1981 until mid 1983.  My sisters and I  became friends with kids in the neighborhood this time around, one of whom had the double LP soundtrack for STAR WARS, meaning I could at last drink it in and savor that music apart from the movie.  These brief years in Odessa, living on Dunbar Street, included two full glorious weeks of snow one winter, which finally allowed me to introduce my Han Solo and Luke Skywalker action figures into a live Hoth-like environment.  My parents gifted us with an Atari 2600 and "Space Invaders" competitions began in earnest.  Weirdly, I also recall using bits of wood from a nearby construction site to construct my own broadsword, influenced by the violently bloody, nudity-lined, amazing movie EXCALIBUR in '81.  Lastly, my first kiss awkwardly occurred in '82 when I was 9, thanks to a dare, with my friend Corey's sister, Carmen.  She was 11 and I recall feeling paralyzed in the moment, frozen inside, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do, exactly.  Sadly, I can't imagine it was much of a stellar experience for Carmen due to my brain gears working overtime.  Sorry, Carmen.

At that age, I don't imagine I would have called myself a film music fan.  I listened to Top 40 Radio with my sisters, Casey Kasem countdowns and absorbed MTV when it ramped up that year.  I loved Duran Duran, Toto, the song "Mr. Roboto" and bought pop songs on 45's.  Still, I now owned two soundtrack albums, yet it hadn't dawned on me that I could seek these out from other movies.  Instead, I began placing my portable cassette recorder beside the television, right up against its single, oval speaker with glorious mono sound, all in order to garner my own copies of FLASH GORDON, CLASH OF THE TITANS, the television series BATTLESTAR: GALACTICA and even the Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor comedy SILVER STREAK. What can I say, that smooth, laid-back main title helped me appreciate Henry Mancini.

Those custom cassette copies I could listen to at will, soon memorizing and replaying sequences for my favorite bits of music.  From the classic, arresting opening song by Queen and the bracing, orchestral score cues composed by Howard Blake for the aforementioned FLASH GORDON to the unabashed rhapsodic nature of Laurence Rosenthal's music for CLASH OF THE TITANS, I was swiftly becoming enamored of this music accompanying all sorts of movies and TV series.  Indeed, on several occasions I played hookie from school simply to catch one last airing of these movies on HBO.  I still don't know if my parents were ever wise to this... I mean, my mom had been a teacher so for sure she knew all the tricks kids play, right?  Thanks E.T., for the trick of heating up the thermometer with my desk lamp.

The album for SUPERMAN II was only one LP, not double like THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, so I soon realized it didn't include all the music I really liked hearing in the movie.  I enjoyed what was embedded in the grooves nevertheless yet didn't realize then how much of this score was adapted from the first film's cues.  If only I had a copy of that album then I wouldn't have been left pining!  John Williams's music for 1978's SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE had been adapted for the sequel by another composer, Ken Thorne, and done so with such skill that it seems completely organic to that second film.  It's very impressive work, once you dive fully into both scores and fathom how the first's had been broken apart, reconfigured and re-purposed so smartly for the second.

The full score for SUPERMAN II eventually found its way to disc in the form of a wonderful box set, from the Film Score Monthly label, which actually represents all that was composed for the four Christopher Reeve-led installments.  In other news, my custom-made wooden broadsword provided far too many splinters for its good and I never received another kiss from Corey's sister again.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)

This is the first post in what I plan to be a blog tracing my life through the movie and TV soundtrack albums which I collected through the years.  One primary inspiration for me is found in the 2000 movie HIGH FIDELITY (based on the great book by Nick Hornby) in which the main character, Rob, decides to re-organize his massive record collection in autobiographical order. Instead of alphabetical by artist, for instance, his records would be in the order in which he purchased them or they were gifted, so he could trace what album led to what and how he got to where he was as a music fan and collector.  While my music genre of choice, film music, is different, I still thought it was be an interesting and enlightening effort to try this myself as a blog, charting where I began, what I discovered along the way, comments on the music and movie and a personal snapshot of my life at that time.

My own soundtrack collection stands at roughly 1200 albums, so with luck I shouldn’t run out of titles, but perhaps the personal snapshots will be exhausted by then!  At times the movies themselves will not be well-known, but not always deservedly so.  In addition, the term “soundtrack” for many people translates to songs heard in the film, which can be true, but for me it equates to the underscore, the music composed and performed specifically to sequences.  Collecting and learning about music for the movies has been one constant passion of mine for the majority of my life.

All of this would need to begin with 1980's STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.  Like most kids at that time, I was obsessed with the universe presented in the original STAR WARS (1977) and by the time 1980 rolled around and I was seven years old, it pretty much dominated my waking life.  Surprisingly, I never owned the 2-LP soundtrack album to STAR WARS, but thankfully my mom was insightful enough to purchase the double album for the sequel for me.  We lived in Midland, TX then and shopped at the local Woolworth's.  I can still recall the small display of records near the check-out counters and exit.  I can still see the album cover among those on display, all wrapped in cellophane with large, round red stickers on the front listing the price.  Darth Vader's visage set against a background of deep space transfixed my gaze.  I am almost positive I dragged mom over to the stand, hopefully I asked politely.

That double LP set was played endlessly in the years that followed, its grooves soon worn down like speed bumps on the town’s busiest street.  It was a stellar presentation to boot, with multiple full-color glossy photos from the film, plus captions, character profiles, track-by-track descriptions, all capped off by an informative interview with composer John Williams himself.  Questions ranged from the use of percussion and piano on the amazing album track “The Battle on the Snow” to how many minutes of music were needed for the entire film.

From a very young age, I had already been fascinated with classical music and this score really furthered my interest in what an orchestra could accomplish, whether for film, TV or the concert stage.  THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK became one of the templates for what I gravitated to in movie music.  Even though in the ensuing years I discovered and enjoyed a whole variety of musical styles, including electronic, this remained my gold standard for a grand, orchestral score, one full of melody, invention, energy and emotion.

The music on those black platters became the soundtrack for the adventures my two sisters and me imagined.  Using a portable cassette desk, we would record ourselves, creating our own custom radio programs, all of which proved hilarious, not surprisingly, when listened to years later.  Due to my family relocating quite a bit during the 70's and 80's, my sisters and I became each others best friends.  In 1980 we called Midland, TX home, but this time period included moving to three different houses.  Prior to Midland, the family had lived in Oklahoma City, OK for a year, where I was born, and Jacksonville, FL, where my older sister entered the world.  My younger sister represents the Lone Star state, as she was born during those years we resided in Midland.

With our homes, schools and towns changing for us often in those days, it was inevitable that we would form a close bond, not just as siblings, but as three kids who liked the same things, loved being together and really trusted one another.  Fights were relatively infrequent, there was only the difficult choice between playing "big people STAR WARS" or "little people STAR WARS"... in other words, the three of us as the characters or haul out the action figures? 

I think this score also has the distinction for me of being the one most often purchased, when media formats shifted.  The LP, which I still own, eventually gathered scratches.  I made many copies on home-made cassette for frequent listens, then around 1988 I finally grabbed an official copy of the soundtrack on long-play cassette.  Following this was a 1993 CD box set containing all three original trilogy scores, each with more music included on disc than what was on the initial album releases.  Lastly, there was the complete, every-note-heard-in-the-move-and-then-some 2-CD set from Sony, coinciding with the 1997 theatrical re-release of the film.

In addition, there was a stellar re-recording of highlights from the score, performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Charles Gerhardt and featuring some arrangements unique to its version, such as a concert-ready version of “The Asteroid Field” and Han & Leia’s theme. Listen below for Gerhardt's version of "The Battle In The Snow". This was another essential purchase, a nice companion piece to the official soundtrack from the film. For me, THE EMPIRE STRIKES is a score that has stood the test of time and been a musical constant since 1980, across four states, nine cities and many homes. It's not only a varied and expressive score and a highlight of composer John Williams's career, but it's my touchstone as the first step into the weird, wonderful world of music for the movies.