In the Beginning…

It was 1996 - I don't remember a specific date - when I bought my first film score: Superman. I still have it and don't plan on ever giving it away unless I'm certain that the custodian - or apprentice - is open-minded about film music. The album serves as a good introduction to the niche market, and hoping that the initial sniff makes them ravenous for more. Although I think it's a good primer, I think an "Erich Kunzel compilation album" is the best possible introduction to the hobby, a benighted unveiling, if you will, and there's no one better than Erich's vast richness of re-recordings to lead the non-believers towards the light.

Back in the early days I always knew you could buy score CDs, but I didn't know much about them. My inquisitive mind bounced many questions against the forebrain: Did it feature the music as heard in the film? Did they only include the main themes?
I didn't have an inkling of what was on the CDs. Superman was really a dip in the water, but little did I know - I was about to get wet!

Growing up, I wasn't a massive Star Wars fan. I thought the original was a bore. Return of the Jedi (my first cinematic experience) was much more fun, that is, until I grew up. By early 1997 I hadn't seen the Lucas films in a long time - they were [insert Luthor's chuckle] "At the back of my mind." When they reissued them with the "Special Edition" moniker my enthusiasm not only returned but I was blown away by Star Wars, and I proclaimed that Empire Strikes Back was - and still is - the best of the bunch, and Return of the Jedi was a simplified and contrived sin saved by the strong dangling thread: Luke vs Vader, plus the chaotic space battle. Whilst watching these films play out on the big screen I was moved by the background music, particularly in Empire Strikes Back. I don't remember why that film's music resonated with me at the time, though, I'll hazard a guess: It's more romantic than the original's "Golden Age" swashbuckler infusion, but that was then, and this is now, my taste has somewhat expanded.

So I watched Empire Strikes Back, and (I was still waiting for Jedi) it was at this point that I decided to further my exploits in film music nirvana: During one lunch-time I dragged my friend to HMV to see what "Star Wars music" I could purchase. I recall perusing the HMV shelves looking to spend some big bucks - I'm renowned for my parsimony. Flicking through the CD stacks I finally settled on "Empire." As I was scanning the track-listings, my friend, who was into techno music, trundled over and stared at me, perplexed, "Uh, why do want Yoda's theme?" I still remember that puzzled expression of his, and my reply? I paid 35 pounds for the book edition. If Superman was a curious dip, Empire Strikes Back swept me into the deep end. There was no turning back.

Soon after, I bought Return of the Jedi and Star Wars, followed by Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It was probably around mid-1997 when I found FilmScoreMonthly and began to gradually learn the film music lexicon and engaging in obsessive behaviour (I'll leave it your imagination): Is it expanded? Is it the film version?

As with most fans, we always latch onto a composer and furiously buy their output, but over time we begin to appreciate other artists as we delve further into the art-form. The next two were John Barry and Jerry Goldsmith. It was probably around late 1997 that I re-discovered the film: The Living Daylights; I watched it twice in 24 hours, the 2nd time I was plugged into the score. Straightaway I hunted for the album, but I couldn't find it anywhere. In April 1998, Lukas announced the expanded edition. I went nuts; it caught me off-guard. As soon as it was released I caught a bus and made a 20 mile round-trip to purchase it. It was still that time when hunting scores and rummaging through bargain bins was an adventure. Not anymore, our primal instinct, the hunt, has increasingly become docile. The Living Daylights was my first John Barry album, a score which I still cherish. I don't think he employed the Bond theme imaginatively, especially in the track "Ice Chase," - it works in the "pre-credit" sequence - but I love the synth beat, giving it a timeless quality. On the whole, Barry felt the Bond theme to be perfunctory and it shows. Michael Kamen's Licence to Kill, on the other hand, rejuvenated the Bond theme with a South American twist.

I'm particularly fond of John Barry's 70s to 90s eras - the use of strings became more prominent thus becoming romantic. He employed the strings to carry the Bond theme in the Roger Moore years, giving the suave actor an identity of his own. Increasingly, Barry's music became spiritual, with concept albums like Beyondness of Things and the IMAX score: Across the Sea Of Time. His 90s scores are meditative; it's almost as if it's a personal journey though time, evoking the childhood zeitgeist. In 2003, I was stunned that EMI finally were able to release some of his Bond music with extra music. Diamonds Are Forever being a particular revelation, perhaps the last time when he was interested in playing the Bond theme? I do miss John Barry on Bond, but The Living Daylights was a fitting end to his tenure on the series, and his affiliation with Bond will live forever.

My first David Arnold score was Tomorrow Never Dies. As soon as I watched the film I scuttled over to Tower Records and bought it immediately. Who didn't play "White Knight" over and over? It was great to have Bond back in action - I do like parts of the Goldeneye score especially the percussive Bond theme but it also misses the mark in several Bondian moments - and Arnold's scores have served the films very well, and I'm anticipating Quantum of Solace, hoping that he'll take Bond theme in a new direction, giving it a knife-edge quality to it to match the "man on the edge." Although he's famous for Bond, I found Stargate, Independence Day and Godzilla worthy efforts, especially the former. Considering Arnold's background and where he came from, I think he deserves his lucrative Bond position.

I guess it was 1999 when I began purchasing Goldsmith scores. Jerry is perhaps the most versatile Hollywood composer I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. I particularly love his synth experimentations in the '80s. He had the knack of creating a melody in interesting and innovative ways and, even though they are complex, he manages to make it sound so simple and evocative. It's amazing how many duds he scored, yet the music not just elevated the film but, in some cases, transcended it too! Star Trek: The Motion Picture was one of my first Jerry scores. In my opinion, the TV show diluted the grandness of Jerry's theme. I never delved into the 80/90s/00s TV shows; the magic of Trek was only managed on the big screen with the original crew. There was a visceral camaraderie with those guys that was never transcended by anyone else. It wasn't just the characters, it was the actors who gave them their unique qualities, from self-deprecating Bones to the egotistical Shatner - you can't make that up. I digress.
Soon I was hunting down any Goldsmith score I could find. I'm still chasing! I'm not sure which albums I'd cite as favourites, there are so many. Some releases have slipped through my fingers: Magic and The Sand Pebbles, for instance, because they are limited editions and I didn't know that they were released. I don't think there's a composer - and I'm including John Williams - who has such a rabid fan-base, sometimes bordering on the obsessive. There's no other composer who sells out faster than Jerry, even more so in the posthumous years. Jerry lives on!

Not every score I purchased was a home run, though: One of my rare film music disappointments - at the time - was Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I remember the lunchtime dash to Tower Records on release date [Spring 1998]. It was their only copy. I snapped it up and I distinctly remember the checkout girl saying, "You've been waiting for this a long time, haven't you?" I don't recall if she sprinkled her question with a hint of sarcasm, or was she was swallowing down a "what a dork" guffaw? Anyway, I dashed back to work trembling with spine-tingling joy. I popped in the CD: I like this - great opening tracks, and then…

…My excitement dropped like an anvil. Man, was I disappointed! It wasn't a typical Williams' score; it wasn't what I was expecting. It was dissonant and unmelodic for the most part, it wasn't a great listening experience. But, as I learned, a great score, sometimes, needs time to be unravelled. In time, Close Encounters became one of my favourite scores of all time, once I was patient and understood what the music was conveying. Sometimes these things don't give you the instant hit you're craving for.

Nowadays I collect various composers' works and don't fixate too much on anyone in particular. I just want to hear great film music. I do owe Superman everything, though. I wouldn't be enjoying film scores if it wasn't for that film and that score. If I hadn't bought that album, who knows if I'd ever become such a fan.

Rhino's Superman Soundtrack was released in Feb 2000. It was like an alcoholic buzz when I received it. At that time I was very satisfied it. It had everything I wanted, and I never expected it to be reissued along with the sequel scores. Anticipating this box-set for 18 months was torture enough but if it was for several years, I'd have been institutionalised.* Fast forward to 2008…

…As I entered my Fortress of Solitude, someone said those immortal words "The wait is over." Suddenly I was drunk-as-punch, I clumsily rushed upstairs and found my jack-in-the-box; my precious was waiting for me. I carefully lifted it out of the-packaging - picture Roger Moore pulling out the detonator from the magnetic torpedo head and you are not far off from what I actually did - and held it aloft like I had conquered the game of patience and this was my prize. I fired up my sound system and dove straight into the audio pleasures. I'll try and decipher my scrambled thoughts in the next few pages.

In a nutshell: Superman The Movie has been polished and sounds pristine. The delights of Superman II and III have been unearthed, and Courage's Superman IV, which is akin to a major archaeological discovery of a lost Pharoah, is a revelation. Not only that, I've discovered the little score that time forgot: The Ruby-Spears Animated show.

The reviews for each score will be posted in due course.

* = Sentence has been adapted from a Feb 2008 news report.