{"id":3603,"date":"2011-09-24T13:16:15","date_gmt":"2011-09-24T17:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=3603"},"modified":"2011-09-24T13:16:15","modified_gmt":"2011-09-24T17:16:15","slug":"cd-golden-child-the-1986","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=3603","title":{"rendered":"CD: Golden Child, The (1986)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Soundtrack \u00a0Reviews<\/a> \/ <\/em>G<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Rating: Very Good<\/p>\n

Label: La-La Land Records<\/a>\/ Released: July 12, 2011<\/p>\n

Tracks & Album Length:\u00a0CD1: 25 tracks \/ (77:14) + CD2: 23 tracks \/ (58:07) + CD3: 9 tracks \/ (30:17)<\/p>\n

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Special Notes: 28-page colour booklet with liner notes by Jon Burlingame \/ Limited to 5000 copies.<\/p>\n

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Composers: John Barry, Michel Colombier<\/p>\n

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Review:<\/p>\n

Like La-La Land\u2019s decision to release a 3-disc set for Basil Poledouris\u2019 dual Breakdown<\/a><\/strong> [M<\/a>] (1997) scores, this monster set boasts several hours of music, but more importantly, it gathers together two distinct scores, of which one was largely used in the final release version.<\/p>\n

Jon Burlingame\u2019s liner notes detail the troubled production which, incredibly, became a box office hit after scenes were trimmed, cut, and reshot, and John Barry\u2019s music score was replaced in favour of a new work by Michel Colombier.<\/p>\n

Replacing a score has tended to be Hollywood\u2019s solution to last-minute problem solving when a film tests poorly with audiences, but in hearing the two scores back-to-back, it does become obvious Barry\u2019s approach went against the film\u2019s tone as it evolved into a more urban-styled comedy.<\/p>\n

Barry stuck with a big orchestral sound, and unfortunately, sections of his cues tend to loop the same material, such as the flaring brass in \u201cThe Child is Taken,\u201d which becomes the score\u2019s tense action theme and is heard far too often in the longer cues with little variation.<\/p>\n

Barry was asked to rescore the picture after the film\u2019s editing had been locked, but in addition to scheduling issues, one suspects the composer had little desire to revisit and overhaul an approach he felt was correct. The descending figure first heard in \u201c2M1\u201d (most of his cues lack formal titles) is quite arresting, and it\u2019s unsurprising it formed the basis of a love theme, performed by his trademark combo of sultry sax and lush strings. Barry also integrates the theme into several elegant mystical variations, and the use of eerie wordless chorals transport the listener into a dim, ancient world where magic and tradition will clash with modern sensibilities once the film\u2019s titular golden child is taken to the big city.<\/p>\n

The composer also makes use of some jazz \u2013 \u201cPuttin\u2019 on the Ritz\u201d appears in a short big band variation that was actually retained in the film\u2019s final mix \u2013 and there\u2019s the pop \/ rock theme song he co-composed with Ann Wilson that adds some contrast to his epic orchestral approach. Fans will undoubtedly notice some similarities to prior Barry scores, including the eerie chorals (Lion in Winter<\/strong>), and the elliptical strings and harmonic structure of trumpet figures that evoke some of the grandeur in The Living Daylights <\/strong>(1987), and The Black Hole <\/strong>(1979).<\/p>\n

When Colombier was brought to the film, the results were the polar opposite of Barry\u2019s style: rock synth, with sampled ethnic flutes, electrified keyboards, and rock-oriented melodies. Ambient synths were used for haunting moments, and drums and electric guitar immediate gave scenes a tougher edge. Mystique was put into the back row, and up front were rhythm and accessible sounds that also enabled the filmmakers to easily slide in source songs by contemporary artists.<\/p>\n

Little of Colombier\u2019s work \u2013 in complete form \u2013 actually exists on CD, so while Barry fans will relish the chance to hear one of the composer\u2019s legendary rejected scores, fans of eighties electronica can enjoy a full Colombier score. Most of the Colombier\u2019s work within the action (Deep Cover<\/strong>) and comedy genres (Down and Out in Beverly Hills<\/strong>) was designed to slide in and out of scenes, glide around songs, and rarely stayed around long enough unless there was a montage which he was allowed to exclusively score, so La-La Land\u2019s set fulfills the dreams of two<\/em> distinct film music camps.<\/p>\n

Colombier\u2019s cues make use of less elaborate instrumentation, and not unlike Barry, he also repeats themes and motifs within cues; in a standard Eddie Murphy film, the jokes and Murphy\u2019s reaction shots were king, perhaps mandating a less sophisticated score design. The music was also supposed to make audiences \u2018feel good,\u2019 although like the Barry score, Colombier\u2019s design does meander at times on CD.<\/p>\n

Strangely, the filmmakers felt both composers offered the film some good musical ideas, so in a rare pick & choose move (and not unlike the retention of Michael Kamen\u2019s handful of cues in the otherwise Mark Mancina-scored Assassins <\/a><\/strong>[M<\/a>]), the final film contained a few of Barry\u2019s cues.<\/p>\n

While a pastiche, one can see why the producers held on to some of Barry\u2019s themes: they provided brief moments of genuine character intimacy, which doesn\u2019t really come through in Colombier\u2019s score (the super-brief \u201cKee nang Offers Herself\u201d excepted).<\/p>\n

The mish-mash of dual scores and source songs formed the basis of the commercial soundtrack album, which fans had to settle with for 25 years. This 3-disc set could be seen as an extravagance, but why not do the effort and do things right by making sure for posterity, if not the composers\u2019 own legacies, that each creative vision can be examined in full?<\/p>\n

This 3-disc set includes the two scores, additional unreleased cues, and songs used in the film and released on LP back in 1986. Burlingame\u2019s liner notes give an excellent background to the film\u2019s production and scoring woes, and he balances the pros and cons within each score.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2011 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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External References:<\/p>\n

IMDB: Barry<\/a> \/ Colombier <\/a>— Soundtrack Album<\/a> — Composer Filmography: Barry <\/a>\/ Colombier<\/a><\/p>\n

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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Soundtrack Reviews<\/a> <\/em>\/\u00a0G<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to:\u00a0Home \/\u00a0Soundtrack \u00a0Reviews \/ G . Rating: Very Good Label: La-La Land Records\/ Released: July 12, 2011 Tracks & Album Length:\u00a0CD1: 25 tracks \/ (77:14) + CD2: 23 tracks \/ (58:07) + CD3: 9 tracks \/ (30:17) . Special Notes: 28-page colour booklet with liner notes by Jon Burlingame \/ Limited to 5000 copies. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[283,772],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-W7","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3603"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3603"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3606,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3603\/revisions\/3606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}