{"id":6717,"date":"2013-06-12T02:07:31","date_gmt":"2013-06-12T06:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=6717"},"modified":"2013-06-12T02:17:05","modified_gmt":"2013-06-12T06:17:05","slug":"cd-shootist-the-1976-sons-of-katie-elder-the-1965","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=6717","title":{"rendered":"CD: Shootist, The (1976) \/ Sons of Katie Elder, The (1965)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Soundtrack \u00a0Reviews<\/a> \/ <\/em>S<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Rating: Excellent<\/p>\n

Label: La-La Land Records<\/a>\/ Released: April 9, 2013<\/p>\n

Tracks & Album Length: 23 tracks \/ (57:04)<\/p>\n

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Special Notes: 12-page colour booklet with liner notes by Jeff Bond \/ Limited to 2000 copies.<\/p>\n

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Composer: Elmer Bernstein<\/p>\n

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Review:<\/p>\n

Elmer Bernstein\u2019s approach to scoring what became John Wayne\u2019s final film is part military, part elegy for a warrior approaching the end of his game. Even without the knowledge that Wayne, like his character, was dying of cancer, there\u2019s a grim mood to the score which stems from the desperation within the recurring cluster march (itself later appropriated by the composer for the stalking motif within 1981\u2019s Saturn 3<\/strong>), and the delicate, slightly broken piano piece within the appropriately titled \u201c\u201dD\u201d \/ Prognosis.\u201d<\/p>\n

To add rare tenderness and slight humour to the score, Bernstein composed \u201cRide,\u201d which is filled with the energy and verve of a young man, but it also possesses the slightly gilded quality of an aging hero who must ultimately confront danger on his own.<\/p>\n

The Shootist<\/strong> is very short \u2013 25 mins. tops \u2013 but it\u2019s one of Bernstein\u2019s best western scores, because it benefits from his maturity, having scored energetic action films with youthful characters almost invincible from tumbles and bullets; and years of writing delicate themes which always get to the heart of a character\u2019s quiet, personal suffering. \u201cPain Promise\u201d is performed by a small chamber orchestra, and the alternating between piano and strings gives Wayne\u2019s character dignity, and a sense of tragedy for this worn-out man, and the loss he feels in never fulfilling his desires to woo the right woman.<\/p>\n

Within its brief running time, Bernstein very neatly maps out the drama, moving from a portent of the film\u2019s final confrontation within the main title, and the small moments where Wayne\u2019s character is essentially bidding goodbye to his friends. Cues like \u201cSweeney\u201d work in slowly the danger element, and Bernstein uses opposing colours \u2013 a low ostinato on piano, and almost grunting chords on woodwinds \u2013 to slowly shift the film\u2019s tone towards action.<\/p>\n

Whereas Bernstein was able to evoke the wild west within Shootist<\/strong> without any echoes of his genre masterwork, The Magnificent Seven<\/strong> (1960), The Sons of Katie Elder<\/strong> definitely reflects the conventions he was obliged to follow, scoring a multitude of westerns within the sixties (including the Magnificent<\/strong> sequels).<\/p>\n

Elder<\/strong> is more lighthearted, and the Irish component (starkly declared in the swirling \u201cThe Elders Fight\u201d) gives the score a less action-oriented tone. (One can even argue Bernstein was paying a slight homage to Victor Young, who incorporated a strong Irish component for the John Wayne-John Ford classic The Quiet Man<\/strong>.) \u201cDangerous Journey\u201d is written for adventure rather than danger, and the colours \u2013 light woodwinds and a sixties electric guitar \u2013 have a swagger that reflects the film\u2019s mix of youthful and older characters.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s some lovely pensive chords in brief Americana-tinged \u201cTrouble in Town,\u201d where Bernstein incorporates whirling figures which are later pared with low brass, and a revolving rhythm that glides from woodwinds to heavy kettle drums. Also of note is Bernstein\u2019s gentle addition of Spanish-flavour in the waltz-like \u201cMemories of Clearwater,\u201d with acoustic guitar, marimba, brass, and resonant strings.<\/p>\n

La-La Land\u2019s CD features the complete (and previously unreleased) score for The Shootist<\/strong>, a recording that features a more severe division of miked instruments. The slightly odd stereo image has slightly greater resonance (perhaps due to the heavier percussion and bass rumbles) than Katie Elder<\/strong>, but the latter offers a more balanced stereo image that has the orchestra fully enveloping the listener. To augment the contents of the original Capitol album (itself divided into two acts by a Johnny Cash vocal), LLL\u2019s added a rare single alternate sung by Ernie Sheldon. (The album\u2019s original closing cue, \u201cTexas is a Woman,\u201d still contains the brief narration by Wayne.)<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2013 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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External References:<\/p>\n

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

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Select Merchants:<\/p>\n

Amazon.ca<\/a>\"\" —<\/span> Amazon.com<\/a>\"\" —<\/span> Amazon.co.uk<\/a>\"\" —\u00a0BSX<\/a> —\u00a0Intrada<\/a> —\u00a0SAE<\/a><\/p>\n

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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Soundtrack Reviews<\/a> <\/em>\/\u00a0S<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to:\u00a0Home \/\u00a0Soundtrack \u00a0Reviews \/ S . Rating: Excellent Label: La-La Land Records\/ Released: April 9, 2013 Tracks & Album Length: 23 tracks \/ (57:04) . Special Notes: 12-page colour booklet with liner notes by Jeff Bond \/ Limited to 2000 copies. . Composer: Elmer Bernstein . . Review: Elmer Bernstein\u2019s approach to scoring what […]<\/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":[937,2074,2073],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-1Kl","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6717"}],"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=6717"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6723,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6717\/revisions\/6723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}