Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... both the 2000 re-recording and the 2004 issue of the LP recording if you are a John Barry collector, for both albums have different strengths. Avoid it... the 2004 CD of the LP if you wish to hear the full hour-long score that was re-recorded on the 2000 album and/or you don't care for the song. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Born Free: (John Barry) With all the glory of almost every possible score-related award under his belt for his creation, Born Free confirmed that John Barry was headed in a mainstream direction that wasn't restricted to the snazzy 007 series. In 1964, Barry's fully orchestral score for the safari tale of lion cubs gained him a collection Golden Globe and Academy Awards for both the score and song. The film, though practically ruined by the odd insertion of stock wildlife footage and inconsistent color in neighboring scenes, was made famous by simply its music. Twenty years before Barry would score Out of Africa, Born Free has more in common with Zulu than anything more recent. Even though the song was that which propelled the music from Born Free to so many awards, Barry's score --like those for many Disney films-- is still of good quality. Having just completed Thunderball with the same set of collaborators, the grand success of Born Free's music was more of a mistake than the intent. Arguments over the level of scope for the score, as well as the vocals that would accompany Barry's theme for the song were still under debate when the song, performed by Roger Williams, launched itself to the top spot on the American music charts. So popular was Barry's theme that it was eventually performed by over 600 artists around the globe and adopted as one African nation's national anthem. With that success, Barry's score seems rather mellow in comparison. While still retaining a theme of noble stature for the lions and the landscape, Barry chose to avoid the grandiose string style that he would eventually become even more famous for (against the wishes of the director). The end result of Born Free is a more playful endeavor. As usual, though, Barry's more simplistic habits of composition cause the main theme to be inserted in practically even place possible, with slight variations between performances. Only in a few places does he unleash a mass of thematic romp with all the players, though, as he did with Zulu. The elephant stampede track, and its use of brass to mimic the animals, is of special note. Like many films at the time, a separate recording was made specifically for the LP album release. Barry was never happy about the performance of the music in the film (performances that included a considerable number of errors by the players), but the album was of superior quality. The recording was made in vibrant stereo, as many of Barry's scores were, and with some remastering, the LP sounds just as dynamic today as a modern recording. The fate of the original film recording is unknown (the tapes may be lost forever), but the album masters survive, and in 2004, Film Score Monthly released 40 minutes of the score from those album masters as part of the label's Silver Age Classics series (but not a limited run production in this case). Interestingly, Barry had recorded nearly an hour of music for the 95-minute film, so there is material from the film that has never made it in original form onto an album. The FSM album does have the Oscar-winning song performed vocally by Matt Monro (the original version-- and while dated, especially with those dainty flutes fluttering in the background, it's a good tune), and their album package is strong as usual. There does remain an alternate source of music for Born Free, however, from the year 2000. A re-recorded album that year was a continuation of the collaboration between conductor Frederic Talgorn and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (following the "Hollywood '99" theme of compilation a few months previously). The performances in this interpretation are steady and enjoyable, though Talgorn is one step behind conductor Nic Raine and the City of Prague Philharmonic is capturing the essence of John Barry's works (the latter group re-recorded both Zulu and Raise the Titanic at roughly the same time with great success). The Varèse Sarabande label, under the guidance of executive producer Robert Townson, has pressed re-recordings of other best-selling Barry works, including Body Heat, Out of Africa, and Somewhere in Time. It's easy to understand why Born Free was chosen as the next installment, given the success of the song and score back in the 1960's. But many fans would likely rather have heard a re-recording of another Academy Award winner for Barry in the 1960s, The Lion in Winter (something which the City of Prague Philharmonic did eventually do). While the Varèse Sarabande album does not feature the song in its pop form, it does have nearly the entire hour-long score represented. Thus, if you're a true John Barry collector, then you'd be best served by purchasing both the Varèse Sarabande and Film Score Monthly albums.
2004 FSM Album: *** Overall: *** Track Listings (2000 Varèse Sarabande Album):
Total Time: 53:33
Track Listings (2004 Film Score Monthly Album:):
Total Time: 39:53
All artwork and sound clips from Born Free are Copyright © 2000, 2004, Varèse Sarabande, Film Score Monthly. The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 4/15/00, updated 8/21/04. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2000-2005, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
2000 Varèse