Buy it... if you were impressed by Jerry Goldsmith's application of resounding timpani in L.A. Confidential and seek an even more brutally robust expression of similar percussive weight.

Avoid it... if you tire of Goldsmith's use of slight hints of jazz or blues to address the noir-like elements of a film, because such amicable interludes in this otherwise oppressive score are not particularly engaging.

Goldsmith

City Hall: (Jerry Goldsmith) A political thriller penned in part by Nicholas Pileggi (a New York investigative reporter), City Hall tells the rather gloomy tale of how one side of the law helps the other and does so without anybody knowing it. The tough workings of an inner city and all of the unsavory handshakes that exist without the public's knowledge are the setting for a clash between two characters' ideals. The city here is New York, of course, and the primary characters are the mayor, deputy mayor, and a handful of cops, mafia sorts, and attorneys. Directed by Harold Becker, City Hall exposes the dealings of an administration at its best and worst, with intriguing concepts that the film delivers in one of its many fascinating scenes. But the plotline also sinks the film by the end, weighed down by the inclusion of unnecessary story threads and the equally needless addition of a surprisingly chipper ending on an otherwise darkly realistic picture. Even a strong cast could not salvage City Hall from the depths of box office despair in the early winter months of 1996, though the film did mark the start of a very strong year for composer Jerry Goldsmith. Having awakened from the slumber of obscure light dramas and outrageously ridiculous comedies in the early 1990's, Goldsmith began returning to the brazen action and fantasy genres in 1995, and 1996 would prove to be one of the composer's finest years of production. Of his five projects in 1996, City Hall is likely the most scarcely remembered entry, but qualitatively it is better than at least two of his better known, later scores of that year. Suspense and political mayhem are not foreign ideas for Goldsmith; he had scored Becker's Malice several years earlier and would be widely recognized for his powerful work on L.A. Confidential, the score that most closely resembles City Hall among Goldsmith's other digital era works. To distinguish this work from others in the genre, Goldsmith takes two creative routes to achieve a uniquely memorable result: a bluesy twist to his themes and an unusual choice for a dominating primary instrument. These elements allow the score to transcend from the realm of merely average procedural muck to at least retain your interest with their consistently intriguing tones.

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While Goldsmith reprised his employment of the timpani in a leading role again in L.A. Confidential, nothing in the composer's career compares to its total and complete dominance in City Hall. Goldsmith seems to use the instrument as the driving heartbeat of the big city and to establish the importance and weight of the office in which the film exists. In several action-oriented cues, the timpani are allowed to roam freely with other percussion, placing all other sections of the orchestra at a disadvantage. Even in the lighter character and contemplation cues, the timpani accents each measure or bar of music to remind the listener of its presence. In "The King Maker," Goldsmith utilizes a light jazz ensemble of piano and bass to much of the same degree as in other works, but once again the timpani rumbles in the background. The highlight of its performance is the monumentally robust "The Meet," in which the drum quite literally challenges the other sections of the orchestra to battle, prevailing in the end. It's often accompanied by tapping cymbals, rambling piano, and ripping snare, with staccato strings and solo trumpet alternating over the top. The other element of note in City Hall is the bluesy spirit of many of the score's thematic interpretations. Goldsmith has condensed big city jazz and reduced it down to a level of sleaze that only subtle blues effects and twists of melody can convey. Imagine all the spirit of the main theme from Love Field sucked out of its personality and constricted to its most minimal form. The final two cues, with a sense of resolution only hinted at in the opening minute of the score, throbs with crescendos that end on a twist of blues, and even in its dying moments, the score reminds you of its depth by allowing the timpani to be mirrored by a piano in low octaves. Electronics exist as per usual, and a ringing bell (electronic or otherwise) lends a sense of urgency to "The Cabin." Solo brass performances solemnly maintain a minimal noir-like ambience in "Swartz is Dead" and "Think About It." Overall, City Hall functions well as cohesive whole, though the expressions of the softer character theme are so strongly overshadowed by the timpani-rolling action pieces that the score becomes a "three cue wonder." If you appreciate the overbearing noir tone of L.A. Confidential, then you will definitely be impressed by City Hall. Its short album release, somewhat difficult to find in the 2000's, awaits any enthusiast of robust percussion. ***   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

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For Jerry Goldsmith reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.26 (in 113 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.32 (in 133,462 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.