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That main character is a painfully lonely man, paid for eavesdropping in a large city environment, and because of this occupation and setting, Caul has (along with his own sax performances) visions of his own life in an alternatively jazzy sort of world. To accompany Caul's emotional journey, Shire's score consists largely of one instrument: the piano. Shire's own piano performances are, in many ways, the heart of the film, and in the final cut, they are an elegant way of allowing all the complex layers of sounds from Caul's work to take the spotlight. The title theme is a simple, but flighty piano piece with just a hint of jazzy rhythm that is, in its construction, a very enjoyable piece. But since the film has such a dark underbelly, that theme turns sour as the story transforms into a manipulative tale of counterintelligence and Caul is exploited to the point of madness. To address this side, this score was one of the earlier experiments in synthesized elements being used to augment or distort a traditional performance. For the scenes of fright, as Caul becomes nervous for the lives of those upon whom he is spying (along with the belief that he is to be their agent of doom), Shire's music was altered by Walter Murch, the film's editor, to utilize experimental electronic grinding and distortion techniques, weaving in and out of mono and stereo presentations. Since the centerpiece of the spy-like recordings in the story occurs in a crowded park, sounds of street bands and other audio artifacts were mixed brilliantly with the lonely themes for Caul, sitting far above it all. Understandably, these solitary piano solos don't work quite as well on album.

Because of Coppola's somewhat unpredictable method of approving the music, some of the temporary mono recordings by Shire before the film was even shot were used in the final cut of the film. And with the street sounds integrated with the score so well, they could not be easily separated for an album release. In its latter half, the score also contains a significant amount of low key pounding and other droning on the piano, representing the frantic pace at which the jazzy mystique is lost. Only in the final cue does Shire's piano provide an echo of the Caul character's sanity that existed in the first six or so major cues. The 2001 debut album for The Conversation was the second in the eventually lengthy series of "Special Collection" releases from Intrada Records. It had been a frequently requested score on CD for many years. Its incredible use in the film proves that minimalism can indeed work to perfection, and because the film is studied by students across the globe, the score was naturally in demand. To listen to the album in its entirety, though, is difficult, because without knowing the immediate context of the visuals on screen, the lesser-thematic sequences of Shire's performances are indistinguishable from the distorting sound effects. Ironically, the best cue on the album is one that was never used in the film. Shire recorded his title theme with a small ensemble to give it a fuller personality, and that final track on the album is not surprisingly the highlight. You simply must have an appreciation for this film to be able to enjoy this score, and even if you are an enormous fan it, only ten minutes or so of the score is all that is required on album. Nevertheless, it is still an important work, not only in its relation to the fine production as a whole, but also in that it led to countless other assignments for its obviously talented composer.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Total Time: 37:22