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Flesh + Blood
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1992 Varèse
2002 Prometheus
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Orchestrated by:
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Greig McRitchie
Jack Smalley
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2002 Album Produced by:
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Ford A. Thaxton
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Availability:
The 1992 Varèse Sarabande album was a top collectible between 1994 and 2002. Only 1,500 copies of that release were printed through the Varèse CD Club, and it originally sold through the label's mail-order service for only $12. At its height in the late 1990's, it sold for as much as $200. The 2002 Prometheus album was limited to 3,000 copies, with only a third of the numbered albums selling within the first year of release. It is available through online soundtrack specialty outlets.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... one of the limited albums if you seek a bold, true and
similarly constructed sequel score to Basil Poledouris' Conan the
Barbarian.
Avoid it... if the score wasn't enticing enough for you when released
by Varèse Sarabande in 1992, for the additional material on the 2002
album isn't significantly better.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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| | Poledouris | |
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Flesh + Blood: (Basil Poledouris) By 1985, composer
Basil Poledouris was becoming the master of the Middle Ages in Hollywood's
continuing fascination with films about swords and sorcery. The popular
acceptance of these brutal depictions of barbarians and magic would begin to
taper off by the time Paul Verhoeven's Flesh + Blood blindsided
audiences with what would perhaps be the most bloody and gruesome vision of
the era to come from Hollywood to date. The story of Flesh + Blood
wasn't spectacularly new, although unlike many of the other films to come
from that genre, there wasn't one clear-cut hero in the film to follow. Each
of the film's primary characters is flawed, leaving the audience to exist as
a sort of outside observer while witnessing massive sieges, bloody battles,
and conflicting courtship splash across the screen. Perhaps due to the lack
of a single superstar in the cast, Flesh + Blood was soon forgotten
by audiences, and many critics blamed Verhoeven's blood-spattering realism
in the violence for turning audiences away. After successfully elevating the
character of Conan to greatness with his tonal, yet brutal scores for the
Conan series of films, Basil Poledouris was an immediate choice for the
project of Flesh + Blood. Poledouris had not yet worked the Middle
Ages out of his system yet, and was very eager to compose for yet another
barbarian film. Through his meetings with Verhoeven, Poledouris discovered
that the desired score was essentially an extension of the Conan the
Barbarian sound. The thematic development in those scores, especially
with Poledouris' ability to form harmonic battles between two themes
simultaneously in counterpoint, is what the director was seeking. A little
more adventurous, sword-fighting spirit would also be requested of
Poledouris. Using folk music from the time was a consideration, but that
kind of music simply didn't offer the modern standards of thematic power
needed for a film of this magnitude. Thus, the only music rooted in the
period here is similar to that in Conan the Barbarian, with simple,
rhythmic themes performed by woodwinds and percussion. But don't be fooled
by any attempt at authenticity in Flesh + Blood.
This score is modern Poledouris action and carnage at its
most savage. He establishes themes and motifs for every character, as well
as one pounding theme for the element of war itself, and through these
constantly mingling themes, Poledouris has created a very accessible and
rich orchestral powerhouse. With the help of tambourines, triangles, and
drums, Poledouris's music dances with light rhythms throughout its scenes of
contemplation, courtship, and rest, often relying on the woodwinds (as
usual) to add a simplistic, staggered motif to that canvas. What will
interest film score enthusiasts, however, is the considerable application of
monumental action sequences. The opening and end titles are extensions of
this battle music, flowing with the same folk rhythms, but backed up by the
intensity of the London Symphony Orchestra and featuring more of a
swashbuckle than before. For the slower cues, only 25 musicians were
necessary, but that number was beefed up to 75 players for the cues of
wartime conflict. These elevated, brass-dominated action cues are lengthy in
their presentations, and rarely do they fade quickly. The sheer quantity of
similar action material to Conan the Barbarian is overwhelming, but
when comparing the two scores, Flesh + Blood's plethora of themes
causes it to have a different effect on the listener. Whereas Conan the
Barbarian stated its themes in distinctive, unyielding fashion, Flesh
+ Blood mixes and mingles its ideas. Thus, you get a more rounded score
that may, for some listeners, play better on album, but you also get a score
that is less memorable at its highpoints. Flesh + Blood is a slightly
less brutal, less magical score, but if you were disappointed by Conan
the Destroyer in 1984, rest assured that Flesh + Blood is your
true sequel score for Conan the Barbarian in terms of quality. On
album, this score existed only as part of the rare, original Varèse
Sarabande series of albums in the early 1990's. It was a prized collectible
until 2002, when Prometheus released another limited edition of the score.
The expanded material on the 2002 album is interesting, but not as necessary
as the music presented on the previous CD. Still, the sound quality is
acceptable (though slightly poorer than the original album's selections) and
a few alternate versions of cues round out additional material on the
Prometheus label, making it a solid purchase. Both albums present this
excellent Poledouris score in its full, relentless beauty. ****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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Track Listings (1992 Varèse Sarabande Album):
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Total Time: 39:18
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• 1. Main Title (2:32)
• 2. Siege of the City (3:26)
• 3. Courtship and Mandrake (4:06)
• 4. Wagon Attack (2:36)
• 5. Martin & Agnes Love Theme (1:24)
• 6. Castle Invasion (2:02)
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• 7. Night Fires (2:21)
• 8. The Box (5:24)
• 9. Water (The Undoing) (1:40)
• 10. Arnolfini Assult (5:47)
• 11. Denouement/End Title (7:44)
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Track Listings (2002 Prometheus Album):
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Total Time: 68:22
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Previously Released Score:
• 1. Main Title (2:33)
• 2. Siege of the City (3:25)
• 3. Courtship and Mandrake (4:08)
• 4. Wagon Attack (2:37)
• 5. Martin and Agnes Love Theme (1:25)
• 6. Castle Invasion (2:03)
• 7. Night Fires (2:22)
• 8. The Box (5:49)
• 9. Water (The Undoing) (1:41)
• 10. Arnolfini Assault (5:49)
• 11. Denoument/End Titles (7:43)
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Bonus Tracks:
• 12. The Box (Edited Version) (4:34)
• 13. St. Martin Leads the Way (2:01)
• 14. Driven from the City (1:14)
• 15. Cask and St. Martin (2:36)
• 16. Agnes' Wagon (1:14)
• 17. Assault on Agnes (3:46)
• 18. The Feast (1:49)
• 19. The Locket (0:48)
• 20. Out of the Well (2:39)
• 21. Denoument/End Titles (Alternate Version) (7:20)
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Both albums contain extensive information about the score and film. Both are also hand numbered.
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