Buy it... if you seek an extremely well written, performed, and recorded tribute to the American Civil War and the ethnicity of its soldiers in both the song and score for Gods and Generals.

Avoid it... if dramatic war genre scores of immense orchestral and choral resonance upset you by reminding you of the tragedy of death, dismemberment, and other hideous topics.

Frizzell
Edelman

Gods and Generals: (John Frizzell/Randy Edelman) With Michael Shaara's "The Killer Angels" translated onto screen in 1993's popularly successful television production of Gettysburg, Jeff Shaara's equally precise prequel, "Gods and Generals" made the leap to the big screen in 2003. Covering the two years of intensive warfare in the American Civil War between 1861 and 1863, Gods and Generals introduces the commanding officers central to both stories and leads them up to a climax which ends just prior to the pivotal battle of Gettysburg in 1863. The prior film was likewise produced under the heavy hand of Ted Turner, and the authenticity conveyed in many of the production values was retained. For the prequel, much changed in the cast, with only Jeff Daniels reprising his role as Colonel Joshua Chamberlain in the second film. Robert Duvall received significant criticism for underplaying in the role of General Robert E. Lee. As for the music for these Shaara adaptations, the choice of Randy Edelman as a composer for the newer project was met with a wide range of responses, from those who praised the elegant themes of his Gettysburg score to those who damned its electronic nature as inappropriate for the genre. He returned to provide some filler cues for Gods and Generals, though his dramatic theme for Gettysburg makes no appearance. The mass majority of score material for the production is provided by John Frizzell, whose career up to 2003 had been noteworthy for most film music collectors in the form of adequate, but not particularly outstanding action and horror scores. Here, he was given the largest opportunity of his career and made the most of it. The marketing of the Sony Classical album for Gods and Generals focused mostly on the songs performed by Mary Fahl and Bob Dylan for the project, in addition to the violin performances by master fiddler and violinist Mark O'Connor. The more voluminous inspiration in the film, though, is created by Frizzell. The score occupies roughly fifty minutes on the album and was a powerful and thematically rich early introduction to the year of film music in 2003.

Unlike Edelman's music for Gettysburg, Frizzell walks no tightrope between his budget and authenticity. The score is fully orchestral and choral, written for solo performances appropriate for the time and the people fighting the war, and it's a work saturated with its dramatic title theme. His music is a serious tribute to the war, with close attention to detail that led, ultimately, to the inclusion of several noteworthy solo performances. O'Connor's violin performances are crisp and well-placed, and his talents as person who can turn his violin into a fiddle also came in handy when performing for the Confederates at several junctures. The well recorded and mixed sound of the orchestra offers a wet ambience that conveys a level of reverberation that makes the violin and orchestra sound distant enough to represent the 1860's and epic enough to establish a sense of weight in the environment. At the same time, however, the sound is rarely so diluted as to lose the integrity of individual performances. The only exception is the stark death procession heard in the "VMI Will Be Heard From Today," a cue by Frizzell in which the chorus fiercely overpowers the orchestra. A varied adult chorus is included in several tracks throughout the score, functioning much like the expected snare drum to represent wartime topics. Frizzell maintains great loyalty to the title theme he expresses with bravado in "Gods and Generals" and "To the Stone Wall." These two cues are momentous powerhouses of explosive orchestral and choral weight with grand harmony that is rarely heard with such conviction in film scores of the era. The Irish influences on the music, meanwhile, are perhaps the more surprising aspect of the work. They aren't limited to O'Connor's name in this case; Frizzell utilizes two pivotal score cues (comprising six minutes on album) to combine the fiddle with a tin whistle and uilleann pipes. As history buffs will recall, the number of Irish regiments from New York was considerable (and some of them didn't even speak English, much to the dismay of the Confederates and often their fellow Union fighters as well). Their heroism in battle is addressed in the story and is subsequently reflected by Frizzell, whose use of those elements in his score is well placed within the framework of the rest of the ensemble.

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The music flows effortlessly between the Irish influences to something such as, for example, the fiddle representing Appalachia, and you rarely realize it while it is happening. The most impressive aspect of Frizzell's score is its strong consistency of high quality, melodic and instrumental balance from beginning to end, which is something not heard in his larger commercial efforts. The score functions, with the exception of "VMI Will Be Heard From Today," as a lengthy, symphonic, concert-like tribute to the Civil War, the likes of which had not been recorded before. Even Randy Edelman's contribution, which is about ten minutes in length on the album, sheds his tiresome, synthesized sound and yields superb piano performances in the place of obvious electronic keyboarding. Film score collectors will also be pleased with the original songs presented at the beginning and end of the album. The album opens with a hauntingly gorgeous, Irish-styled song co-written and performed by Mary Fahl, who was also heard in the later 2003 score for The Guys. Her voice has a naturally evocative and sincerely deep tone, and when partnered with the melody of the song "Going Home" specifically, the Irish twist of her tongue and the variety of accompanying instruments of similar ethnicity are lovely. The fully orchestral and choral backing to this recording is stunning. Likewise appropriate for the film and score is Bob Dylan's own ballad at the end of the project, for which he contributes his distinct, echoing voice and keyboard talents. His lengthy "Cross the Green Mountain" is equally sensitive to the spirit of the Civil War, modern in its instrumentation but true to the character of the era with its melody and mellow vocals. Overall, Gods and Generals is a vast improvement over Gettysburg, which should come as even better news to those of you who enjoyed the previous score. Frizzell has captured the momentous scope of the war while also conveying the atmosphere of personal tragedy, and it is clearly the defining score of his career to date. With strength in both of the songs, the album is without a fault, and even devoted historians of the Civil War will be pleasantly surprised by the overall package. If only it had been released later in the year, this could easily have been an awards contender for its songs and score, and its album comes with the highest of recommendations. *****   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Randy Edelman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.06 (in 18 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.19 (in 27,262 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.