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Jerry Goldsmith SPFM Tribute

Composed and Conducted by:
Jerry Goldsmith
'Take a Hard Ride' Conducted by:
Lionel Newman
Produced by:
Douglass Fake


Label:
Society for the Preservation of Film Music
Release Date:
March 5th, 1993


Also See:

Take a Hard Ride
Magic


Audio Clips:

Take a Hard Ride: 7. Main Title (0:30), 150K goldsmith_tribute7.ra

Baby: 20. The Family (0:31), 155K goldsmith_tribute20.ra

Baby: 21. Idyl and Rampage (0:31), 155K goldsmith_tribute21.ra

Baby: 22. The Rescue (0:31), 154K goldsmith_tribute22.ra



Availability:

  Limited release of approximately 500+ CDs, available mainly to SPFM members after the 1993 annual tribute dinner for the group. Original copies were once valued as the most expensive soundtrack collectible in existence. Bootlegs of this album exist with the same contents. More information about the history of this high collectible is available in the main Filmtracks review.


Awards:

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Jerry Goldsmith SPFM Tribute

Audio | Availability | Viewer Ratings | Tracks | Viewer Comments | Notes & Quotes
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   Sorry, there are no commercial ordering options for this title. However, you can search for this title at the soundtrack specialty outlets listed on the Filmtracks Links Page.



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Filmtracks Recommends:

Buy it... only for sentimental reasons in the post-2000 market and for a fraction of its original collector's prices.

Avoid it... if you seek it for anything other than Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend and you have no interest in the collectibility of the product.



Filmtracks Editorial Review:

Goldsmith
The Jerry Goldsmith SPFM Tribute: (Compilation) Once the most valuable album in the history of soundtracks, the Jerry Goldsmith SPFM Tribute CD holds a distinct place in the genre. While its value has diminished since its peak in the mid-1990's, it still represents the hysteria associated with extreme fandom and has demanded the kinds of prices to prove it. In March of 1993, the Society for the Preservation of Film Music gave copies of this compilation to attendees at its annual tribute dinner. The album, honoring Jerry Goldsmith for his career achievements, was originally reported to have been limited to 500 copies in quantity. Those original 500 pressings were type-numbered, although unnumbered copies beyond the first 500 were available for a donation price to Society members after the dinner. Almost immediately, the Jerry Goldsmith SPFM Tribute became one of the first ever albums to ever be bootlegged in the soundtrack genre, with tricky fakes beginning to circulate around the secondary collector's market. While original copies of the real album fetched many hundreds of dollars, the bootleg pressings also commanded impressive prices. For those curious about the differences between the products, there is a distinct way of knowing whether the album you hold is genuine. First, a genuine Jerry Goldsmith SPFM Tribute CD will include a small, rectangular white sticker over the hidden Fox logo in the upper-right corner of the back insert. Whether you got one of the original 500 copies or one of the few that were sold following the festivities will be determined by the existence of a number on that sticker. Secondly, the genuine article will have a round, goldish/silverish foil sticker in the upper right of the front cover. Since the album was mastered and assembled by Intrada Records' Douglass Fake, a small number of the unnumbered originals were made available to non-Society members (Intrada regular buyers) in the days that followed the tribute dinner. The mastering of the album, on that topic, is strong, although still somewhat muted compared to the digital remastering technologies of a decade later. For serious collectors, a transaction of the genuine album was only to be considered complete if a copy of the dinner program book also accompanied the sale. A dozen years later, however, the situation with the Jerry Goldsmith SPFM Tribute CD has completely changed.

The most notable aspect of the album that has diminished since 2000 has been its value. The only reason for this devaluation has been the subsequent release of three of the four scores represented on the album. Each suite of four to seven tracks contained anywhere between 16 and 22 minutes of material from each entry, and with far more complete album releases of The Flim-Flam Man and Take a Hard Ride by Film Score Monthly and Magic by Varèse Sarabande, the album is far less appealing than it had once been. The only remaining unreleased score as of 2005 is Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, and this score has been bootlegged with additional material on the secondary market. Thus, as the market has matured, the Jerry Goldsmith SPFM Tribute CD is an honored relic of a time past. As for the music, the two main attractions of the album back in 1993 were Take a Hard Ride and Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend. The first was a 1975 Western that features one of Goldsmith's more lyrical themes and a creative use of percussion; it was remastered with great result by FSM. On the other hand, 1984's Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend was part of Goldsmith's venture into the same fantasy animal genre that would produce Legend with many similar characteristics two years later. By far the most orchestrally robust and bombastic score of the four on this CD, Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend features a very simplistic octave-loyal theme that repeats often (usually demanding a significant performance from trombones and tuba) and builds into a relentless progression of action throughout its four tracks here. Percussive rhythms are outstanding in "Rampage" and "The Rescue," both exhibiting Goldsmith's harsher action tones with great vigor. Electronics retain many characteristics from Under Fire. Both The Flim-Flam Man (1967) and Magic (1978) utilize a harmonica, but in very different ways. The former retains an uncomplicated heart similar to that of A Patch of Blue while Magic skirts the horror genre with its slightly deranged major and minor key love theme. Overall, the individual treatment of the subsequently released scores reveals better sound quality and presentation than what exists on this Jerry Goldsmith SPFM Tribute CD. While Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend has always been the most interesting score of the four, its sole possession of the title of "unreleased" even today may not merit the kinds of residual prices that the compilation could demand from Goldsmith completists. It's another one of those formerly valuable albums that you remember fondly, for it had it's day in the sun, but nobody in their right mind should pay significantly for it today. *****

Purchasing Options: eBay/Half.com (Used)




   Viewer Ratings and Comments:

    Regular Average: 3.72 Stars
    Smart Average: 3.53 Stars
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   Track Listings:
Total Time: 71:10

    The Flim-Flam Man (1967):

    • 1. Main Title (1:42)
    • 2. No Rest for the Wicked (3:48)
    • 3. The Visitor (3:25)
    • 4. The Homestead (2:30)
    • 5. Curly's Plan (2:45)
    • 6. On the Road Again (1:17)

    Take a Hard Ride (1975):

    • 7. Main Title (2:16)
    • 8. Friendly Enemies (2:12)
    • 9. A Sad Story (1:29)
    • 10. On the Edge (0:45)
    • 11. The Wagon (5:54)
    • 12. Work Camp (2:16)
    • 13. Take a Hard Ride (1:58)
    Magic (1978):

    • 14. Main Title (2:04)
    • 15. Corky's Retreat (3:21)
    • 16. Memories (2:54)
    • 17. Appassionata (2:07)
    • 18. Fats Acts (2:47)
    • 19. Us Was You (3:26)

    Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1984):

    • 20. The Family (4:01)
    • 21. Idyl and Rampage (7:03)
    • 22. The Rescue (3:34)
    • 23. The Legend (7:26)




   Notes and Quotes:

    The insert includes detailed liner notes by Douglass Fake about each of the four scores. The album was digitally mastered at Intrada Records.







All artwork and sound clips from Jerry Goldsmith SPFM Tribute are Copyright © 1993, Society for the Preservation of Film Music. 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 8/6/97, updated 3/28/05. Review Version 4.2 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 1997-2008, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved.