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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you enjoy the folksy rhythms behind many of Basil Poledouris' dramatic and western-styled themes, and are interested in what's widely considered to be one of the top television scores of all time. Avoid it... if you have difficulty appreciating conceptually large scores performed by small ensembles or you don't care for the subsequently related score for Quigley Down Under. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
By following the style of his traditional folk music rather than going for the more obvious Copeland-inspired Americana scope --one that would require a much larger ensemble for lengthier performances-- he managed to solve both problems: provide over three hours of music largely dominated by specialty folk instruments while also utilizing enough of the budget to hire an orchestral ensemble to provide the large style of thematic bravado necessary to satisfy audience expectations for the overall scheme of the music. It's not surprising that the larger, more orchestral cues receive almost all the praise related to the score for Lonesome Dove, for the fiddles, banjos, guitars, accordions, and hammered dulcimer have a much more subtle role. Theirs was the worksman role, however, and most of the music that you don't hear on album contains the smaller, more finely crafted music for these instruments. Poledouris' work on Lonesome Dove is admirable on all levels, infusing the historically much-discussed folk rhythms and instrumentations with orchestral grandeur at just the right times and in the right doses. The extensive thematic constructs are difficult to appreciate on album because so many of the secondary character themes are left in single performances (or fragments) when so much of the material is omitted. The title theme for the two main characters was always given more airtime by Poledouris, and it flourishes on album. Lonesome Dove is about as universally praised a score as you'll ever find, and yet, despite its clear strengths, don't think that it's a top Poledouris effort. The methods used to wisely employ the available money for the project forced Poledouris' use of the folksy half of the score as a practical matter, not solely an artistic one, and the theme does not rank among his best. Another aspect of Lonesome Dove that makes it slightly overrated is the fact that the orchestra's maximum size was forty players, which causes the primary performances to lack the resonance that Poledouris' classic scores typically have. It sounds sparse in sections, especially compared to Lee Holdridge's output for the same genre on TV at the time. And the rhythmically entertaining ensemble performances, such as the one at the end of "The Leaving," would be expanded upon and given a more robust identity in Quigley Down Under, a connection that oddly few people have made with Lonesome Dove. On album, the score was available via the Cabin Fever release in 1993, and while the true nature of the album was always in question, it did contain all the music really necessary from the overall score. That release disappeared within a year or two, however, and the Sonic Images made an expanded release of Poledouris' score into one of their company's finest products in 1998. That album would only add ten minutes to the overall running time, a curiosity given that over two hours would still remain missing. And the new material isn't that spectacular; the most interesting cue is the spunky honky-tonk variation of the title theme in "Cowboys Down the Street," true evidence of Poledouris' talents and sense of humor. In the end, though, anybody who managed to get a hold of the Cabin Fever release will be served well enough by that product. The sound quality is almost identical from one to the other. The Sonic Images release should be commended, despite the relative disappointment in the lack of additional material, for simply making the score available on the open market. Poledouris' score is a classic in the realm of television scores, but be wary of the orgasmic reviews you may read about the score at other sites. It's a fine score, but its small ensemble keeps it from being among Poledouris' best.
Score on Cabin Fever CD: *** Score on Sonic Images CD: ****
* Previously unreleased tracks.
The insert contains lengthy notes and credits. Below was part of a press release regarding the 1998 album:
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