Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if Jerry Goldsmith's convincing light romance melodies offer you consistent enjoyment, for Players contains both a melancholy trumpet theme of noir-like despair and a redemptive acoustic guitar, woodwind, and piano theme of conventionally pretty heart. Avoid it... if you expect the structurally impressive, but brief tennis-related fanfare provided by Goldsmith for the film to convey the same level of alluring appeal as the composer's later propulsive sports themes. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Players: (Jerry Goldsmith) One of the rare mainstream feature films to involve the game of tennis, Players was a 1979 effort to merge the tale of an underdog in the sports arena with elements carried over by the producer and lead actress of 1970's popular Love Story. The plot was relatively simple, building upon the chemistry of its leads to produce drama from a love triangle that contained the still red-hot Ali MacGraw as the source of attention from both an older, wealthy tycoon and a younger, rising tennis star. With the romantic aspect of Players rather predictable and mundane (with the exception of one notable sex scene), the tennis scenes were left to carry the load. Cameos by real-life stars of the sport and an exposition of the Wimbledon tournament were interesting, but infrequent enough to classify Players as a qualified sports genre entry. The production was met with scathing critical reviews and poor performance in theatres, reducing it to the level of a footnote in the careers of many big industry names behind the camera. One such crew member for which Players was mostly forgotten was Jerry Goldsmith, who was coming off of an extremely strong year of composition in 1978 and in the midst of another year of high profile assignments. At a time when Goldsmith (and much of Hollywood) was emerging from an era of gloomy topics, Players joined The Great Train Robbery as a sudden ray of sunshine for the composer. While they could not compete with Alien and Star Trek: The Motion Picture in terms of public attention (neither of the two fluffier scores would receive comprehensive album treatment for decades), they were nevertheless an optimistic breath of fresh air compared to Goldsmith's lengthy series of grim (though technically impressive) works of the late 70's. In the case of Players, the assignment also showcased Goldsmith's first attempts to capture the competitive spirit of sports scenes in a dramatic context, a technique that would eventually mature into classic and fan favorite music, respectively, for Hoosiers and Rudy. Ultimately, however, there is very little full-ensemble propulsion for the matches in Players, with the only two of the tennis scenes depicted in the story containing any Goldsmith material at all. This leaves the 1979 score as one mostly comprised of pretty, straight-forward romance of both troubled and redemptive tones for conversational scenes. A large ensemble for the whole of the recording, aided by several acoustic guitars, gives the work considerable depth in even Goldsmith's least involving cues. Two love themes occupy the majority of the running time in Players, one a listless and somewhat tragic reminder of the woman's loveless tethering to the older man and the other a warm, budding, and eventually flourishing theme of classic Goldsmith attraction. The first theme is remarkably omnipresent in the score, a constant reminder of the woman's obligations to her rich partner. Its primary identity on trumpet, along with a few noir-like progressions, will definitely remind listeners of Chinatown. Its subtle reminders throughout the score, led by "A New Life," eventually become naggingly persist until the film throws the other love affair in doubt in "The Boat," the melancholy establishment theme driving with the force of a similar lover's traveling scene cue by Goldsmith for Basic Instinct. The lighter love theme, developed as an interlude for the album arrangement of the first cue, blossoms in "New Freedom," almost always beginning on woodwinds and sometimes developing into sweeping string arrangements. There is a sense of innocence in this theme that, along with the orchestration, reminds of the composer's loftier early 1990's light drama themes (and Forever Young, especially). The intensity of the theme's performance in "The Bedroom" (the aforementioned sex scene) emphasizes the piano's role in this theme. The fanfare for the select tennis scenes rounds out the thematic identities, previewed in "Players" before occupying "Winning Streak" and closing out the last few seconds of the film. With ambitious French horn lines and accompanying tambourine rhythms, this theme is most reminiscent of Goldsmith's career material for scenes showing fox hunts (culminating in The Final Conflict). Broad, low brass and thumping electronic bass accents lend force to this timpani and xylophone-assisted theme, though it's truly an exhibition for rowdy trumpet and horn performances of significant difficulty. Unlike Goldsmith's later sports scores, this theme in Players is impressive, but not game changing. One additional aspect of the score worth noting is the multitude of acoustic guitar performances that not only address some of the locale considerations but also serve as a bridge between the score and the numerous pop songs heard in the film. On the whole, Players is, outside of the two tennis cues, an easy half hour of listening, lovely at its most intimate and lonely at its most contemplative. But it may not live up to expectations for those who have eagerly waited thirty years for an album release. Intrada's 2010 product is comprehensive, decent in sound despite some high range (seemingly gain-related) distortion in brass and an occasional wobble in pitch. The score's two romance themes are a pleasant surprise, but the tennis theme is likely overrated; the abundance of the former element makes the album a safe recommendation for Goldsmith enthusiasts. *** Track Listings:
Total Time: 43:14
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