| CLOSE WINDOW |
|
FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of The Ballad of Lucy Whipple (Bruce Broughton)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... only if you are an enthusiast of intimate Western scores
performed by a handful of the usual instruments for the locale and
period.
Avoid it... if you expect anything remotely dynamic about this music, because it's about as mundane as the genre can get.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple: (Bruce Broughton)
February 2001's most anticipated Sunday night television film on CBS,
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple came and went without as much praise
and hoopla as most of the network's dramatic Western films of the
1990's. In an era when cable networks like those owned by Ted Turner
were taking artistic control of television films of this sort, Jeremy
Kagan's The Ballad of Lucy Whipple seemed a bit stale. It was a
project produced (after much studio delay) by Glenn Close, who also
stars in the film. The plotline of the film is nothing atypical to the
genre. It is a story of a widow and her family who move West during the
gold rush in order to find a new life, also covering the coming of age
of her children (particularly the young title character, who seems
frustrated by the lifestyle she discovers in the rough new land). In any
case, the film is really no different than the watered down family genre
of productions by Hallmark from the same period, and it is no surprise
that this formula production faded away without much interest. There can
only be a certain number of low budget character dramas set in the Wild
West before audiences begin wondering if they recognize the sets and
costumes from a previous rehash of the same idea. Also becoming a
veteran of the genre of television Westerns, composer Bruce Broughton
provided a modest score for The Ballad of Lucy Whipple. The
diminished tone and stature of a production like this is a long cry from
his days of Silverado, however Broughton did compose an
impressive Emmy nominated score for the Western True Women four
years prior that remains one of the better television scores in recent
times. For this far more intimate setting, Broughton takes the genre
back to its bare roots, mostly emphasizing only those instruments that
would have been heard in the rough 1850 towns. The live ensemble
consists of a fiddle, cello, tin whistle, acoustic guitar, percussion,
and baritone horn, all of which performing the composition at the
forefront of a close mix.
For the darker, more menacing moments in the film, such as "Jake's No Buck" and "Diggins on Fire," Broughton employs several synthetic techniques to provide a better base for these soloists. The use of the electronics as a replacement for an orchestral ensemble is surprisingly effective in The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, barely exposing their synthetic nature. The two main themes for the film, representing each of the two children, are unimposing and not particularly memorable. They do create a consistently harmonic environment that passes smoothly on album. Rather than rely upon strong themes to maintain the score's identity, the functionality of the work comes from Broughton's precise instrumentation and the subsequent creation of a believable atmosphere for the period. The most effective cues are arguably those that are also the most unlistenable, with rambling guitars, fiddle, and percussion filling the air with the more robust sentiments of the locale. As stereotypical as this precise representation by Broughton may be on album, the score is still above and beyond what you might expect for just another CBS television film. The album, produced by Broughton-friendly Intrada Records, is relatively short (35 minutes of music for a two hour film), but is long enough to contain adequate music to create a well rounded presentation. The sound quality is merely average, with an intimate mix of the recording that remains somewhat muted in places where it could otherwise use a vibrant, crisp edge. In the early 2000's, Broughton slipped into a very comfortable position as a leading television score composer, though his projects of the time tended to squeeze him into specialty or period roles, as furthered by his ethnically dominated score for Jeremiah (also on an Intrada label album). None of this material ever comes close to touching the dynamic appeal of Silverado or the composer's other mainstream works, and by continuing to take assignments like The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, he got stuck in a rut of producing decent television scores for films that didn't ultimately deserve his talents. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 36:45
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert contains information about the production and the following
note from Broughton:
There are two main original themes: the theme for Lucy, the teenager who rebels against the idea of living in a town with no social comforts or immediate means of self-improvement, and the theme for her brother Butte, a boy who tried to learn 50 different names for liquor. The score is at times stark, sentimental, thoughtful, light-hearted, tragic, aggressive and simple, reflecting many of the qualities of life among the Forty Niners."
Copyright ©
2001-2024, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from The Ballad of Lucy Whipple are Copyright © 2001, Intrada Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 4/6/01 and last updated 10/14/08. |
