Diamonds: (Joel Goldsmith) The details of the plot
of John Asher's 1999 Miramax film
Diamonds are largely
irrelevant, but any character drama of the era that could reunite Lauren
Bacall and Kirk Douglas wins points for sentimentality. Douglas, in his
first role since suffering his stroke several years earlier, leads his
family from Canada to Reno in search of a stash of lost diamonds and,
along their journey, they patch up their own relationships in tender
fashion. The romantic comedy didn't make much of a splash at the box
office, but for film score collectors it represented an important step
for composer Joel Goldsmith. The son of the legendary Jerry Goldsmith
had been struggling to define his own career in the late 1990's,
eventually becoming lodged in the "Stargate SG-1" television series for
many years.
Diamonds was definitely a departure for Joel
Goldsmith, requiring a snazzy and heartfelt score consisting of an
occasionally unsteady balance between big band and melodic orchestral
sequences. It's a work that both borrows heavily from other composers'
styles (with his father thankfully not among them) and changes moods
quite frequently in the middle portions of its length. Most attractive
among those parts are a handful of very lovely cues that convey intimate
and contemplative symphonic undertones to match the sensitivity of the
relationships in the story. Goldsmith's orchestral ensemble is only
marginal in size for
Diamonds, but sharp orchestrations by
Nicholas Dodd and an extremely crisp recording provide for a
surprisingly vibrant and enticing atmosphere. Thematically, Goldsmith's
score is dominated by one lush string theme heard over "Main Titles" and
in several incarnations later. While the performances of this theme on
solo piano at the very outset (and elsewhere) will remind of James
Horner's smaller-scale recordings, the theme itself has significant
similarities in tone and progression to any one of Cliff Eidelman's
similarly light-hearted themes of the era.
As the score progresses, the title theme's performances
are spread to secondary instruments in solo or background roles, though
the momentous crescendo of harmonic resonance at the end of "Compartment
in Box" neatly wraps up the idea for the finale. Disrupting the very
undemanding woodwind-dominated cues of the middle portion of the album
are a few comedic sequences in Reno that require loud, big band swings.
In and of themselves, these little tributes to Henry Mancini are quite
fun, but they detract from the often subtle emphasis on melody in the
adjoining orchestral tracks. Downright bizarre is the exotic "Lance's
Girl" cue, with a hilarious attitude and cool electric guitar more at
home in a George S. Clinton score. Fans of Elmer Bernstein westerns will
hear the spirit he made famous in this score's road trip cue, "Harry
Drives," which offers some of the best mixing of the players on album.
By the end of the score, Goldsmith returns to yet another considerable
length of solid performances of straightforward harmonic material from
the orchestral players. The only blemish on the road to those
performances is a pair of brass mishaps in "Mugger." The concluding cues
for
Diamonds are as lush in string performance as any Rachel
Portman score, with a return to the quiet piano solos that once again
mirrored Horner's concurrent works. The momentous, overly positive
spirit of "Compartment in Box" sports the kind of sincerity that you
hear from Marc Shaiman. The album ends with a funny adaptation of the
song "Keeps This World Alive," performed by Herman's Hermit Peter Noone
and giving co-compositional credit to Nicholas Dodd. The jolly Broadway
spirit of the performance merges with Noone's accent to form a bizarre
sort of Monty Python sound. Otherwise, Goldsmith's score is a strong
effort. On album, the big band casino cues may cause some continuity
problems in the listening experience, but for those of you who have been
listening to his father's music for decades, you might consider taking a
moment to hear Joel Goldsmith's considerable talents outside of his
mainstream television efforts represented by the several "Stargate SG-1"
albums.
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The insert includes a list of performers, but no extra information about the
score or film.
