PRINTER FRIENDLY VIEW
(inverts site colors)

While Herrmann's prior scores of the early 1970's all resembled stylistic throwbacks to his prime, It's Alive was a departure in that he didn't overplay the tragic side of the story. He instead emphasized solely the horror of the concept, an interesting strategic choice that didn't ultimately serve the film particularly well. What everyone could expect, however, was an unusual collection of instruments selected for the performance. The recording was made in a freezing cold London church so its massive organ could be used live with the ensemble, which was highly unusual. Six various sizes of clarinet, a massive brass section, two harps, and percussion represent the bulk of the group, that core similar to Endless Night, especially in the reliance upon the bevy of clarinets. A Moog synthesizer counters the organ, and Herrmann had become especially fond of its sound as a replacement for his theremin of decades before. The brass and the synth are applied to the lines of musical action that the strings would normally play; the viola d'amore provides the only string presence, but not like it did in The Night Digger not long before. Muted trumpets are the typical expression of the authorities chasing the baby. Most striking are the two elements used to highlight the presence and antics of the monstrous baby. A bass electric guitar is plucked for a contemporary bass region slightly off-kilter and standing far apart in the mix, and tambourines are employed like rattling chains for a distinct sound effect of impending doom, almost to suggest that a baby's rattle is an instrument of death. No music was spotted during the sequences between the opening titles and the baby's birth. As such, there is no soothing, "normal" music whatsoever anywhere in the score. Shrieking, dissonant waves of tritones mark the horror passages, starting in "The Delivery" and continuing in "Raid on the School." The quiet suspense portions of the work are often lackluster, as in "Frank Visits Basement," "Two Policemen," "Frank Refrigerates the Milk," "Restless Night," and "Father Continues Search." The thematic handling in the score isn't all that spectacular, Herrmann's structures kept short and repetitive. An identity for the horror of the baby eventually translates into a bizarre family theme while a secondary theme of muted mystery occasionally supports without providing any meaningful narrative connectivity.

The various facets of Herrmann's theme for the baby in It's Alive utilize four notes, each sending them in different directions depending on the moment's needs. The fanfare mode is a rising four-note figure of horror heard immediately in "It's Alive (Main Title)" on horns in unison with the atonal synth setting a dreadful atmosphere underneath. This theme is eventually used by Herrmann to signal the presence of the baby once a twisted version forms a rhythmic thump on electric bass guitar in "The Delivery." This material consolidates in "Murdered Boy" to reaffirm Herrmann's use of the device to suggest the hidden presence of the monster. The idea lightens in "Getting Ready for Fishing Trip," reducing to alternating pairs of notes as it shifts from the bass tones to the various clarinets. The straight descending version of stalking intent occupies "Davis Arrives at School" on the solitary bass while the sour, alternating descending pairs recur on the viola in "Your Kid Goes Here." Bass guitar and tambourine barely preview the impending attack in "Another Victim" before the original fanfare mode for this idea returns on brass late in the cue. Light thumping on bass guitar and viola in "Where's Lenore?" yields additionally subtle presence throughout the quiet ambience of "Where's Chris or Someone?" Applied as an anticipatory red herring in "Father Stalks Baby" for an overblown crescendo, the theme is surprisingly not present with any significant narrative value in "Father Searches for Baby" until late on organ. The downward cyclical version of the baby's theme becomes more menacing on brass in "Frank Waits," and an inverted, ascending rendition tries to generate warmth on viola in "Father and Child," where Herrmann finally develops some tonally accessible lines even if they are still distant. The descending alternative tosses abrasive synthetics at "Father Protects Child" and elongates into a fuller chromatic line of terror in "Father Runs With Child." That material adds the baby's bass guitar and tambourine in "Father Keeps Running With Child" for a formal merging of concepts. After the inevitable execution at the end, the ascending, fatherly version of the idea supplies lament on the viola in "Sad Reunion," but the bass descent returns one more time to suggest that the concept of the wretch mutant isn't dead. Herrmann then returns to the performance of the opening fanfare wholesale in "End Title" with equal force as expected.

The secondary theme of mystery in It's Alive repeats three-note phrases of vague meaning, meandering in its own occasional supplemental sequences. Heard sickly on viola d'amore and Moog as an interlude to the baby's theme at 0:41 into "It's Alive (Main Title)," this material is faintly melancholy at the end of "Something Small," and a downward version occupies the mystery of "I'll See You in the Morning." It toils in the middle of "Charley's Dead" against the baby's instrumentation and growls on low clarinet in "Still More Searching." Otherwise, it serves no significant purpose despite anchoring the middle of the splashy main title cue. While Herrmann's instrumental applications are fascinating as always, they cannot compensate for the rather poor narrative in this score. The tone may be effective for the darker half of the concept, but there is no dichotomy or convincing turn towards deeper familial care that would have augmented the film's message of blind parental dedication, even as sick as that might seem to a bystander. In the absence of a satisfying narrative or interestingly developed suspense, most of the score is simply obnoxious in its execution. The bass guitar's presence is especially weird amongst the other choices, sitting uncomfortably in the mix. Only monoaural tapes survive for the score's recording, leaving no stereo option available for appreciation on album. Given the spread of unusual instruments, especially the tambourines, this presentation is totally unsavory. The organ may go completely unnoticed by some listeners; at the least, they won't realize it's of any significant size. The music received only one, limited release on album, Film Score Monthly providing a CD pressing of 3,000 copies in 2012 that remained readily available well into the 2020's at regular retail prices. The 45-minute presentation of the album is a struggle at times even if Herrmann's complicated structures and orchestration remain admirable in the more active parts. The product's appended alternate takes on two cues aren't particularly vital to the experience. In the end, the experience is distinctly unpleasant from the start to finish, the score offering no convincing familial element as needed for drive the point of the narrative home. Herrmann's decision to score this picture as a pure monster movie dooms it to obscurity. Laurie Johnson adapted this music for the 1978 sequel, It Lives Again, which allowed Herrmann's music to live on in new variations after his death.  **   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Total Time: 48:48