Not surprisingly, The Lonely Guy made use of several song placements, and these formed the basis for the LP record album release that existed at the time of the film's release. Alongside album arrangements of two Goldsmith cues on that brief presentation was "Love Comes Without Warning," the pop song he wrote for the main titles of the movie and performed by the band America. Nearly everything contained in Goldsmith's score is structurally related to that "Love Comes Without Warning" song. Its performance by America is so disparate (and badly dated now) in style from the composer's own instrumentals that some listeners may not pick up on all the melodic connections. The tone of Goldsmith's score is chipper and upbeat in most cues, utilizing a moderate orchestra but relying very heavily on his developing electronics at the time. The synthetic harpsichord and other keyboarded tones are joined by his standard drum kit, a few sound effects like a barking dog and siren interspersed but not always making the picture. The synthetics in The Lonely Guy are recognizable to Goldsmith's palette but nowhere near as refined as they would be in The 'Burbs, serving more of a testing ground for Gremlins but less comfortable against the symphonic portions. There are passages of romantic string, woodwind, and pop-oriented keyboarding that are as pleasant as any character theme provided by Goldsmith for his slew of 1990's scores of similar stature, but don't expect any of these moments to last long. The song is constructed from three melodies that Goldsmith applies in various guides in nearly every cue of the score. The A phrase is a whimsical and melancholy identity that is the easiest to digest for its somber but pretty applications throughout the work. It blurts through several comedic incarnations during "In Dedication," "House Hunt," and "Joggers Do It" but gains smoother textures by "No Number" and later on. The song's bridge section is a sappier extension of this main character theme, adapted at the ends of "I Understand" and "The Magazines" in the score for the ultimate expressions of desperate want and longing.

Much flashier is Goldsmith's accelerated, rhythmic B phrase from the main song, which resembles a preview of his backing for the Gremlins theme and occasionally earns some propulsive keyboarded base presence a la Explorers. Even this optimistic expression of every lonely guy's hope of getting laid ultimately cannot escape its destiny as a romantic string theme from Goldsmith in later passages, becoming buoyant by "The Book." It also supplies the most openly orchestral moment of drama in "So Empty." The action material in The Lonely Guy is totally flimsy, the duo of "The Wedding" and "Abandon Ship" testing your patience in its intrusive pop infusions over the composer's own mannerisms. In the end, it's a score of moderate intellectual interest for Goldsmith collectors but not worth much pursuit. At best, five to ten minutes of the more palatable romantic material could be culled for a smooth experience. The work was never released on its own until a 2018 album from Intrada that contained both the songs and score from the picture. Don't expect much from the songs, and the score presentation is mainly bolstered by a large quantity of alternate takes that the label included to illuminate Goldsmith's struggles on the recording stage to find the right tone for numerous passages. The "In Dedication" cue that parodies Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and 2001: A Space Odyssey for the caveman opening of the film received no less than eight variations, and ironically the original options were the best at accomplishing the task. (As fate would have it, the humorous musical poke was entirely dialed out of the film anyway.) The same could be said of the other cues with many revisions; Goldsmith's initial renditions were typically the best. Intrada's limited (and inevitably sold-out) album includes instrumental takes on the song and the original two album arrangements from 1984. The quality of the recording is fine, on par with other Goldsmith scores of the era. It's a curious product that will fill a rare hole in an avid Goldsmith collector's discography from the composer's 1980's years, but it's simply not worth obtaining on the merits of the music alone. Goldsmith achieved far greater heights in the genre not long after.  **   @Amazon.com: CD or Download