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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Lonesome Dove (Basil Poledouris)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you enjoy the folksy rhythms behind many of Basil
Poledouris' dramatic and Western-styled themes and are interested in
what's widely considered to be one of the most effective television
scores of all time.
Avoid it... if you have difficulty appreciating conceptually large scores performed by undersized ensembles or if you don't care for the subsequently related score for Quigley Down Under.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Lonesome Dove: (Basil Poledouris) By the late
1980's, the viability of original western films on network television
was questionable, though it only took one mini-series to mark a sudden
and complete change in the philosophy of network executives. After its
seven Emmy award wins, Lonesome Dove sparked a flurry of massive
western originals on the networks in their last remaining years of
dominance before cable's emergence. It was the right film at the right
time for the industry, with Simon Wincer's adaptation of Larry
McMurtry's story masterful in every regard, from the leading cast to the
supporting crew. The tale is rather formulaic when compared to other
entries in the genre, with the primary two characters, played by Robert
Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones, making the dramatic and dangerous move
across the Old West to Montana in order to live a better life. The film
deals with family, friends, and adversaries as they trek, meeting
predictable obstacles and demises. But despite Lonesome Dove's
rather straight forward story, it's proof that fine execution can take
any solid story and elevate it to a screen classic. One of the more
daunting aspects of the production that Wincer faced towards the end of
shooting was figuring out how he could take a modest budget for music
and get substantial results for what would amount to an 8-hour epic
film. He decided upon approaching composer Basil Poledouris after
hearing the large scope and varied instrumental styles of Farewell to
the King, an outstanding score released just before Lonesome
Dove in Poledouris' career. There was between three and four hours
of music to produce for the series, and with only a standard television
series budget with which to record the score, Poledouris was forced to
make some tough choices that have been well praised in all the years
since the film's debut. The ensemble for the recordings was cobbled
together on the fly, and the performances aren't without occasional
flubs, but the somewhat raw-sounding recordings that resulted fit the
scope of the small screen adequately at the time.
By following the style of his traditional folk music rather than going for the more obvious Aaron Copland-inspired Americana scope, one that would require a much larger ensemble for lengthier performances, he managed to solve both problems: provide over three hours of music largely dominated by specialty folk instruments while also utilizing enough of the budget to hire a small orchestral ensemble to provide the broad style of thematic bravado necessary to satisfy audience expectations for the overall scheme of the music. It's not surprising that the larger, more orchestral cues receive almost all the praise related to the score for Lonesome Dove, for the fiddles, banjos, guitars, accordions (as an explicit and intriguing substitute for harmonicas, which Poledouris considered overused), and hammered dulcimer have a much more subtle role in the overall equation. Theirs was the worksman role, however, and most of the music that you don't hear on the various album releases is comprised of the smaller, more finely crafted music for these instruments. Poledouris' toil on Lonesome Dove is admirable on all levels, infusing the historically much-discussed folk rhythms and instrumentations with orchestral grandeur at just the right times and in the right doses. The extensive thematic constructs are difficult to appreciate on album because so many of the secondary character themes, including those of the more tender variety for the female characters, are represented by single performances (or fragments) when so much of the material is omitted from the presentation. The title theme for the two main characters was always given more airtime by Poledouris, though, and it flourishes on album. Lonesome Dove is about as universally praised a score as you'll ever find, and yet, despite its clear strengths, don't believe that it's a top Poledouris effort. The methods used to wisely employ the available money for the project forced Poledouris' use of the folksy majority of the score as a practical matter, not solely an artistic one, and the theme does not rank among his best. The final phrase of the melody, for instance, is a bit too familiar to the genre's past themes by other composers. Another aspect of Lonesome Dove that makes it slightly overrated is the fact that the orchestra's maximum size was forty players, which causes the primary performances to lack the resonance that Poledouris' classic scores typically have. It sounds sparse in sections, especially compared to Lee Holdridge's output for the same genre on TV at the time. And the rhythmically entertaining ensemble performances, such as the one at the end of "The Leaving," would be expanded upon and given a more robust identity in Quigley Down Under, a connection that surprisingly few people have made with Lonesome Dove. On album, the score was available via the Cabin Fever release in 1993, and while the legality of the album was always in question, it did contain all the music really necessary from the overall score. That release disappeared within a year or two, however, and the Sonic Images label offered expanded release of Poledouris' score in 1998. That album only added ten minutes to the overall running time, a curiosity given that over two hours still remained missing, but that choice was specifically dictated by Poledouris himself. The new material isn't that spectacular; the most interesting cue is the spunky honky-tonk variation of the title theme in "Cowboys Down the Street," true evidence of Poledouris' talents and sense of humor. The Sonic Images release was commended, despite the relative disappointment in the lack of additional material, for simply making the score available again on the open market. A Varèse Sarabande re-issue in 2019 followed the composer's wishes by releasing the same score contents, adding only a vocalized Country adaptation of the main theme by Poledouris' daughter Zoë as a new attraction. Sadly, the vocal tone of her performance doesn't match the score at all, perhaps due to manipulation that inhibits the crisp vocal tone necessary to serve the genre. In the end, either the Sonic Images or Varèse Sarabande albums will suffice well; the sound quality is almost identical on each. Poledouris' score is considered a classic in the realm of television scores, but be wary of the orgasmic reviews you may read about the score from others. It's a fine work, but its small ensemble keeps it from being among Poledouris' best.
TRACK LISTINGS:
1993 Cabin Fever Album:
Total Time: 46:17
1998 Sonic Images Album: Total Time: 56:09
* Previously unreleased tracks. 2019 Varèse Sarabande Album: Total Time: 59:34
* Performed by Zoe Poledouris and Angel Roche
NOTES & QUOTES:
The inserts of the 1998 Sonic Images and 2019 Varèse Sarabande
albums contain lengthy notes about the series and score. Below was part of a press
release regarding the 1998 album:
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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 Lonesome Dove are Copyright © 1993, 1998, 2019, Cabin Fever, Sonic Images Records, Varèse Sarabande and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 11/18/98 and last updated 11/30/19. |
