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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Powder (Jerry Goldsmith)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you regularly enjoy the predictable constructs of
Jerry Goldsmith's soft, affable character themes of the 1990's and are
attracted to idea of stripping that style to its basics and pouring on
the syrup.
Avoid it... if you logically expect this score to create any sense of mystery, electricity, or magic, for without these elements, Powder remains extremely overrated.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Powder: (Jerry Goldsmith) Stories about young
misfits trying to fit into a judgmental school environment are
surprisingly common in Hollywood, either because such films appeal
predictably well to angst-ridden teenagers or because their makers felt
that way themselves when they were that age. The 1995 entry in the
genre, Powder, faced considerable adversity of its own, with
reporting of writer and director Victor Salva's past history of child
molestation raised and protested during the film's release. On top of
the public outcry against the studio for allowing Salva to make the
film, Powder also suffered from a sappy, sometimes unbearable
plotline that drove the rest of the audiences away. To say that the film
was a failure is kind, and Jerry Goldsmith's average though
overachieving musical effort is dragged along for the ride. Salva's
script received such positive buzz that two legendary composers,
Goldsmith and John Williams, expressed an interest in writing the music
for Powder. Only Goldsmith would sign on prior to seeing a final
edit of the picture, however, and because time to write and record the
score for Williams would otherwise be short, Goldsmith got the job.
Salva had always been an enormous fan of Goldsmith's career, and despite
significant disagreements and misgivings about the tone of the
composer's handling of the main character, he ultimately professed to
being very impressed with the outcome of the music, calling it the work
of "genius." Likewise, collectors of the composer's music were generally
pleased by the soft and sensitive melodies involved, the work
maintaining a strong following many years later. As such, the score has
a tendency to be vastly overrated by many of these listeners; while it
is lovely in its basic, tonal appeal, it really breaks little new
stylistic ground for the composer. As a very common representative of
Goldsmith 1990's style for the drama genre, Powder is a project
for the composer that simply furthered his lengthy pursuit of
assignments that involved highly personalized character adversity.
Goldsmith's main theme for Powder, explored extensively in the arrangement of "Theme from Powder" for the original album presentation, is lovingly passionate, simple, and unassuming, and it is adapted in many variations throughout the score. This title theme's construct is very slow, deliberate, and finishes with a faint hint of Western flavor, with Goldsmith utilizing a slight swing of descending progression usually reserved for stereotypical Western music during a series of notes late in the theme (to address, perhaps, the setting in Texas). Other parts of its performances, particularly on strings, foreshadow the title theme for The Edge, especially with a shared progression between the two at the outset of the theme. (Obviously, the tone is much more subtle here.) In the idea's extended treatment in "Theme from Powder," "Steven and the Snow," and "Everywhere," Goldsmith makes it clear that the identity for Powder is one of the least complicated of his career. It has a basic romantic element to it that will pull at the heartstrings for any listener, but its string and woodwind construction doesn't consist of enough counterpoint or instrumental variety to make it a noteworthy standout in his career. The idea thus blends into the mass of Goldsmith's 1990's character themes without offering anything new to interest a Goldsmith collector outside of the simple fact that its performances in Powder are melodramatic to a fault. Salva originally claimed that this theme was too saccharine for the character's early scenes of an otherwise mysterious nature, and he was right. Goldsmith insisted that the character be treated positively through the music right away, and the resulting lack of evolution to the theme is thus one of the score's unfortunate drawbacks. The payoff at the end of the score is diminished because the theme hasn't really experienced any journey itself. A secondary "discovery motif" at the outset of "Theme from Powder" and better suited for "First Kiss" shares considerable elements with Goldsmith's material for the Ba'ku in Star Trek: Insurrection. More memorable is the score's only minor-mode mystery tool, a "nature motif" introduced late in "No Questions" and opening "Nature Walk" and "The Farm House." Another interesting aspect of Powder is Goldsmith's underemphasized use of his tingling, synthetic effects. These electronics were often employed by the composer to insert a sense of magic into his scores, whether it be on the human level or on a technological one (as in his science-fiction efforts). Goldsmith does insert his trademark, electronic sounds in Powder, but they lack the distinctive edge that was needed to make the magic of this story fly. For a movie involving supernatural powers and electricity, there's a distinct lack of energy in this atmosphere. This is a shame, because Goldsmith could very easily have placed more of an emphasis on his spine-tingling electronics to accent the start of measures or, as he often does, ramble them in the background to add another dimension to the music. That personal touch of the supernatural fails in part because Goldsmith's choice of synthesized elements: the same electronic effect that Goldsmith conjured for the opening of the Klingon battle scene in the original Star Trek: The Motion Picture, as heard here at the start of "Spoon Trick and the Trestle." As a listening experience, the score splits itself between two parts. During troubled sequences, such as the lengthy "Nightmare in the Forest" and "Freakshow," the music loses the heart that it established in the major thematic presentations. The other part consists of the slow, melodic string and woodwind cues that carry most of the rest of the underscore. These drawn-out sequences simply connect similar performances of the main theme, which come at regular intervals and never develop into anything more than a weightier statement at the end of "Everywhere" (renamed "Going Away" on a later album). Overall, Powder is easily listenable, but it doesn't have the magical touch it needs to distinguish itself above and beyond its own simplistic, pretty theme. The immense respect that many Goldsmith collectors have for it remains a curiosity, perhaps proving that the key to the heart of any such fan is to take a generic Goldsmith theme, tone back the complications, and pour on the syrup. For these listeners, an expanded 2016 presentation from Intrada adds half an hour of music that will only occasionally intrigue those not enamored with the score. That longer product may function well for some listeners, but if you expect to hear anything remotely electrical in a three-dimensional sense for this story, you'll be disappointed. Don't believe all the hype. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
1995 Hollywood Records Album:
Total Time: 35:39
2016 Intrada Album: Total Time: 65:14
* previously unreleased ** includes music previously unreleased + includes music not featured in film
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert of the 1995 album includes a note from director Victor Salva, from which
the following excerpt is taken:
The insert of the 2016 Intrada album presents notation about both the score and film.
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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 Powder are Copyright © 1995, 2016, Hollywood Records, Intrada Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 6/3/98 and last updated 6/24/16. |
