Filmtracks: The Reivers (John Williams)

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Written 9/12/24

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Buy it... if your affinity for John Williams' sensitive character themes can accept the addition of folksy attitude and some outrageously exuberant comedy passages.

Avoid it... on any album if you expect a full and true treatment of the score as heard in the film, though several options combine to satisfy in relatively good sound.

Williams

The Reivers: (John Williams) A figurative and literal vehicle for actor Steve McQueen, the 1969 drama The Reivers is partly a silly comedy about colorful characters but at its core is a coming-of-age tale for a boy growing up in rural Tennessee circa 1905. The boy, Lucius, is friends with a couple of likable thieves who serve as surrogate fathers for him. When those men steal Lucius' grandfather's brand-new Winton Flyer car, the boy joins them on a journey to Memphis. Along the way, Lucius learns how to drive, meets and develops a crush on a well-meaning hooker associated with McQueen's lead thief, rides a horse in a high stakes race, and ultimately has to confront his grandfather about his adventures. The film's dramatic portions for the boy, the hooker, and other more serious topics are always at odds with the spirited, care-free journeying and chase scenes involving the flashy yellow car. It's an imperfect film, especially with McQueen being awkwardly miscast in the lead role, but it managed to earn respect for its other performances and, surprisingly, its equally diverse music. Director Mark Rydell originally received Lalo Schifrin as the film's composer, but after his music was ultimately rejected, John Williams stepped in and earned an Oscar nomination for his last-minute replacement work. Rydell and Williams enjoyed a fruitful collaboration that really establish the composer as a master of orchestral Americana early in his career. Williams had been known for his smaller ensemble jazz scores of the 1960's, and the tandem of The Reivers and The Cowboys caught the attention of others in the industry, contributing to the maestro's shift in the 1970's to massive orchestral music for feature films. There is certainly a dose of Aaron Copland in Williams' approach to The Reivers, but what really impressed audiences and colleagues was the layered mastery of the underlying composition. While the folksiness of the music may be written off by some listeners as rooted in the composer's common, early 1970's, harmonica-driven folk influences, there is writing in the score that clearly exposes his intelligently deep lines of action and knack for emotional depth.

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In general, the score for The Reivers may be best recalled for its wild banjo, acoustic guitar, harmonica, upright bass, and fiddle character, its Appalachian spirit genuinely affectionate and appropriate for the era of the setting. Williams leans into these specialty performances, especially in conjunction with inventive percussion. The bluesy jazz for the Memphis portions of the work offers notable brass solos as well. But he also counters these styles with a bevy of dramatic and whimsical string and woodwind-led thematic passages that are the heartfelt representation of Lucius' growing up and the (mostly) good hearts of those around him. Brass is supplied with the ensemble to provide additional muscle to the major expressions of the positive themes. Great harp work is littered throughout the score. Of particular interest is a singular cue of impressively light wonderment that foreshadows the softer portions of Jurassic Park; in "The Picture," the composer perfectly captures Lucius' admiration of a painting of a nude woman in the brothel in which he and his fellow thieves are staying. In the end, The Reivers is a more orchestral version of The Missouri Breaks and contains significantly more appeal in both its halves. Don't be quick to discount the outright zany, comedic hillbilly cues that Williams devises for the chase scenes, his chaos motif outrageously fun in its rowdiness. After all, how often did Williams instruct someone to enthusiastically bang on a cowbell? This motif is among several themes in the score, and it serves carnival atmosphere led by tonk piano and the folk players at 2:02 into "The Bad News" before exploding with ripping banjo and the banging metal accents in "The People Protest." It's an extension of the Winton Flyer car theme that opens with a light little fanfare at 2:49 into "The Winton Flyer" before fully debuting in frantic chase mode at 3:11 for the opening scene of thievery. This theme returns at 1:00 into "Lucius' First Drive," interrupts the main theme at 0:54 into "The Road to Memphis," diminishes to baseline enthusiasm only at 1:02 into "The Sheriff Departs," and dances around the tune early in "Finale," though that track wholesale reprises the "Main Title" fanfare and car motif at 1:50. These themes for the car and the chaos of the whores may drive some listeners nuts, but they are immensely charming.

The main theme of The Reivers accesses the same folk elements as the wilder comedy themes but applies them with wholesome orchestral backing. Descending with Western spirit in its mannerisms, this theme is primarily for the location of the tale. Some listeners may hear a vague whiff of Jerry Goldsmith's melodic tendencies for this kind of setting, but the two composers were largely paralleling each other in developing such ideas. The structure of the phrasing makes good use of the call and answer formation in the ebb and flow of the hopes of everyone involved in the story. It is extensively developed at 0:18, 1:09, and 1:48 into "Main Title" on strings, building to full ensemble renditions, and casual listeners will find these performances to be the best summary of the whole score. It follows tentatively at 0:30 into "Family Funeral," sprinkles amongst the vibrant car material at 1:34 into "Lucius' First Drive," and breaks through the folksy rambles at 0:37 into "The Road to Memphis," where it adopts the cue's ambitious instrumental flavor at 1:13. The main theme then tries to emerge a few times near the awkward splice at the end of "Ned's Secret" and turns the mood more upbeat at 1:52 into "Prayers at Bedtime." It offers comfort in pretty tones at 2:10 into "Back Home" on harmonica, guitar, and piano and then transforms into a rousing string resolution to close out the cue. In the moments of "Finale" prior to the tracking of the opening cue, this theme is flowing on strings at 0:18 and large from the ensemble at 0:47. Often intertwined with this theme is the more contemplative, sensitive, and intimate identity for Lucius, an ascending lullaby of wholesome drama. Heard at 0:26 into "First Instruction" on harmonica and then at 2:18 on tonk piano and woodwinds, the boy's theme is a bit wayward but hopeful in the woodwind performance during "Reflections." The idea's preview of Jurassic Park starts at 0:29 into "Carrie's Entrance" (prior to "The Picture"), and its phrasing is expressed with thoughtful whimsy in light shades during "Prayers at Bedtime." It shifts to strained, high agony from violins in "Lucius Runs to Carrie" before countering with a soothing moment on piano and guitar. After the boy's acceptance by his grandfather for his misdeeds, his theme is far more chipper and accelerated at 0:31 into "Finale," moving to piano, woodwind, and harmonica enthusiasm at 1:19.

On top of the themes for the boy and movie as a whole, Williams also conjured something of a redemption theme, a grandiose and dramatic idea with underlying waltz sophistication akin to 1968's Heidi. It's the single theme in The Reivers that most hints at the composer's future majesty. This theme blossoms into a triumphant string melody at 3:30 into "First Instruction," the composer's optimism at its best, and a slightly altered version appears early in "Carrie's Entrance," consuming the Lucius theme at 0:49 and closing out the cue with warmth on strings. It supports the Lucius material in "Prayers at Bedtime" and reprises the "Main Title" rendition at 2:30 into "Finale," a disappointingly direct retracking of the same performance. The last theme Williams wrote for The Reivers is one for trouble generally but also a representation of Memphis by association. Lending immediate flavor on lazy, bluesy jazz early in "The Road to Memphis," this music continues on stylish trombone early in "The Sheriff Departs" and is developed in a different direction for the straight hipness of "Memphis," his latter incarnation extending to lesser tones of flair in "Ned's Trade." Sadly, despite its strengths and historical significance for Williams, The Reivers has never received a comprehensive album release. Roughly half an hour is available, though the final track repeats the suite arrangement from "Main Title" but with a tacky ending thrown on the conclusion. The cue for the somewhat awkward slow-motion horse race is not on any album, but there's not much unreleased music. A 1990 album conveys better sound quality, but a 1995 follow-up features one additional cue ("Reflections"). Williams has re-recorded a variety of suites from the score over the years, most notably in 1994, when he arranged a 19-minute suite for a concert and the "Music for Stage and Screen" compilation album from Sony Classical. Interestingly, the highlights of this suite are two entirely new sequences he wrote for the car's travels and horse race sequences, and these are a great addition to the work. Although it's wonderful that Burgess Meredith was still alive at the time and could reprise his narration from the original film, the constant presence of these spoken lines makes this suite a challenge for Williams purists. Still, at least there exist options for the Williams score; the rejected Schifrin alternative has never been released at all. Seek either of the Williams' score's original albums to appreciate a charming transition in his career. **** @Amazon.com: CD or Download

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For John Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.68 (in 91 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.54 (in 363,716 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

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