Meanwhile, Rent-A-Cop seemed like a project destined for the music of Lalo Schifrin, Burt Bacharach, or Bill Conti, someone who could infuse the score with the jazzy romance it needed while also throwing in some hokey pop action for the light crime thriller parts. Perhaps not surprisingly, that's precisely what Goldsmith wrote for the topic, though he did so while staying comfortably within the realm of his usual stylistic techniques of using a blend of synthesizers and orchestra. The most memorable part of Rent-A-Cop is the clear evidence that Goldsmith succeeded in writing the only true Bill Conti theme of his career. In fact, the jazzy, pop-based light rock theme that he provides is the closest thing his fans would ever hear to a Goldsmith-written James Bond theme of that era, and the idea remained a personal favorite of the composer for some time. Extremely dated in its early 1980's style, the theme was remarkably well-suited for the location and characters of the film. A whimsical piano and lofty, romantic strings set the mood before a solo trumpet enters to the rhythm of an electric bass, light percussion led by drum pads, and soft keyboarding. As the thematic performance lightly sways with elegance, a younger listener might have to look around and make sure he isn't standing in an elevator. Goldsmith does offer a little more muscle in the brass and drum hits in the theme's latter moments to give the music some genuine meat. The bridge section has an ascending progression that once again betrays the composer's excusable obsession with his eventual primary melody for The Russia House. People who search out the score are always seeking this theme, for it repeats three more times and prominently over the end credits. The score's darker half really isn't that menacing; how could it be after such a charming title theme? In "The Bust," Goldsmith establishes his suspense and villain's theme, a rather mundane minor third-constricted meandering of marginally creepy tones. Constituting these sequences is the electronic rhythm that pulses during the game sequences of Hoosiers, joined by a unique, sweeping 'swish' sound that crosses from right to left in the soundscape at an appropriate pace.

The standard host of Goldsmith's usual sample collection enters the scene at various points of the rhythmic portions of Rent-A-Cop, accompanied by an interesting, slower, alien-like 'warbling' sound that bounces around in the background of later accelerated cues. The score rarely takes the action to the next level, with the opening blasts of horns in "Worth a Lot" similar in attitude to the concurrent Extreme Prejudice. A propulsive action cue is revealed in "Lake Forest," in which the tingling electronic rhythm is joined by a piano rumbling in deep octaves as well as a trumpet hailing over the top of the entire ensemble. Along with the addition of chopping strings to accentuate the underlying rhythm, this cue hints at ideas that would mature in Basic Instinct. Overall, however, the action material isn't as memorable as the highly affable light rock title theme. The action is airy enough to flow decently with the romantic thematic statements, so the album functions as a consistent and readily identifiable Goldsmith listening experience. A 1988 album presentation prepared by Goldsmith for release by Intrada Records included 35 minutes of music that emphasized the title theme's placements. Some uneven edits plague that product, including a sharp cut at 1:35 into "Jump," when two different recordings were awkwardly spliced (with outstanding sound quality cutting to a far weaker recording). The performances by the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, in a regular Goldsmith recording locale at the time, are not always perfect, but they're not as obviously bad an ensemble as some of the composer's fans have argued. After that album fell hopelessly out of print, Intrada acquired the rights to Rent-A-Cop to offer an expanded, limited successor in 2009. With the original master tapes in outstanding condition, the label was able to assemble the complete score in phenomenal sound quality, restoring many of the action sequences (including the climax) to the listening experience. Also featured are a couple of Christmas carols that Goldsmith recorded with the ensemble for use as department store source material, and both are nicely arranged and appropriately awash with reverb. Overall, Rent-A-Cop is a pleasing and lightweight album, and, especially considering that the 2009 album did not promptly sell out, a safe addition to any collection of Goldsmith music of the 80's.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download