: (Jerry Goldsmith) Western films were a
dying breed by the early 1970's, and director Blake Edwards thought he
could buck that trend by pairing the nostalgic veteran William Holden
and upstart hunk Ryan O'Neal as the lead duo in 1971's
. The two ranch hands are brutalized and decide at a whim to
rob a bank and set off a series of events that inevitably ends badly for
them. But for Edwards, it's the journey that counts, and the film's
edginess is largely based upon its almost comedic indifference to the
obvious downsides of Western living. A reasonably impressive cast of
characters casually kills in between conversational scenes, a touch of
philosophy thrown in good measure. Still, the movie is highlighted by
its cinematography in typical Western fashion, and Edwards initially
sought to ride the strength of that setting and his characters to a
three-hour epic result. The studio, understandably, declined to oblige,
and the director eventually disavowed the movie as it was cut down to a
more manageable size. Edwards was so distraught by the experience that
he even made a satirical movie about Hollywood's treatment of this and
his other films in the following years. Rolling with the post-production
mayhem of the project was composer Jerry Goldsmith, whose score for
had impressed the director a year earlier. The original
plan for the score was for it to provide only occasional depth to the
narrative, with a fair amount of the movie either absent music or
utilizing subdued atmospheres. Even some of the major action scenes are
left unscored. Goldsmith did provide Edwards with a pair of Aaron
Copland-inspired Western action cues that the director fell in love
with, and variations of these two cues ended up placed all over the
picture despite Goldsmith's far more modest intentions. On screen, the
music thus plays a very outsized role, making the score (and even some
of the scenes) seem more exciting than it actually is. Thankfully, the
extremely high quality of these cues, aided by a spectacular combination
of instrumentation and melody, forgives Edwards' decision to an
extent.
Of all of Goldsmith's Western scores of the 1970's,
Wild Rovers is perhaps the most conventional in its embrace of
the genre's classic norms. The composer knew the director desired a dash
of the Copland Western aesthetic, and the resulting translation of that
sound into Goldsmith's own voice once again proves fantastic in the full
ensemble passages. The instrumentation employed is pretty standard for
the genre, with plenty of clanging metallic percussion and little of the
contemporary flair that was starting to define even the Western scores
at the time. The work is monothematic, and outside of the statements of
that prevalent and memorable identity, much of the remainder is rather
stark and bleak. Minimal cues like "A Sleepless Night Out/Checking Up"
don't advance the narrative, and the subdued, nearly inaudible "The
Cemetery" offers little value. The crazed acceleration of panic at the
end of "The Knife" is a major detraction, while "Cattle vs. Sheep" is
one step away from the horrors of
The Mephisto Waltz. Most of
"Final Destination" lacks any substance, and the desperate stabs late
are generic, even the gong hit at the end potentially inducing eye
rolls. But aside from those detractions, every other moment in the score
uses Goldsmith's main theme for
Wild Rovers, and it remains one
of his career best identities. A lovely, folksy cowboy tune perfect for
vocalizations, the idea dominates the score. The composer obviously knew
he had a winner here, because its phrasing influenced his later scores
on multiple occasions. Interestingly, a secondary phrase in the melody
is informed by the traditional Western tune, "Goodbye, Old Paint." The
same material had also been referenced by Copland in
Billy the
Kid, which was another reason the director liked it so much.
Introduced on lonely trumpet over disturbed chords in the unused "Main
Title," a harmonica repeats the theme several times over pleasant
acoustic guitar and banjo. Woodwinds, accordion, tambourine, and strings
eventually join, and the string counterpoint in the last rendition is
superb. Goldsmith provided this cue as an alternative to a song
rendition of the same theme, but the director opted to track later
action music into the scene instead.
The main theme of
Wild Rovers is heavily
accessed in the first half of the score. A stoic version on brass and
woodwinds early in "Friendly Advice" has a touch of honky tonk piano.
Trumpet, accordion, and guitar offer it warmly in "Snow Country" with
clip-clop percussion. The Action bonanza in "Wild Horses" mixes the
theme with comedic honky tonk piano outbursts, and several outstanding
performances of the theme occupy the pure Copland/Western sound; the cue
ends with a few lazy moments of comedy for the idea on blurting brass.
The same action continues in "Bronco Bustin'" with more robust and
muscular brass, a cue that was likely clear inspiration for Bruce
Broughton's
Silverado. (Goldsmith was asked by the director to
write this late revision of the cue while recording the album version of
the score in London; amazingly, the composer wrote one of the best cues
of his career on the fly and shipped it off to orchestrator Arthur
Morton in Los Angeles to record it while Goldsmith was still
simultaneously conducting for the album in London.) The rejected version
of "Bronco Bustin'" is more instrumentally colorful but less brazen. A
distinctive recorder performance in the middle of the cue throws another
layer on the folksy spirit. The sustained rhythm of this cue makes it a
worthy inclusion, and it still made the Edwards' fuller cut of the film.
An acoustic guitar and strings ponder the theme with relaxed tones in
"Quiet Thoughts," and the idea is reduced and reharmonized to take all
the romanticism out of it in the somber "Red Snow." A solo oboe tries to
start the theme at the outset of "The Knife" but fails. Fleeting heroism
for the idea in "Old Times" doesn't get far, the guitar and harmonica
performances dissolving. An agonized ensemble expression of atonality in
"End Title" yields one last trumpet and violin rendition of the idea to
close out the work. Lost in the shuffle was Goldsmith's original song
adaptation of the theme, its lyrics a little odd in their references to
escaping to Mexico, but the demeanor is perfect. The initial vocal
performance by character actor Sheb Wooley in "Main Title (Unused)" is
decent. His inflection may not provide the best listening experience on
album, but it fits the distinctively carefree attitude of the two main
character in the story quite well.
As is the case with many of Goldsmith's scores of the
era, his London album recording of
Wild Rovers is a resounding
improvement in sound quality and, in some cases, performance over the
film version recorded in Los Angeles. The orchestrations are smoother
with the intent of easier album listening, and some die-hards may prefer
the edgier Los Angeles version of a few of the darker moments,
particularly "The Knife." Goldsmith also chose not to re-record the
original "Main Title" cue and a few others for the album. The opening
"Early Morning/The Wild Rover" uses a portion of the original "Main
Title" with sound effects typical to albums of the era. The song
rendition here is performed by Goldsmith's daughter, Ellen (who opted
not to use her full name for credit), and her youthful, defiant tone is
a nice match for the melody. Goldsmith's intensifying orchestrations for
the song eventually start to interfere with her presence, but the
rendition overall is a worthy endeavor. The Fuller versions of "Wild
Horses" and "Bronco Bustin'" are career highlights for Goldsmith, and
some of the rhythmic bursts performed in these tracks would directly
inform the game sequences of
Hoosiers. Also fantastic is
"Saturday Night," translated from the rejected "Bronco Bustin'" cue. The
"Final Destination/Texas Rangers" track adds Goldsmith's daughter again
for a traditional piece. While there are certainly show parts to the
score for
Wild Rovers, its highlights more than compensate, and
it contains one of the composer's most attractive themes. The album
recording was long available on LP records, cassette, and CD, the last
of which included a 1990 Memoir Records entry (paired with
The Great
Train Robbery) and a 2000 Chapter III reissue (paired with
The
Last Run). Both of these products are sadly missing the "Friendly
Advice" cue that had appeared on the preceding MCA LP and cassette
releases. A truly definitive, limited 2003 expansion from Film Score
Monthly is the clear winner of the lot, including both the full album
recordings and the film version as well. It even appends a couple of
source pieces, closing with William Holden's mostly spoken death
performance. Because there are distinct cues and other merits to the
film version despite sounding archival compared to the album recording,
the 2003 album is highly recommended. But the album version is so
engrossing that any Goldsmith collector will be well served by it on any
of the album options. Good luck getting that main theme out of your
head.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
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