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New podcast with yours truly: THE GOLDSMITH ODYSSEY


Yavar Moradi

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On 11/8/2018 at 1:53 PM, Yavar Moradi said:

Have you had a chance to listen yet?

 

Just did in fact. Really interesting, I had no idea about that Eidelman / Goldsmith story or how much involvement he had with Goldsmith, that Seattle fish bit gave me a particular chuckle. I should really listen to Christopher Columbus: The Discovery again. 

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23 hours ago, Fancyarcher said:

 

Just did in fact. Really interesting, I had no idea about that Eidelman / Goldsmith story or how much involvement he had with Goldsmith, that Seattle fish bit gave me a particular chuckle. I should really listen to Christopher Columbus: The Discovery again. 

 

I'm glad you liked it! Just keep in mind, some of the best Christopher Columbus cues are missing from the album. We need a Deluxe Edition for this one, definitely.

 

Yavar

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1 hour ago, Yavar Moradi said:

 

I'm glad you liked it! Just keep in mind, some of the best Christopher Columbus cues are missing from the album. We need a Deluxe Edition for this one, definitely.

 

Yavar

 

Oh yeah absolutely. I saw the film years ago (it's not very good, but that's aside the point), and there was a lot of good sounding music that's been missing, that I'd love to see in an expanded edition sometime down the line. 

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I know. It’s mystifying. In fact Doug Fake even replied to me on the boards about this score, saying that Intrada (who worked with Cliff early on with Magdalene) very much wanted to put out that score, and would have definitely made it a longer program.

 

Yavar

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Goldsmith Odyssey is taking a break for the holidays, but before we do, we're ending our first season on a high note: Jerry's sole feature film credit of 1960, Studs Lonigan. I think this may be our best episode yet! The film was a great deal of fun to discuss, in spite (or perhaps because) of its flaws. But the score is probably the most impressive work we've covered so far, and to our surprise we discovered that the existing albums for the score are not complete. Listen to our show to discover at least a couple of substantial unreleased cues:

http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/866001-episode-15-studs-lonigan-1960

 

74cb75bab2243992e98fab5156007185827084cf

 

 

@publicist @Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one! (plus anyone else inclined to chime in...)

 

Yavar

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Just listened to it. Interesting score and discussion. I can't say I've ever heard of Studs Lonigan, and had no idea it was considered a top novel at one point. In fact I didn't even know the title until I explored Goldsmith's IMDb filmography years ago. Way way way before my time.

 

As for the score itself, it sounds really good, but based off first impressions it probably wouldn't be considered top tier Goldsmith for me. I do see that even early on in his career he was exploring multiple different styles in a film. I think my favorite bit out of the music that I heard, was the "jauntier" version of the main title, which definitely reminds me of a western especially with that harmonic. Keep up the good work guys. 

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I keep waiting for you guys to finally enter the late 60's...😎

 

It's all too long, i would edit this thing for brevity's sake to 50 minutes, it's awfully hard to keep up interest for footnotes like 'Studs Lonigan' for the length of a Harry Potter movie.  The score is of course of a high musicianship, the allusions to Weill well-played (who used this 'crime tango' idiom for small time crooks i. e. in Brecht's Three Penny Opera), but it's nothing i like to listen to, as it is somehow out of my interest zone (the theme got reused in 'Justine' to better effect). It's a study piece for Goldsmith lovers and amazing how formed his musical persona at this early time is already.

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  • 1 month later...

 

The second season of The Goldsmith Odyssey opens with some wonderful western scoring you may not be familiar with:

http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/927433-episode-16-have-gun-will-travel-flaming-star-1960

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Do check it out and let me know what you think! The cue Jerry wrote for Flaming Star (1960) in particular just keeps growing on me the more I hear it, and his score for "A Head of Hair" from Have Gun Will Travel I knew I loved, right as soon as I heard that fantastic main theme...

 

There's also a fun little interview I conducted with Bruce Kimmel of Kritzerland, before 2018 ended:
http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/902063-odyssey-interviews-bruce-kimmel

Yavar

 

@Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M., heads up!

 

@publicist, this one might be considered "too long" by your standards though we are covering three things...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Tonight, reconstructionist extraordinaire Leigh Phillips joins The Goldsmith Odyssey for a combined interview and examination of one of his favorite Goldsmith Thriller scores ("The Poisoner", Jerry's second work on the series...we will cover his first next time.)

 

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Yavar

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@Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M., heads up!

 

@publicist, this one is only long because the first half is like a full-on interview.

 

http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/944720-episode-17-thriller-the-poisoner-1961

 

 

A combination interview of master reconstructionist Leigh Phillips (The Salamander on Tadlow Records, among many others), plus examination of "The Poisoner", Jerry's second work for Thriller and one of Leigh's personal favorites...this is one you can't miss, as it launches us into the Thrillerverse and makes some real surprise connections with important later Goldsmith scores such as The Blue Max and even Basic Instinct!

 

As always, I'd love to know what you all think!

 

Yavar

 

P.S. Before anyone asks, yes we know we didn't talk to Leigh about his fine work on Intrada's Damnation Alley...THIS time. We will definitely ask him about it when he joins us for another Thriller excursion in the future.

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  • 1 month later...

Greeat show, and the best one yet. Newman is so over-enthusiastic it feels like he's on some happy pill...😎

 

And thanks for reminding me what a great score 'Contract' is, and 'Prowling' in particular.

 

 

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Yeah Contract on Cherry Street is an overlooked masterpiece, probably because it was written for television. But personally I listen to it much more often than, say, Chinatown (even though I acknowledge that is also a masterpiece!) Shows how well Goldsmith could master and unify a variety of styles.

 

Newman isn't *always* happy in the interview...there were one or two points where he actually gets kinda animated in an upset way, about certain things. I actually really appreciated his off the cuff "F you, man!" (not directed at me, haha) and several uses of the word "bullshit". :D He was a great and generous interviewee who spoke with me much longer than he had originally planned, to the benefit of our listeners and this important project. I'm glad it didn't go on at too long of a length for you, and that it was your favorite so far!

 

Yavar

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You sure do! And we recorded a new regular episode early this month, even before these recent two interviews I did; our new editor David has just been tied up with work so it won't come out until April.

Also, I should note for everyone that we just re-published the Justin Freer interview, and added more original compositions of his to the conversation about them in the last 15 minutes of the podcast -- if you liked the bit of his music we included before, go check out these unreleased exclusive pieces...one has an LA Confidential flavor to it!
http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1012976-odyssey-interviews-justin-freer


Yavar

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks for the compliments about the Freer interview, @publicist! I'm proud of that one too, even though it is somewhat overshadowed by the super popular David Newman interview that preceded it. Just FYI we added several more pieces of Freer's a day after initially publishing, because he got us more samples of his work including some more Goldsmith-inspired goodness!

But the real reason I'm bumping this thread: The wait for the next regular episode of the Goldsmith Odyssey is finally over, with longtime friend of the show W. David Lichty taking over the reins from Jens as co-host and editor. We finally put a bow on the year 1960 with "The Cheaters," Jerry Goldsmith's very first work for Thriller. Moments of suspense, moments of horror, and moments of action await your discovery! And best of all: a gorgeous central character theme which gets some concentrated and fascinating development...paging Leigh Phillips -- this one needs a fresh new recording!
 

http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1077269-episode-18-thriller-the-cheaters-1960
 

@Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. -- lemme know what you think!
 

Yavar

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just a heads up: Twilight Zone podcast #3 (on "Dust") is dropping this evening -- we are joined by another great guest host, journalist and liner note writer Tim Greiving! (https://timgreiving.com/). He actually joined us to cover "Dust" and "Back There" in the same recording session, but we decided to split it into two episodes.

 

But a podcast I'm on actually did already drop this morning, in case you missed it: I joined Jeff Commings on his John Williams podcast The Baton to discuss my favorite Williams score of all time, Jane Eyre. It's his longest and most substantial episode yet (for Williams's most mature and substantial *score* yet), because I kept pushing him to include more stuff, hehe (don't worry @publicist; it's still shorter than the average Goldsmith Odyssey!)

https://thebatonpodcast.podbean.com/e/episode-25-jane-eyre/

 

Yavar

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1 hour ago, Fancyarcher said:

Nice! I didn't even know that John Williams podcast even existed, thanks for letting me know. Now I've got some exploring listening to do. 

 

I guess you’ve not been on the Williams side of this board much!

 

 

Yavar

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4 hours ago, Yavar Moradi said:

 

I guess you’ve not been on the Williams side of this board much!

 

 

Yavar

 

Not much lately TBH. I only come to this site every now and again to mostly post in "last score you listened to thread", and the last movie I just saw thread. I think I do remember reading that page, and link now that I think about it, I just never got around to listening to the podcast on its own. Will have to change that. 

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Okay, all, it's that time again!

 

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http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1210706-episode-19-the-twilight-zone-dust-1961

 

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! While not a score I found very immediately accessible when first listening to it on album, after studying it in context I think "Dust" is something of an underrated and brilliant piece of scoring. Very unique and overall unlike any other score I can think of. The episode itself really grew on me as well.
 

@Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. @publicist-- lemme know what you think!

 

Yavar

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Again, you are very thorough...;)

 

I really would try to be done with the whole series in one podcast. To hang 75 minutes of time on a slight and arid piece of work like 'Dust' is just a bit excessive and it lacks variety. But i'm telling you from an editor's POV, you may indulge as you will (it is your pet project, after all). Editorially it might be also a good idea to make chapters (even before recording it) to a) give the listener opportunity to change between chapters within this very long running time  and b) to force yourself to bits of content done at a certain length.

 

Also i wish there was more of a critical eye on Goldsmith, especially since 'Rudy' is trotted out again as prime score that it is not (if that's not saccharine, what is?).

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/1/2019 at 12:10 AM, publicist said:

Again, you are very thorough...;)

 

I'll take that as a compliment. ;)

 

On 6/1/2019 at 12:10 AM, publicist said:

I really would try to be done with the whole series in one podcast. To hang 75 minutes of time on a slight and arid piece of work like 'Dust' is just a bit excessive and it lacks variety. But i'm telling you from an editor's POV, you may indulge as you will (it is your pet project, after all). Editorially it might be also a good idea to make chapters (even before recording it) to a) give the listener opportunity to change between chapters within this very long running time  and b) to force yourself to bits of content done at a certain length.

 

I have brought up the idea of chapters, but there was strong opposition to it based on some technical podcasting issue I forget about. We have started sharing a sort-of signposting text, with a guide to the musical cues used...maybe that can help folks find where they left off, in the absence of chapters.

 

The Twilight Zone is some of Goldsmith's most interesting, varied, and beloved work for the television medium. You would really breeze through *seven* (very different and distinct) scores in a single podcast episode? You'd have to hold yourself to only one or two cues per score, and probably barely mention the context at all. And even then I bet you’d go over two hours for that podcast, pretty easily. Even in our original plan, we were going to cover The Twilight Zone over two podcasts, until we realized that was still somewhat impractical.

 

So I guess that's a nope for me (us). :) But different strokes for different folks! Doing it the way we did also allowed us to have a variety of interesting guest hosts join us...with perhaps the biggest names still to come for our final Twilight Zone podcast (on "The Invaders") which we are recording tomorrow night. Assuming it all works out, maybe you'll agree it was worth giving that episode score its own podcast.

 

I do understand your feelings on "Dust", but while "arid" is more of an objective and fair description, I feel "slight" is somewhat of a subjective opinion on your part...one which I disagree with, after having absorbed the episode and score more thoroughly. One listener of ours even describes it as a personal favorite, and was very grateful for our thorough coverage:

Quote

“Just listened to your blog on Dust. It is not reused in any Twilight Zone episode as stated but crops up in several shows including Gunsmoke and Rawhide in which it is used alongside bits of The Wake notably Incident of the Burying Man. But by far the best example of its usage is a 1964 episode of the Fugitive, "Tug of War".

It is actually my favourite score because it uses unconventional instruments like bass guitar and harmonica which coming from a pop background appeals to me somehow. Note also 2 Gunsmoke shows..Nina's Revenge and Coventry. Anyway great insights from the team as usual and keep them coming."

 

I presume that he means favorite score from The Twilight Zone...and even then I certainly wouldn't describe it as a personal favorite of mine (Big Tall Wish and Nervous Man in a $4 Room are far more my thing), but it's always good to keep in mind that others might have different views. Speaking of which...

 

On 6/1/2019 at 12:10 AM, publicist said:

Also i wish there was more of a critical eye on Goldsmith, especially since 'Rudy' is trotted out again as prime score that it is not (if that's not saccharine, what is?).

 

...we could hardly avoid "trotting out" Rudy again, as it was brought up by our guest, Tim Greiving, as a favorite of his. You do not consider it a "prime score". That is fine. I love it but even so it would probably not make my Goldsmith Top 40 because there are far more interesting scores. But you should realize and accept that for a great many Goldsmith fans, it is actually on their top 10, and is one of his most universally beloved compositions out of his entire long career. That is the reason why it keeps getting "trotted out" -- guests (including fellow composers like Cliff Eidelman) are *consistently* fans of it. What are we supposed to do? Tell them they are wrong and that's it’s too saccharine? ;)

 

We have at least made an effort not to keep plugging in the same clips of it, over and over. We made a conscious decision at one point (and I think it was specifically because of Rudy) that we didn't want to get redundant in the music we played for interviews, because we realized that a lot of people were going to mention the same favorites (Rudy, Star Trek, Alien, Planet of the Apes, etc.)

 

Anyways I *do* very much appreciate your feedback, even if I disagree with some of what you said!

 

Yavar

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5 hours ago, Yavar Moradi said:

The Twilight Zone is some of Goldsmith's most interesting, varied, and beloved work for the television medium. You would really breeze through *seven* (very different and distinct) scores in a single podcast episode? You'd have to hold yourself to only one or two cues per score, and probably barely mention the context at all. And even then I bet you’d go over two hours for that podcast, pretty easily. Even in our original plan, we were going to cover The Twilight Zone over two podcasts, until we realized that was still somewhat impractical.

 

So I guess that's a nope for me (us). :) But different strokes for different folks! Doing it the way we did also allowed us to have a variety of interesting guest hosts join us...with perhaps the biggest names still to come for our final Twilight Zone podcast (on "The Invaders") which we are recording tomorrow night. Assuming it all works out, maybe you'll agree it was worth giving that episode score its own podcast.

 

I never was THAT interested in Goldsmith's early tv work. Works great in the shows but as listening experience, it's often short and not very substantial (in the sense of developing material). I would cram his whole tv output in one episode, so there you are..;)

 

Quote

...we could hardly avoid "trotting out" Rudy again, as it was brought up by our guest, Tim Greiving, as a favorite of his. You do not consider it a "prime score". That is fine. I love it but even so it would probably not make my Goldsmith Top 40 because there are far more interesting scores. But you should realize and accept that for a great many Goldsmith fans, it is actually on their top 10, and is one of his most universally beloved compositions out of his entire long career. That is the reason why it keeps getting "trotted out" -- guests (including fellow composers like Cliff Eidelman) are *consistently* fans of it. What are we supposed to do? Tell them they are wrong and that's it’s too saccharine? ;)

 

No, i think a sentence of placing this music (the 90's 'romantic' stuff) in context of the ongoing downgrading in musical interest in Hollywood scoring - especially in Goldsmith's case - would be helpful and could be done diplomatically enough. It doesn't need slashing but it's inconceivable that only because some guys are fans of such stuff it's consistently cited above many much more accomplished and daring works that took certainly more blood, sweat and tears than another round of americana clichés.

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On 6/11/2019 at 11:11 PM, publicist said:

 

I never was THAT interested in Goldsmith's early tv work. Works great in the shows but as listening experience, it's often short and not very substantial (in the sense of developing material). I would cram his whole tv output in one episode, so there you are..;)

 

If you're gonna do that, you may as well not cover it at all. I'm sure if you tried to figure out how to -- in actual practice -- fit coverage of Jerry's "whole tv output in one episode" you would soon realize that that's a far from realistic thing to do.

 

I disagree with you about how substantial these are too...of course it varies from episode to episode, even within shows. The difference between "The Big Tall Wish" or "Nervous Man in a $4 Room" compared with say a score like "Back There" is pretty great in terms of musical content/development, IMO. But to me, the TV stuff is even *more* worth covering because lots of it is obscure, unreleased, or just generally not familiar to people. So it is in effect NEW GOLDSMITH we are introducing his fans to...I'm trying to think about what I would want, as a listener...and I would want people to tell me about Jerry's badass score to the Have Gun - Will Travel episode "A Head of Hair" because it's never been released and I wasn't familiar with it before. But it was in fact the genesis of his Rio Conchos sound, so really hugely important in the larger context of Goldsmith scores (and the western genre in particular). We are trying to explore the development of his output and sound, with this podcast. And as a composer it didn't matter to Jerry whether he composed something for radio or TV...it could still very much influence later film scores, or be a testing ground for ideas he later explored more fully in film. That's all fascinating stuff to me as a Goldsmith fan, and I would hope it would be so for the majority of our listeners, as well.

 

In our original conception for the show, we would never have done the two-part CBS Music Library Spectacular show, for all the "wild" cues he wrote and recorded while under contract there which were later tracked into various shows from TZ to Gunsmoke to Rawhide. But since we did, we could point out things like a Rambo motif originating from one of these obscure "wild" scene-setting cues that wasn't even written to picture. I *love* finding these little connections and pre-echoes, and our Odyssey would be so much less rich if we were to skip over all that stuff and ignore it.

But your mileage may vary, and that's fine. Feel free to skip the next year of our output if that doesn't interest you as it's all gonna be spent in TV; but we aren't going to just ignore all the many listeners who *are* very happy with the TV coverage and actually write in to let us know how grateful they are that we aren't ignoring that part of Jerry's output, in the timeline.

 

On 6/11/2019 at 11:11 PM, publicist said:

No, i think a sentence of placing this music (the 90's 'romantic' stuff) in context of the ongoing downgrading in musical interest in Hollywood scoring - especially in Goldsmith's case - would be helpful and could be done diplomatically enough. It doesn't need slashing but it's inconceivable that only because some guys are fans of such stuff it's consistently cited above many much more accomplished and daring works that took certainly more blood, sweat and tears than another round of americana clichés.

 

Once again, you're assuming other people agree with you in that assessment. Some do, but there are many more who don't. In fact there are a lot of Goldsmith fans who I consider equally as wrong as you, and only like his output from the 80s on (or perhaps rather more accurately, 1979 on, because of Star Trek and Alien that year), dismissing everything he did earlier in his career! For some people his 90s work from Air Force One to The Mummy is his very best!

One thing I am sure of is that if you're looking to start a club of people who regard Rudy as part of "the ongoing downgrading in musical interest in Hollywood scoring"...well, you'll certainly find some takers, but it won't be a very large club! (That film didn't *call* for a complex score, man! He wrote exactly the score it needed.) It's more than just "some guys are fans of such stuff" as you dismissively say; once again Rudy is pretty indisputably one of Jerry's most beloved scores out of his entire career, and the reason some people got into his music at all (including Tim, in this case). The way he talked about it, Jerry put a *lot* of himself into this score -- it's the only one of his scores where you can hear him *humming* along with the orchestra because he's so taken up by the music he wrote! But you're going to decide it's mere "americana cliches" and dismiss it because it didn't take enough "blood, sweat, and tears". Okay, fella! ;)

 

Yavar

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52 minutes ago, Yavar Moradi said:

Once again, you're assuming other people agree with you in that assessment. Some do, but there are many more who don't. In fact there are a lot of Goldsmith fans who I consider equally as wrong as you, and only like his output from the 80s on (or perhaps rather more accurately, 1979 on, because of Star Trek and Alien that year), dismissing everything he did earlier in his career! For some people his 90s work from Air Force One to The Mummy is his very best!

One thing I am sure of is that if you're looking to start a club of people who regard Rudy as part of "the ongoing downgrading in musical interest in Hollywood scoring"...well, you'll certainly find some takers, but it won't be a very large club! (That film didn't *call* for a complex score, man! He wrote exactly the score it needed.) It's more than just "some guys are fans of such stuff" as you dismissively say; once again Rudy is pretty indisputably one of Jerry's most beloved scores out of his entire career, and the reason some people got into his music at all (including Tim, in this case). The way he talked about it, Jerry put a *lot* of himself into this score -- it's the only one of his scores where you can hear him *humming* along with the orchestra because he's so taken up by the music he wrote! But you're going to decide it's mere "americana cliches" and dismiss it because it didn't take enough "blood, sweat, and tears". Okay, fella! ;)

 

Whatever man, whatever...

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1 hour ago, publicist said:

Whatever man, whatever...

 

Hehe... I guess I could have saved myself quite a bit of time by writing the same response to your post (but if that's all one is going to say, why even bother writing it at all?)

 

 

Anyway, I'm glad you've enjoyed the last couple interview episodes, at least. You will perhaps be happy to know that Monday of last week I conducted a 3.5 (!) hour interview with Robert Townson about his relationship with Jerry...YES, we are splitting this into two parts. I think you will find Part 1 to be good enough that you'll just be left wanting more, even though it's almost as long as the David Newman interview on its own.

 

Also, re: the TV stuff you don't care much about...last Wednesday evening we recorded our final podcast on Jerry's TV work for The Twilight Zone, covering "The Invaders". We spent three hours recording that (it'll hopefully boil down to two-ish, even though we did a mailbag section at the end since it's been so long since we fit one in). You *might* still want to tune into this, though. Part of the reason it's so long is that we had not one but *two* special guests joining us: the legendary Jeff Bond (writer of more Goldsmith liner notes than anyone else in history) and, as the first one-on-one interview guest to make the jump to the regular show, none other than David Newman! He only had an hour to spare with us at the beginning of our conversation, but he shared a lot of new stuff including some behind the scenes about being the first person (since Jerry in the original sessions) to conduct the complete score to "The Invaders" (live to picture, with the American Youth Symphony over a decade ago!)

 

If we had done a single episode (or even two) to cover all seven Goldsmith Twilight Zone scores, this would never have happened. I for one am glad we opted not to do that, as it was super fun to get a lengthy Jeff Bond/David Newman back-and-forth!

 

Yavar

 

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74cb75bab2243992e98fab5156007185827084cf

 

Well, here we are three weeks after the last Goldsmith Odyssey episode. It's that time again...time to go "Back There":

http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1305991-episode-20-the-twilight-zone-back-there-1961

 

 

@Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. -- lemme know what you think! And Robert Townson interview Part 1/2 is planned for just a week from today.

 

Yavar

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On 6/26/2019 at 12:27 PM, Yavar Moradi said:

Heads up, @Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. & @publicist -- there will be much engaging behind the scenes talk here, I'd say even on the level of the David Newman interview!

 

Just realized I never came back to share the link!

http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1301242-odyssey-interviews-robert-townson-part-1

 

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

 

Yavar

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@Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. @publicist and anyone else still reading this thread...
 

Ms7Q7Ke.jpg

 

We decided to release the second part of my epic 3+ hour long conversation with Robert Townson earlier than originally planned, so everyone could hear it while the first part was fresher in their mind! If you enjoyed Part 1, you may enjoy Part 2 even more, with discussion of rejected scores (including the never-recorded Babe and the partially-rejected Love Field), "what if" scenarios, and how very early in his career Jerry Goldsmith already had a fully formed, mature voice as a composer. It's a fascinating conversation with a lot of insight and surprises. Give it a listen and please share your thoughts afterwards!

http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1361503-odyssey-interviews-robert-townson-part-2

Yavar

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Yavar, I'm just getting around to these and I started with the Townson interviews.

 

This is superb interviewing, conversation. Well done. 

 

 

I almost fell out my chair with the part two Soap beginning. Well done on that, I loved that show.

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks for the compliment, Jefe! :)

Our latest (and perhaps greatest) regular episode of The Goldsmith Odyssey has now arrived at last, two months after actually recording the conversation!
 

Oscar-nominated composer/conductor David Newman returns as special guest, and acclaimed author Jeff Bond joins us for the first time as co-host! I am exceptionally proud of the latest foray of The Goldsmith Odyssey, as it is probably our most epic and ambitious examination of Jerry Goldsmith’s work yet, for the monumental conclusion to his contribution to the original classic Twilight Zone, “The Invaders”.
 
In fact, calling this installment “regular” is fairly misleading, because, similarly to our first Thriller podcast with Leigh Phillips, we begin with a substantial hourlong conversation with Jeff and David, who a decade ago became the only other person in history to have conducted this complete iconic Goldsmith work, since Jerry’s original recording session back in 1961. (Jeff afterwards joins us for our usual cue-by-cue deep dive into the score.)
 
If you love Jerry Goldsmith, The Twilight Zone, or great conversations about film music, I don’t think it gets much better than this! I hope you will share your own thoughts, after listening.
 
 
 
Also, in case you missed it (because I was super busy when it was released and didn't get around to sharing it here, we also put out another Odyssey Interview of mine at the end of last month, with Jerry's longtime recording engineer, Mike Ross-Trevor, who worked with him from Legend through The Mummy:

http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1470520-odyssey-interviews-mike-ross-trevor

74cb75bab2243992e98fab5156007185827084cf
 
 
Yavar
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Just finished it. I've been waiting for this episode for a while now, and it didn't disappoint. A really thoughtful examination of what I consider one of Jerry's finest half-hours of television composing. Admittedly the actual discussion about the episode could have come sooner, but I enjoyed the interview, and discussion on Goldsmith's scores prior. 

 

Really interesting too. You mentioned him using an electronic organ, and I had no idea. I also think the lack of theme adds to the eeriness of the episode. It makes it seem "otherworldly", which is a huge part of why I think it's his accomplished TZ score (admittedly maybe not his most listenable). It helps that I'm a big fan of the episode. Those strings you mentioned too, actually frightened me when I first saw it. Just a really masterful example of the music matching the images on screen. 

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Both were great (i actually dug all the trivia before the Invaders part because i'm just not into the whole Twilight Zone thing) and your conversations with MRT and JB/DN will be an important addition to the final Goldsmith legacy once you're finished with the project. And the necessity to interview many 'invisible' guys form behind the curtains is a blessing in the disguise of necessity: it's probably easier to get an orchestra player reminiscing about 'Poltergeist' than Spielberg, but you also dig up much more interesting side information this way. Sadly neither Arthur Morton nor Alexander Courage are with us anymore, they would have been an audio library of great stories.

 

 

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23 hours ago, publicist said:

Both were great (i actually dug all the trivia before the Invaders part because i'm just not into the whole Twilight Zone thing) and your conversations with MRT and JB/DN will be an important addition to the final Goldsmith legacy once you're finished with the project. And the necessity to interview many 'invisible' guys form behind the curtains is a blessing in the disguise of necessity: it's probably easier to get an orchestra player reminiscing about 'Poltergeist' than Spielberg, but you also dig up much more interesting side information this way. Sadly neither Arthur Morton nor Alexander Courage are with us anymore, they would have been an audio library of great stories.

 

True. I get sad thinking of the people who are no longer with us, some of whom like Nick Redman only left us recently. David Newman is trying to put me in touch with a legendary long-time Hollywood musician who worked with Jerry on numerous projects. I don't want to jinx it by mentioning his name, but I'm crossing my fingers.

I think the first director collaborator I'll try to interview will be Joe Dante. Of all Jerry's collaborators still living, he's the one who worked with him the most, and I think he'd be more open to sharing "interesting side information" :) . The next interview to be released will be Brian Tyler, who I spoke with on the occasion of Rambo: Last Blood coming out in a month. I think even non-Tyler fans will enjoy that conversation.

Thanks to you and @Fancyarcher for weighing in with your thoughts!

Yavar

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  • 3 weeks later...

Good idea, @publicist, thanks!
 --
And hot off the editing presses, my latest conversation on Odyssey Interviews was with none other than Brian Tyler, who discusses a host of fascinating subjects including his relationship with Jerry Goldsmith, the behind-the-scenes of Timeline, re-arranging Jerry’s Universal Fanfare, and incorporating Jerry’s music into his own Rambo scores. We also discuss his early concert music before he came to Hollywood, and play two substantial samples of this work, including a piece that premiered in Boston and got him noticed by John Williams himself! Whether you're a Brian Tyler fan or not, I think you'll really enjoy this conversation...

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http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1693987-odyssey-interviews-brian-tyler

@Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. @El Jefe -- I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Yavar



P.S. I almost forgot! He also generously shared some exclusive tracks from Rambo: Last Blood with us — don’t miss your chance to preview his fine work before the film comes out next week!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yeah he’s on my to-get list. ;)

 

In the meantime there is a new Odyssey Interview on offer, albeit more of a Bernstein Odyssey Interview than a Goldsmith one...

 

http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1746388-odyssey-interviews-peter-bernstein

 

Yavar

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@Fancyarcher @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Disco Stu @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. @El Jefe @Modest Expectations @Laserschwert -- if any of you are also fans of Elmer Bernstein, I hope you'll give my latest conversation a listen even though Jerry is only briefly touched on...

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http://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/1746388-odyssey-interviews-peter-bernstein


The next regular Odyssey episode is a good 'un by the way (it's in the editing feedback phase right now, and should be released later this month).
 

Yavar

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@Yavar Moradi 

I've listened to it. I didn't know many of the pieces you sampled in the podcast, and they were very nice, so I put the scores on my check list. Elmer Bernstein is probably the big film composer I know the least about.

The interview was interesting to be sure. I am always curious to hear yet another perspective of someone from the industry, especially concerning events from two generations ago.

 

There is absolutely no shame in devoting an episode of The Goldsmith Odyssey to a famous contemporary of Goldsmith's who is just as neglected in terms of coverage. I think it gives a good background perspective, maybe one step more distanced from the topic than usual. And anyway, I think that such interview with P. Bernstein was worth it for it's own sake as a legacy item. Maybe you could rename the episode to "Odyssey Special: Interview with Peter Bernstein"? It would make it clear that the focus of the episode is something, well... 'special' within the broader series.

 

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There's so many fantastic Elmer Bernstein scores across so many different styles/genres.  Great scores for Westerns, comedies, biblical epics, action films.  But my favorites are always his scores for serious dramas.  To Kill a Mockingbird, The Age of Innocence, etc.

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55 minutes ago, Modest Expectations said:

@Yavar Moradi 

I've listened to it. I didn't know many of the pieces you sampled in the podcast, and they were very nice, so I put the scores on my check list. Elmer Bernstein is probably the big film composer I know the least about.

 

Seeing this kind of feedback makes it all worthwhile. I'm glad you've discovered some great Elmer (and Peter!) Bernstein scores to explore -- what were your favorites that you heard in the podcast? I can make more recommendations based off of those. Obviously a huge amount of Elmer's career we didn't cover.

 

56 minutes ago, Modest Expectations said:

There is absolutely no shame in devoting an episode of The Goldsmith Odyssey to a famous contemporary of Goldsmith's who is just as neglected in terms of coverage. I think it gives a good background perspective, maybe one step more distanced from the topic than usual.

 

That's what I felt. When I originally arranged the interview with Peter, it sounded like he might be able to tell me more about his father's relationship with Jerry then he ended up being able to recall. But even though it was only tangentially a Goldsmith Odyssey interview, I still prefer to keep it in the main series and not section it off. We already have the main show, Jens's Gold Nuggets, and my Odyssey Interviews. I don't want to clutter things up; three Goldsmith Odyssey series is good, for now. :)


Yavar

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