The Official Jerry Fielding Thread

[Omen II 1,300]

There is very little discussion here about the 'other' film composer named Jerry, Jerry Fielding. I suspect that this is due more to unfamiliarity with his music among JW fans than active dislike, but it could also be that his music can be rather an acquired taste - often quite experimental, almost always rather melancholy and quite challenging if you are looking for a hummable tune. You also have to like big band jazz and snare drums! For a long time I never really liked his film music but more recently I have started to really appreciate it (perhaps understand it?) and now I think he was a really gifted composer. For a long time almost none of his work was available on CD, but now whenever one of his soundtracks is released it seems to sell out within days, suggesting that there is a devoted fanbase out there for his music.

He was a very interesting character with a comparatively brief film music career of less than twenty years, having been blacklisted in the 1950's and dying at the age of just 57 in 1980. His best known works were for the films of Sam Peckinpah, Clint Eastwood and Michael Winner. I would be interested to see what others here think of him.

Here is a random selection of a few of his scores. His end title music from The Enforcer (Elegy for Inspector Moore) is one of the finest bits of film music I have heard but I could find only the alternative version of it on YouTube.

This last one contains one or two shots that may be NSFW, but is perhaps my favourite score by Jerry Fielding.

[Admiral Holdo 16]

I really like The Enforcer, and his style seems pretty unique, so thanks for these clips!

[fommes 165]

I'm a big fan of his Wild Bunch score - would love a reissue of the complete score for that one, as I only have the soundtrack. Scorpio is another great one.

[Omen II 1,300]

I'm a big fan of his Wild Bunch score - would love a reissue of the complete score for that one, as I only have the soundtrack.

Yes, I think The Wild Bunch is one of his most requested scores along with The Outlaw Josey Wales. I watched the latter for the first time in donkey's years last week and the music was so much better than I remembered it, probably because the first time I watched it I was only just getting into film music so was hoping for some foot-tapping Americana western themes in the style of Elmer Bernstein. Fielding's approach is much more folksy and introspective but fits the movie perfectly. It's a shame that Fielding died so young - it would have been interesting to hear how he would have scored Clint's 1980's movies, none of which have particularly memorable music as far as I can recall. Anyway, here is some music from his score for another Peckinpah film, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HltStKPBCAE