Recommend me some Goldsmith

[Jay 37,374]

Here are the Jerry Goldsmith CDs I already own and like:

 

60s:

Planet of the Apes (Varese)

70s:

Omen (Deluxe)

Damien: Omen II (Deluxe)

Alien (Intrada 2CD)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Expanded)

80s:

Omen III: The Final Conflict (Deluxe)

Poltergeist (Rhino)

Twilight Zone: The Movie (FSM)

Innerspace (La La Land)

The Burbs (Expanded)

90s:

Total Recall (OST & Deluxe)

Basic Instinct (Prometheus)

Star Trek: First Contact

Air Force One

Small Soldiers

 

 

 

Here are a bunch of Goldsmith CDs I've recently obtained, but for one reason or another haven't really had a chance to give a good listen to, and might be selling if I end up not liking them:

 

60s

The Spiral Road (Varese Club)

Lonely Are The Brave (Varese Club)

Freud (Varese Club)

In Harm's Way (Intrada)

Seconds (La La Land)

The Blue Max (Intrada)

70s

Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (Varese Club)

One Little Indian (Intrada)

Islands In The Stream (FSM)

The Boys From Brazil (Intrada)

Players (Intrada)

80s

Outland (FSM)

Poltergeist II (Deluxe)

Extreme Prejudice (La La Land)

90s

Not Without My Daughter (La La Land)

I.Q. (La La Land)

Chain Reaction

The Edge (La La Land)

The Mummy

The Thirteenth Warrior

 

So what's missing? What are the best Goldsmith scores that I currently don't own, in your opinion?

 

Note that I have mp3s of Supergirl and Capricorn One, and enjoyed them both immensely and will be buying the CDs as soon as I can. And Star Trek 5, though I won't be buying a CD quite yet as I think an expansion could be in the words.

 

It'd be really helpful if a lot of people chimed in with their opinions!

 

Thanks!

[Padme 0]

I'm also trying to collect as many Goldsmith scores atm myself, one I see not listed that immediately pops into my head is Sleeping with the Enemy, it's the earliest score of his I can remember hearing when my sister bought the LP of it. The opening track 'Morning on the Beach' is fantastic. If you want the score, just let me know.

EDIT: Legend is also very good, I have it now but missing one track of it.

[Andy 4,147]

Star Trek V - Really good stuff there, but expansion likely on the way.

Supergirl - This is an absolutely terrific score, if you can get past the synth overlays.

Explorers - My personal favorite. Has that wonderful heartfelt courageous sound that Goldsmith perfected in the 80s. Hard to track down, though. Expansion soon?

The Swarm - Better than Capricorn One in my opinion. End Titles alone are worth the price of admission.

Patton - A Classic, and for good reason. It's glorious. I wish someone would release the album version, as I think the recording was better.

Of the ones you have that you haven't spun yet, I like Blue Max, Poltergeist II, and In Harm's Way

[Wojo 2,453]

I'm a Star Trek completist, so I really enjoy The Final Frontier -- a great companion to The Motion Picture, IMHO -- as well as Insurrection and Nemesis.

Out of your iffy pile, I really enjoy The Blue Max, Players, The Edge, and The Thirteenth Warrior.

I can't think of much Goldsmith off the top of my head that you don't have in one pile or the other, which isn't an unmentionable.

[Jay 37,374]

Patton - A Classic, and for good reason. It's glorious. I wish someone would release the album version, as I think the recording was better.

I'm confused about Patton. There's the FSM CD that also includes The Flight Of The Phoenix... is that the original film recordings? Different than the ones on the old LP?

Then there's a Varese re-recording that also includes Tora Tora Tora. Is that just a modern re-recording that has nothing to do with the original recordings?

Has the old LP never been released on CD?

[Andy 4,147]

You are correct; the album version was a re-recording never released on CD.

[Jay 37,374]

I forgot to mention I already have mp3s of Star Trek 5 and like it... holding off on buying the CD because I'd guess an expansion is in the works.

Explorers seems like one I'd like, but its hard to predict if an expansion is on the way.

Do many people like The Shadow or First Knight?

[Andy 4,147]

Jay, can you clear your PM box?

Yeah, First Knight is pretty great. One of the best modern Goldsmith. It can be found pretty cheap too.

[Joe Brausam 215]

Everyone is ignoring the elephant in the room.

You NEED to get The Wind and the Lion. It's got to be your priority!

[Andy 4,147]

Never heard that one myself, actually.

[Joe Brausam 215]

...seriously?

At least listen to the main title sample here!

http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.5477/.f

Check out Raisuli attacks too.

[Jay 37,374]

4 PM slots opened

[Joe Brausam 215]

Papillon is also extremely good...

[Jacob 0]

Technically, I don't own any Goldsmith.

The family had Medicine Man, Patton, and First Knight around while growing up.

Medicine Man is nice and relaxing. Beautiful even. It all kind of blends together, but I like to put it on and get lost in it.

Patton is short but, like Hedji said, glorious. I have the '97 recording with Tora! Tora! Tora! and think it's fine, but I've never looked into other recordings.

First Knight,

. Then seek out the complete promo.

(it explodes at 2:40 in).

I hear Rudy is something of a classic, but I'm only familiar with that one theme.

I also really like Mulan (once again, seek out the complete promo).

[Ollie 1,059]

It looks like you have a good majority listed and some of the other good ones have been recommended.

Here are some, and unfortunately some are OOP.

A Patch Of Blue, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Looney Tunes Back In Action, Timeline, The Illustrated Man, Cassandra Crossing, Hour Of The Gun, Take A Hard Ride, The Wild Rovers, Logan's Run and The Rio Conchos.

I would also recommend Alex North's The Agony And the Ecstasy for Goldsmith's THE ARTIST WHO DID NOT WANT TO PAINT prologue for the film. It's almost 13 minutes of some of the loveliest music Goldsmith composed, plus North's score is good too.

Hopefully expanded releases of Gremlins and Explorers are in the pipeline.

[Andy 4,147]

What's the story behind Goldsmith and North both scoring Agony/Ecstasy? Was it a case of collaborative co-composing? Was it a deadline rush? Did North do the agony and Goldsmith the ecstasy?

EDIT: Nevermind... just read the SAE description of the Prologue filmed after completion.

[fommes 153]

You've got loads of good Goldsmith already, no need to buy Goldsmith for the sake of buying Goldsmith (I know I regret doing that for some scores). Of all the recommendations above, I'd listen to some samples first; and since his scores are pretty 'consistent', a few samples always give you a good idea of what to expect.

That said, there's one score you should buy though, because it's his best, by far: Under Fire. There is no comparison!

[Jay 37,374]

Well it's not for the sake of buying Goldsmith; I like a bunch of the Goldsmith I have, so I am fairly confident I will like a lot of others. The problem with Goldsmith is that he just has SO MANY scores out there... many to movies I've never even heard of let alone seen........ that I need help guiding me towards the best ones to get. I'll still get the ones I think are best for me, but I value a lot of member's opinions here so its helpful.

Keep the suggestions coming - even if other people have suggested some titles you really like, its helpful for you to repeat them because if I see the same titles appear on a lot of people's posts I'll be sure to seek out samples, etc.

[fommes 153]

Yep I know what you mean. To add to what I was saying, with Goldsmith, I feel it's basically up to the theme: if you like the theme a lot then you're going to like the rest of the score too.

As to the previous recommendations, I feel many of them are 'secondary' Goldsmith. I don't particularly like Tora Tora Tora, for instance; but Varèse's rerecording with Patton included is well worth picking up. And western Goldsmith is always recommended. Though I'm waiting until Intrada releases a second issue of their Rio Conchos rerecording; they promised to do so a few years back but nothing yet so far, so I didn't pick that one up myself yet.

Somebody also mentioned Papillon, that is definitely an essential one. And I still stand firmly behind Under Fire

[Wojo 2,453]

You NEED to get The Wind and the Lion. It's got to be your priority!

I bought the movie for $4 planning to preview the score before I plunk down $30. TGIU.

[Marian Schedenig 8,211]

Favourites of mine which aren't in either of Jason's lists:

Fierce Creatures - A nice little score, "chamber-like" in a way. No big fanfares, action cues or atonal stuff, but charming throughout. Very short though, less than 30 minutes (and yet expanded from what's actually in the film).

The Great Train Robbery - Late 70s, perhaps the closest Goldsmith came to the classic full orchestra fun Williams sound.

Gremlins 2 - Completely whacky. Lots of drum machines. Fun!

Legend - Very synthy, quite syruppy, a couple of lovely songs, but it really has its own special atmosphere.

Night Crossing - Early 80s, Goldsmith flying music. Awesome.

Rambo - First Blood Part II - Second-best action score after Total Recall.

Rudy - Technically straightforward, but awesome themes which get great workouts. Rousing and emotional.

Under Fire - Awesome guitar work.

Plus lots of others, obviously. From the undecided list, Blue Max and Mummy are among my top favourites.

The Swarm - Better than Capricorn One in my opinion. End Titles alone are worth the price of admission.

That's unavailable, isn't it?

[Wojo 2,453]

I just bought First Blood and it's still wrapped, but I heard the main theme on a concert and liked it.

[Nemesis 245]

I know, I'm the minority but if you can get your hands on Timeline you will see that the track "Prepare for Battle - Victory for Us" alone is it worth....at least for me

[Demondm810 399]

This thread is great. I was going to ask a similar question in the quick question thread, but this is even better! Been trying for years to get into Goldsmith, just have a hard time getting past anything but my favs.

[indy4 155]

I'm definitely not a great person to ask about this, as I have less Goldsmith than you do, but if I were to recommend something it would be King Solomon's Mines.

[John Crichton 4]

Patton and The Wind and the Lion would be my first recommendations as well, along with Treks V and Nemesis. Both First Contact and Nemesis have complete footwarmers, I'd highly suggest those over the OSTs. I don't enjoy Insurrection all that much, just go for it if you want the complete Trek collection.

I'd also highly recommend getting the complete footwarmer for The Mummy. It's his most original sounding score that I've heard from his latter period.

[Jay 37,374]

I have the complete boots for all the Star Treks and The Mummy, I was just trying to determine which legit CDs I should buy next

I wish I could find Night Crossing for a reasonable price

[Padme 0]

Sent you a pm Jason

[John Crichton 4]

I have the complete boots for all the Star Treks and The Mummy, I was just trying to determine which legit CDs I should buy next

Ah, gotcha. I really would get Intrada's The Wind and the Lion first if it's still in stock anywhere.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

I have the complete boots for all the Star Treks and The Mummy, I was just trying to determine which legit CDs I should buy next

Ah, gotcha. I really would get Intrada's The Wind and the Lion first if it's still in stock anywhere.

Isn't it unlimited? Yeup, it's in stock at Intrada.

A bit late to the party, but still, essential Jerry:

ALIEN

BASIC INSTINCT

THE BLUE MAX

THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL

CHINATOWN

DAMIEN: OMEN II

THE FINAL CONFLICT

THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS

HOLLOW MAN

ISLANDS IN THE STREAM

IN HARM'S WAY

PLANET OF THE APES

UNDER FIRE

MATINEE

THE MUMMY

THE OMEN

A PATCH OF BLUE

PATTON

POLTERGEIST

FIRST BLOOD

RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD, PART II

THE SAND PEBBLES

THE RIVER WILD (if just for the theme)

STAR TREK - THE MOTION PICTURE

STAR TREK V

STAR TREK: INSURRECTION

STAR TREK NEMESIS

THE SWARM

TOTAL RECALL

TWILIGHT'S LAST GLEAMING

TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE

[Hlao-roo 389]

This thread is hateful toward John Williams.

[fommes 153]

John Williams is not Under Fire.

[Hlao-roo 389]

John Williams is not Under Fire.

I would argue he is In Harm's Way.

[Wojo 2,453]

It is Hlao-roo's Basic Instinct to believe we are putting John Williams In Harm's Way by talking so much about Jerry Goldsmith. He is a Hollow Man, as the idea of embracing another composer is Alien to him.

[Hlao-roo 389]

It is Hlao-roo's Basic Instinct to believe we are putting John Williams In Harm's Way by talking so much about Jerry Goldsmith. He is a Hollow Man, as the idea of embracing another composer is Alien to him.

Are you aware you are essentially Sleeping with the Enemy? Well, Lonely Are the Brave who resist the Extreme Prejudice of Goldsmith fans.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

Forget it, Wojo, it's Chinatown.

[Wojo 2,453]

It is Hlao-roo's Basic Instinct to believe we are putting John Williams In Harm's Way by talking so much about Jerry Goldsmith. He is a Hollow Man, as the idea of embracing another composer is Alien to him.

Are you aware you are essentially Sleeping with the Enemy? Well, Lonely Are the Brave who resist the Extreme Prejudice of Goldsmith fans.

While I don't have a very high I.Q., of this I am aware. I can't help this Chain Reaction, guys like me are essentially Players who live on The Edge. If Freud were still with us, he'd berate me for sleeping with someone's Mummy. I couldn't help it, she was such a Supergirl that I had to go back for Seconds and explore her Innerspace. Is this an Omen that I stay away from The Boys From Brazil? Because I won't go, Not Without My Daughter. She was Patton that One Little Indian she met in Chinatown.

[Olivier 5]

(I have not read any of the previous replies yet)

Since you like Alien, you will like Outland, and surely Freud, too.

And since you started with, and liked, such scores as Alien and Planet of the Apes, you should have no problem liking The Edge, which does not quite go the same route (dissonance & atmosphere) all the way, and has a beautiful theme. You also would probably be interested in Christus Apollo, but you might want to ceck out some samples first.

You need some westerns; Bad Girls has a great theme, that works very well in both quiet & action modes.

For a mexican-flavored western, you have 100 Rifles; and then there's Bandolero!, which has some very very nice tracks.

I'm sure you will like Lonely Are the Brave, because it's a very good one.

If you liked The 'Burbs, you should also enjoy Gremlins 2: The New Batch-- not that they're similar the way Alien & Outland are, but they are both cartoony.

You like Total Recall and Air Force One, so you will enjoy many of Goldsmith's action scores, featuring his distinctive propelling rhythms, such as the Rambo movies (more particularly Rambo-- First Blood, Part II: The Mission, Extreme Prejudice, Deep Rising, ...

The Mummy & The 13th Warrior are great (and share a little similarity).

The Wind and the Lion is even more exotic than The Mummy is, and has great action.

I like Chain Reaction a lot; it's a nice little action score, with some good suspense and action cues ("Ice Chase").

Best Shot (a.k.a. Hoosiers) is a great sports score; "synths" does not equal "bad" at all, any more than "symphonic orchestra" guarantees "outstanding"; it's a highly enjoyable score; Rudy, on the other hand, is fully symphonic, and very beautiful & moving (Best Shot does have nice theme, but it's more "action"-oriented).

As a transition to the "scores with most beautiful themes" category, I suggest Lionheart (two single-disc volumes), which ranges from grand & majestic to simple & quiet yet very beautiful.

Powder features some "horror" music, but has plenty of very very nice moments and features a gorgeous theme than climaxes in a powerfully moving finale.

Medicine Man is light, refreshing, and has the grand "The Trees".

The Secret of N.I.M.H. has a most beautiful theme and is a splendid score; so is Mulan.

Islands in the Stream is a very beautiful score.

Legend is yet another great score I would recommend; also Under Fire.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now that I've read the other messages (trying not to omit anything)...

The Shadow is great. (I also love Jim Feinman's song for the movie, incidentally)

The Ghost and the Darkness is a really nice score, too.

I am unforgivable for ommitting The Great Train Robbery; splendid score-- in a simple, classy way.

Timeline was a great adventure score.

I did intentionally skip the Trek scores, so here goes...

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier: blind buy, but you're right to be wary of an incoming new, complete edition.

Star Trek: Insurrection: good but not at the top; the "Ba'Ku Village" theme, however, is one his best; very delicate, soothing, most beautiful music.

Star Trek: First Contact (with bits by Joel Goldsmith): very good, and yet another beautiful theme ("First Contact").

Star Trek: Nemesis: I love it; the new theme is a beautiful melancholy one, and the score reprises some earlier themes, albeit discretely or arranged slightly differently.

[fommes 153]

Wow, Olivier, let me summarize that for you.

Under Fire.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Is that Prague Goldsmith set any good?

[Marian Schedenig 8,211]

You also would probably be interested in Christus Apollo, but you might want to ceck out some samples first.

At any rate it comes with the absolutely fabulous Fireworks.

As a transition to the "scores with most beautiful themes" category, I suggest Lionheart (two single-disc volumes), which ranges from grand & majestic to simple & quiet yet very beautiful.

Lionheart is wonderful. One may have to get used to some of the synth brass, but considering the orchestral performance on Rambo III, real brass would probably sound worse here. The following is [DISCLAIMER!] completely unfounded [END DISCLAIMER!], but given the rather chaotic release history of this score (two separate albums, a Japanese one-disc version which contains nearly everything from both discs, and I think all of them rare these days), I'd expect this to get a new release before too long.

The Trees is light, refreshing, and has the grand "The Trees".

That would be Medicine Man, and yes, that cue alone is worth the price. There's plenty more good stuff in the score though.

The Secret of N.I.M.H. has a most beautiful theme and is a splendid score;

Forgot about that one. Basically, all Goldsmith scores from around 82/83 are outstanding anyway. Some of them have gotten new releases by now (with Poltergeist pending). Hope N.I.M.H. will be getting one, with less noise.

[fommes 153]

Is that Prague Goldsmith set any good?

I don't know, but I do have a shortened 1-CD version of the Prague rerecordings, and these things are excellent if you haven't got much Goldsmith and you want to know and hear what's out there. With Goldsmith even more than any other composer, I'd say.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

I own nothing aside from First Contact. I'm familiar with a lot of his music but I was thinking of starting with that in terms of owning it/listening on CD.

[Marian Schedenig 8,211]

Is that Prague Goldsmith set any good?

I don't know, but I do have a shortened 1-CD version of the Prague rerecordings, and these things are excellent if you haven't got much Goldsmith and you want to know and hear what's out there. With Goldsmith even more than any other composer, I'd say.

I used to like the 2-disc set, back when most of the stuff on it was rather new to me. Then I got a better amp and speakers, and the excellent sound quality made it all too obvious what a hard time the orchestra had with this music. It's rather painful to listen to now. I do recall loving the percussion on The Shadow, though. Much fiercer than on the original.

[Jay 37,374]

First of all I just wanted to thank everyone for their contributions to this thread. I know now exactly what Goldsmiths I want to seek out next to expand my collection. Hopefully I can find them at reasonable prices!

Second of all, if I could vent, for a minute?

One of the reasons I started this thread because there was an ebay seller named snipemonkey that was selling (seemingly) his entire Goldsmith collection. 133 titles! I ended up bidding on 17 of them, and lost EVERY SINGLE AUCTION, either due to the prices getting ridiculously out of control, or people sniping me at the last minute!

Some of the ones that sold for really high included:

Night Crossing - $102.50

The Sand Pebbles (Varese Club) - $85.99

Capricorn One (Intrada) - $71.07

Psycho II - $71

Chinatown - $67

Explorers - $53.50

Runaway - $45

The Swarm - $43

Baby - $29

Then there were a bunch that I was just trying to get for cheap that sold for more than I expected. Remember, these are open, used CDs!

The Wind and The Lion (2CD Intrada) - $20.51 (Why?? IT's available brand new from all the retailers or amazon for $24.99!)

Logan's Run - $15.52 (available for $19.99 new everywhere)

Supergirl - $14.50 (mind boggling! You can find NEW copies for less than that!)

Under Fire - $10.52 (Thought for sure I was going to win this one for $8 until literally it in the last 3 seconds it jumped to this price!)

Papillon - $6.51

Oh well. I'll get them all some day!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I'm with ya, Jay. I got sniped at the last second on three of his titles as well. I don't understand it either, Total Recall, Great Train Robbery, and King Solomon's Mines are all in print and cheaply available. They outbid me and paid the same price I could pay right now for them new.

[Jay 37,374]

Yea it makes no sense!

Only thing I can think of is that they were buying a bunch of other stuff from him, so threw in some other titles they wanted to take advantage of his shipping offer ($5 for 1-4 cds, $11 for 5-22)

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Holy--Goldsmith music is serious business. I should have invested in his bottle caps long ago.

[Jacob 0]

A gold smith in more ways than one.

[Demondm810 399]

I won quite a few of Goldsmith titles from

Snipemonkey. Lost many as well. Jay, where can you get new copies of Supergirl for under 14 bucks??