blondheim 1,157 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Recently I have been listening to a lot of John Williams' output from this period rather than from the nineties on, where I normally loiter. I have been cycling through what I can find of Fitzwilly, Heidi, The Reivers, Jane Eyre, Images and The Eiger Sanction. And loving it, by the way. I had been exploring his output from '78 to '84 but I began progressing backwards ever since I heard Story of a Woman posted on here sometime last year. I've been really enjoying this sound and I want to explore other composers working around that time for context. Plus there are a lot of great composers I am not familiar enough with. I have a short list here and basically I would like a few suggestions of where best to start with these composers, if anyone doesn't mind. My short list for the moment --once I explore these I am going to come up with more: Ernest Gold Alex North Alfred Newman John Barry Georges Delerue Frances Lai Jerry Fielding Please include clips, descriptions, reasons for your choices if you can. Thanks, everybody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,516 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Add Legrand, and Morricone, to that list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondheim 1,157 Posted January 10, 2021 Author Share Posted January 10, 2021 2 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said: Add Legrand, and Morricone, to that list. I didn't add Legrand this time but he is going on the next list. Also, Morricone is a composer I don't need help exploring. It is why I didn't list Goldsmith either. I am familiar enough with them that, like John Williams, I know what the scores to grab first are, essentially. I may eventually make a post asking for lesser known works by major composers. Shrug, who knows. One step at a time. Naïve Old Fart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerateWohl 4,357 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Did you leave out Bernhard Herrman and Lalo Schifrin and Henry Mancini on purpose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,066 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 3 minutes ago, GerateWohl said: Bernhard Herrman Don't know that one. Is he related to Bernard Herrmann? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondheim 1,157 Posted January 10, 2021 Author Share Posted January 10, 2021 4 minutes ago, GerateWohl said: Did you leave out Bernhard Herrman and Lalo Schifrin and Henry Mancini on purpose? Yes, this is a short list of composers I am specifically interested in suggestions for at this moment. It is by no means comprehensive, or a comment on who matters during that period. These are blind spots for me. Lalo and Henry are also blind spots but less so. They would be going on another list probably with, so I am not yelled at, names like Dave Grusin and Dimitri Tiomkin as well I am very familiar with Bernard Hermann. Like Goldsmith or Morricone, I can figure him out by myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerateWohl 4,357 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 2 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said: Don't know that one. Is he related to Bernard Herrmann? His evil forgotten twin brother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,066 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Just now, GerateWohl said: His evil forgotten twin brother. That's what I thought! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 I created three great playlists (great according to me, because I did a lot or researches to try to get the "sound" of those decades, and not always by just selecting the obvious choices). I really love them! Listen them in Random mode of course. The Best Film Scores of the 60's The 70's The 80's Unfortunately, the 90's playlist is still not at my taste, so it will demand a greater amount work than I though at first. blondheim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,351 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 58 minutes ago, blondheim said: Scent of a Woman You mean Story of a Woman right? blondheim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,066 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Story of the Scent of a Woman. Very smelly stuff. Bespin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondheim 1,157 Posted January 10, 2021 Author Share Posted January 10, 2021 15 minutes ago, Jay said: You mean Story of a Woman right? Yes Jay 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,495 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 In order to limit the selections, I'll try to recommend one -- and only one -- score per composer on your list. Quote Ernest Gold Curious choice, because outside the super-famous EXODUS, he isn't in the same category as the others. My recommendation, however, is ON THE BEACH, although Chris Gordon's newer version is better. Quote Alex North THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY remains my favourite North, and my one of my top 50 soundtracks in general. Get that. Beautiful, modern religious music. Quote Alfred Newman As an icon of the Golden Age, his best work pre-dates the 60s (like my favourite THE SONG OF BERNADETTE). In terms of 60s Newman, my recommendation is THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD. Quote John Barry I have issues with some of Barry's music, but of his 60s output, I'd recommend THE LION IN WINTER. But if you're looking for something in the jazzy/soft romantic style of the decade, PETULIA is a safe bet. Quote Georges Delerue One of my alltime favourite composers. Limiting it to the 60s, my recommendation is actually not the French New Wave stuff, but the gorgeous OUR MOTHER'S HOUSE. Deleruian bittersweetness at its best (and bears an uncanny resemblance to Quincy Jones' THE COLOR PURPLE, but that's a different story). Quote Frances Lai Avoiding the obvious picks of LOVE STORY and BILITIS, I would choose UN HOMME ET UNE FEMME. Smooth, romantic jazz for a Claude Lelouch classic. I met Francis Lai in a church in Belgium a few years back, btw. Quote Jerry Fielding Can be quite challenging at times, but often rewarding upon repeated listens. Again, trying to avoid the obvious classics like THE WILD BUNCH or STRAW DOGS, do check out THE NIGHTCOMERS. Modernistic dissonance meets Bach-ian interludes. But a great way into Fielding is his three film music 'promo' compilations -- although very hard to find these days, at least in physical format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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