The Goldsmith Odyssey

Jerry Goldsmith's music has been present in multiple Hollywood blockbusters this year, and his musical voice is particularly prominent in John Paesano's score for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. In this Odyssey Interview, Yavar and Goldsmith biographer Jeff Bond talk with Paesano about the challenges of finding a middle ground between Goldsmith's iconic original score and the more recent sound Michael Giacchino has established for the series, director Wes Ball's passion for film music, Paesano's slow and steady path to finding success as a film composer, assisting Goldsmith on some of the legendary composer's later film scores, and much more! Whether you're one of our human listeners or an intelligent ape doing research on human musical preferences, we think you'll find this an engaging conversation. Enjoy!

Edited by Wes Deckers

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Returning guest Carlos Rafael Rivera joins us for our longest episode to date!

In the opening portion of the show, Carlos takes us on an in-depth guided tour of the history of Spanish classical guitar music, providing a brilliant framework through which to view the music we'll be covering.

After that, Carlos joins your humble hosts David, Yavar, and Clark for an exploration of three guitar-based Goldsmith radio scores: the Hallmark Hall of Fame installment "Simón Bolívar," plus the CBS Romance episodes "Córdoba" and "The Guitar." Additionally, we return to Goldsmith's early Toccata for Solo Guitar concert work, this time with expert insights from our guest.

Finally, we take some time to catch up with Carlos on the work he's been doing in recent years, offering comments on and samples from projects like Lessons in Chemistry, Monsieur Spade, Ezra, Just Beyond, Chupa, and more!

Despite lasting nearly as long as Simón Bolívar’s exile in Jamaica, we think there's a great deal to savor in this one. Listen in manageable chunks, or just sit back and spend the day with us. Enjoy!

Here's your The Early Guitar Scores (1954-1958) with Carlos Rafael Rivera Track list! 



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Are you now, or have you ever been, a Jerry Goldsmith fan? If so, you won't want to miss our third and final production report on Leigh Phillips' marvelous Jerry Goldsmith at The General Electric Theater series. Your humble hosts David, Yavar, and Clark chat with Leigh about the three latest additions: the stark and grim "My Dark Days," the cheerfully Italian-flavored "The Committeeman," and the gorgeous library music collection "Autumn Love." In addition to exploring the various challenges of bringing these scores to the finish line, Leigh reflects on the success of the GE Theater project as a whole, and takes some time to talk about what he might be tackling in the future. Along the way, you'll hear samples from each of the scores, and behind-the-scenes excerpts of Leigh working his talented ensemble of players. So grab a plate of mama's homemade spaghetti, and take a listen!

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We know what you’re thinking: "Wait… didn't you guys already do an Inchon Soundtrack Spotlight?" Indeed we did, back in 2020, when Intrada rereleased Jerry Goldsmith's memorable score for the otherwise largely forgotten 1981 Korean War drama. Now, Intrada has released the score yet again, with improved audio and a small handful of new extras. In this follow-up Spotlight, your humble hosts David and Clark chat with Intrada's Douglass Fake and audio engineer Chris Malone about the surprising discovery that led to this new release, the ways in which this score improves on the audio quality offered by previous releases, the various engineering decisions that affect the quality of a film music recording, the thought process that goes into deciding whether or not to reissue a score, and much more. Those who have already purchased one or more of the previous editions of the score will undoubtedly have differing opinions on whether or not to upgrade, but we hope this program will prove a useful resource in helping you make an informed decision. So give it a listen, and find out why you should consider visiting Inchon againchon!

Your Odyssey Soundtrack Spotlight - Inchon Tech Talk with Doug Fake and Chris Malone Track List

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Jerry Goldsmith's musical legacy lives on in the new animated series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, featuring a wonderful score by composer Sherri Chung. In this Odyssey Interview, your humble hosts David, Yavar, and Clark chat with Sherri about the score's large collection of memorable thematic ideas, the joy of being given the opportunity take a traditionally orchestral musical approach, the wide array of distinctive ethnic instruments employed throughout, the importance of nodding to Goldsmith's iconic themes, the challenges of navigating the modern TV music landscape, what we might be able to expect musically from the second season of the show, and more! So if it's after midnight and you're struggling to fall asleep, just sit down in a brightly-lit place, pour yourself a nice glass of water, grab a snack, and give this one a listen!

Here's the Odyssey Interviews - Sherri Chung on Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai Track List, with better credits than you'll find stated in the episode itself for some tracks.

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Attention! Our final Soundtrack Spotlight of the year is here! 2023 hasn’t exactly been jam-packed with new Goldsmith releases, but it’s closing with a pretty special one: Intrada’s new 2-CD presentation of MacArthur, which offers both a restoration of the original LP re-recording and the premiere of the original film tracks. Your humble hosts Yavar and David are joined by Intrada’s Douglass Fake, liner notes writer Jeff Bond, and restoration specialist Chris Malone to discuss this thrilling new release. They discuss the surprising thematic depth and variety the full version of the score has to offer, the assorted restoration challenges posed by this project, the sonic differences between the film mix and the re-recorded album cues, and much more. Remember: old film scores never die, they just get better-sounding and more complete. Dismissed!

Soundtrack Spotlight shall return… in 2024.

Track List - Odyssey Soundtrack Spotlight - MacArthur

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Take shelter! Mariah is here! (No, not that one.) Your humble hosts David, Yavar, and Clark dig into the CBS Radio Workshop episode "Storm," a meteorologically-themed docudrama featuring striking narration from William Conrad and a tense, turbulent score from Jerry Goldsmith. You'll hear discussion of the unique nature of this experimental radio series, the effectiveness of Goldsmith's decision to use music to create a dividing line between the narration and the scripted drama, the striking use of a harmonica to represent the storm, the minimal use of recurring themes, and more! While you're waiting for the skies to clear, join us in the storm cellar for an exploration of this little-known musical gem. Enjoy!

CBS Radio Workshop - Storm Track List!

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We know what you're thinking: why is The Goldsmith Odyssey covering Leith Stevens? Well, for one thing, War of the Worlds (1953) is a personal favorite film and score of Odyssey co-host and editor W. David Lichty. For another, it's a good excuse to spend time with friends of the show Chris Malone (who co-produced the new expanded  album for La-La Land) and John Takis (who wrote the liner notes), both of whom once again have marvelous musical insights to offer. And for more reasons, just listen to the show itself, in which you'll hear discussion of where this score sits within Stevens' body of work, the surprising ways in which the score functions dramatically, the crucial improvements this album makes to the previous release, the qualities of the companion score When Worlds Collide, the wildly different versions of this classic story that have been offered over the years, and much more! Don't worry, we aren't planning to start wandering off-mission on a regular basis, but this new release was too exciting a conversation topic to pass up.  Despite the relative absence of our pal Jerry, we hope you'll enjoy this affectionate celebration of an underappreciated composer's most significant work.

Here!  A The War of the Worlds Bonus Soundtrack Spotlight track list!

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Better late than never, we offer a detailed Soundtrack Spotlight on Varese Sarabande's definitive presentation of Jerry Goldsmith’s memorably noir-tinged score for Harold Becker's City Hall! First, your humble hosts David and Clark are joined by liner notes writer Tim Greiving for a discussion of the film's modest virtues, the score's central ideas, the real-life experiences that informed the film's screenplay, the musical influence of Leonard Bernstein's On the Waterfront, and other topics. Afterwards, David and Clark explore the significant and subtle differences between the various film versions, album versions, and alternates this thorough score presentation has to offer. We hope you'll join us for a stroll down the corridors of power(ful film music)!

Here is your de-confusing City Hall Soundtrack Spotlight Track List!

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The latest Jerry Goldsmith at The General Electric Theater volume is now available, and we're thrilled to give you all the details in this Production Report with our friend, conductor/reconstructionist/renaissance man Leigh Phillips. The fifth entry in his ongoing series of re-recordings is "The Last Dance," a sensitive and emotionally complex score for an episode of television that remains lost for the time being. In addition to offering a detailed breakdown of the assorted challenges posed throughout the recording session, Leigh talks to your humble hosts David, Yavar, and Clark about how the success of the earlier Kickstarter campaigns led to this "bonus" recording, inviting a wider audience to view the recording sessions, the most effective approach to leading an orchestra, his ambitious plan to re-record Goldsmith's Lionheart, and much more. Give it a listen, and then click over to Leigh's website to secure your copy of the score (featuring liner notes by Yavar). Enjoy!

Edited by Wes Deckers.

Please send your correspondence to [email protected].