The Goldsmith Odyssey

Good evening, and welcome to Odyssey World News. Our top story tonight: in September of 2022, Jerry Goldsmith's iconic score for Rudy was performed live-to-picture by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Justin Freer. We sent two of our reporters, Jens Dietrich and W. David Lichty, to produce our very first Field Report. They had the opportunity to talk with Freer, who spoke at length about his love of Goldsmith, the process of preparing for a live-to-picture performance, which Goldsmith scores he'd most like to conduct next, and a host of other topics. The group was joined by noted film music enthusiast Ron Burbella, who had some fun and surprising anecdotes of his own to share. Additionally, David and Jens take a little time to share details of their own wonderful experiences surrounding the Rudy performance. Here's their report.

Once you've completed the main program, why not take a look at at Lichty and Burbella's written reports?

In case any future performances are arranged, keep an eye on the official Rudy in Concert website!

Please send your correspondence to [email protected].

Confession: we meant to record this episode back in April, but failed to do so. If this were happening to some other show, a lesser podcast perhaps, your humble hosts David, Yavar, and Clark suppose they might find this amusing. One expects ordinary podcasts to fail, to be betrayed by their own incompetence. We suppose we might even find a grotesque humor in our predicament if our failure were due to any lack of logic or skill on our part. But to be betrayed by this clumsy intrusion of scheduling... if one can call busy lives, varied work weeks, and unfinished prep work scheduling... well, no matter, we did the best we could, which is all any podcast of sensitivity and intelligence can do. What's it about, you ask? Why, it's about the Studio One episode "A Dead Ringer", which stars Gig Young as a man plotting the murder of his wealthy wife. It's a knotty hour of television featuring a compelling, Herrmannesque Goldsmith score, which features a variety of striking ideas and is largely built around a rising-and-falling ostinato. We're glad that we finally managed to get the recording done, and we hope you enjoy it. Still, all things considered, it does seem ironic that what was planned and eventually executed with such perfection, even artistry, should now be reduced to just another episode.

Track List - The Goldsmith Odyssey covers Westinghouse Studio One - A Dead Ringer - (1958)

Please send your correspondence to [email protected].

Our latest Soundtrack Spotlight may be smaller than most, but it's got a lot of heart! Liner notes writer and film music journalist Tim Greiving joins your humble host Yavar to talk about Varese Sarabande's new Deluxe Edition of Jerry Goldsmith's beloved score for Rudy. Among the topics of conversation: Tim's personal connection to the score, why he took a less analytical approach to the liner notes, standout moments from the previously unreleased music on the album, Goldsmith's personal affection for this project, and more. Enjoy the show, and stay tuned for another Rudy-themed program in the near future!

Edited by Wes Deckers

Please send your correspondence to [email protected].

La-La Land's Goldsmith at 20th series continues with the most exciting volume yet, and we have a new Soundtrack Spotlight to commemorate the occasion! Film music restoration experts Mike Matessino and Chris Malone join your humble hosts Yavar and David to discuss the varied challenges of working on seven different Goldsmith television projects composed between 1968 and 1975: Anna and the King, A Girl Named Sooner, Nick Quarry, Only in America, Prudence and the Chief, Room 222, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. You'll hear excerpts from all of these scores, along with discussion of where certain elements were found, which projects required the greatest degree of restoration work, how Goldsmith's work fits within the musical conventions of the era, and much more! This is one of the most exciting Goldsmith releases in some time (boasting two premieres and two significant expansions), so tune in and get a taste while waiting for your copy to arrive!

Edited by Wes Deckers

Please send your correspondence to [email protected].

The Sound of Music. Dirty Harry. Airplane! The Simpsons. Edward Scissorhands. Rudy. The Sixth Sense. Finding Nemo. Deadpool 2. If you’ve seen any of these, you’ve heard the voice of Sally Stevens.

Want to hear it again?

Then join us for this special Odyssey Interview, in which the singer and vocal contractor shares stories from her remarkable Hollywood career. In addition to discussing her work with Jerry Goldsmith on films like The Secret of N.I.M.H. (for which she performed the tender song “Flying Dreams”), Congo, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action, you’ll hear stories of her work with legendary composers like Henry Mancini, Elmer Bernstein, Danny Elfman, James Horner, John Williams, and more! She also tells your humble hosts Yavar and David about her first film score experience (performing on Alfred Newman’s How the West Was Won), the complex work involved in being a vocal contractor, and offers some details on her forthcoming memoir. Given her staggering resume, Sally has a treasure trove of anecdotes to share, and the show is loaded with musical excerpts from a wide array of the scores she contributed to. It’s a warm musical journey down memory lane, and we hope you enjoy it.

(Content warning: contains brief choral cussin’)

Want to know what you just heard?  Just go to our Track List for Odyssey Interviews - Sally Stevens

Want to see James Horner's studio and toys? Here's an article with pictures.

Sally's links:

• Sally Stevens Photography
• Sally Stevens Writer
• Hollywood Film Chorale

Hey, we recorded this almost a year ago, and, you know, things change.  Sally's memoir is now titled “I SANG THAT…From Sound of Music to The Simpsons, to South Park and Beyond - a Memoir from Hollywood”

Please send your correspondence to [email protected].

New Goldsmith music is just around the corner, and we have a new production report to fill you in on all the details! With the aid of his Kickstarter backers, Leigh Phillips has created two new recordings of previously unreleased Goldsmith scores written for The General Electric Theatre: “The Bar Mitzvah of Major Orlovsky” (which foreshadows such Jewish-themed Goldsmith works as QBVII and Masada) and “Sarah’s Laughter” (a tender, yet surprisingly complex, score marked by striking harmonica passages). Leigh joins your humble hosts David, Yavar, and Clark to talk about the origins of the project, the fundraising process, the challenges of reconstructing “Major Orlovsky”, recording the music with members of the City of Prague Philharmonic, mixing the music, and much more! Naturally, you’ll be treated to some choice excerpts of the new music along the way. Whether you’re a Kickstarter backer who’s eager for more details on the project or simply a casually curious listener, we think there’s much to enjoy here. So give the show a listen, and get ready for the arrival of two wonderful television scores!

Please send your correspondence to [email protected].

Hey, it's an Odyssey bonus feature! If you look at the average runtime of our episodes, you may have concluded that we like to talk. It's true. In fact, we like to talk so much that sometimes we even talk outside the sprawling boundaries of the program itself. Sometimes, that bonus conversation gets recorded. And this time, we've cobbled some bits and pieces of that bonus conversation together for your eavesdropping pleasure. Before and after recording the Caboblanco Soundtrack Spotlight, your humble hosts Clark and David spent some time casually chatting with guest Chris Malone about... well, about soundtrack stuff. If you like soundtrack stuff (and we have a feeling that you do), you might enjoy the conversation.

Note: If you are planning to use this show as accompaniment to this year's holiday fireworks display, we recommend starting your grand finale near the end when Chris says, "It's an interesting time at the moment," as the grand display of colorful explosions will help subtly accentuate just how interesting the moment is.

Please send your correspondence to [email protected].

Trapped in a life that doesn't fulfill you? Struggling with the feeling that too many years have been wasted? Uncomfortable with being forced to confront your own mortality? If so, why not trade in your increasingly fragile body for a gloriously youthful one? With your vitality restored, you'll be able to participate in a host of high-energy activities, like painting, socializing, grape-stomping, and - best of all - listening to The Goldsmith Odyssey! This time around, your humble hosts David, Yavar, and Clark place the Soundtrack Spotlight on Quartet's new release of Jerry's Goldsmith's haunting score for John Frankenheimer's Seconds! They're joined by returning guests Chris Malone, who restored and produced this new album, and John Takis, who wrote the liner notes. You'll hear about Goldsmith's assorted thematic ideas, the challenges of removing dialogue from certain cues, the key differences between this release and the previous one, the different ways the film strikes certain viewers, and more! Lots of good stuff here, so contact The Company at your earliest convenience, settle into your thrilling new life, and press play!

Seconds is here:  https://quartetrecords.com/product/seconds/

Please send your correspondence to [email protected].

Yes, the atomic podcast is terrible. But more terrible still are the effects of atomic podcast mutation. Hello, we’re your humble hosts David, Yavar, and Clark, and we want to warn you about something that could happen… something that does happen in our latest podcast. Observe the Soundtrack Spotlight: a miniature marvel of focused conversation on a single CD release. But if a Soundtrack Spotlight and a large group of guests were exposed to radiation simultaneously, the result would be terrible indeed. What began life as a simple chat about Intrada’s expanded release of Jerry Goldsmith’s charming, intuitive score for Joe Dante’s “Matinee” was shockingly transformed into a wide-ranging conversation on the entire Goldsmith-Dante oeuvre. For this very special show, we’re joined by none other than director Joe Dante himself, along with Dante’s longtime editor Marshall Harvey, liner notes writer John Takis, and Douglass Fake and Roger Feigelson of Intrada Records. Suffice it to say this is a can’t-miss production. Presented in AtomoSound: the new podcasting miracle that puts you in the action!

As ever, here is your Matinee Odyssey Soundtrack Spotlight -Track List!

Get the new Matinee CD!  It's really good.

Where can everyone be found? 
Joe Dante's podcast: The Movies That made Me
Joe and Marshall (and others!) can be seen talking over movie previews at Trailers From Hell
John Takis writes liner notes for  Quartet Records, La-La Land Records, Intrada and used to do the same for GNP Crescendo and Film Score Monthly Records.
Roger and Doug can be found on Intrada's website (and the old one is kinda fun!)

And here's a link to that Dick Jacobs CD Marshall used to score MANT!

Please send your correspondence to [email protected].

Your friends want you to go out with them, but you keep turning them down. Your mother wants you to go out on a date with one of your old high school classmates, but the idea doesn’t interest you. Everyone’s worried that if you don’t get more proactive, you’re going to end up alone. What they don’t know is that you’re already seeing someone. Three people, in fact: David, Yavar, and Clark, the humble hosts of The Goldsmith Odyssey. Every Tuesday and Thursday, you steal away to a secluded spot to listen for a little while, keeping the volume low. Their latest installment spotlights the Studio One episode “The Desperate Age,” starring Barbara Bel Geddes as a young woman whose situation mirrors your own. The melancholy Jerry Goldsmith score seems straightforward and simple, but contains surprising subtleties and complexities. So double-check to be sure no one is watching, and press play!

And here is your friendly, neighborhood Jerry Goldsmith's The Desperate Age Track list!

Please send your correspondence to [email protected].