ONE LITTLE INDIAN

Label: Intrada Special Collection Volume 97
Date: 1973
Tracks: 15
Time = 51:09

Wow! Great find for Jerry Goldsmith fans! World premiere of original soundtrack for 1973 Walt Disney outdoor western with James Garner, (young) Jodie Foster, Vera Miles. Goldsmith takes it serious, creates one of his finest western themes, adds rich solo trumpet melody for young Indian boy, then tops it off with ferocious action music. All his trademarks are on display via large orchestra with additional array of colors including striking electric sitar plus more! Intrada presents every note of score in vivid stereo, personally mixed by composer's engineer-of-choice Bruce Botnick from mint condition 2" masters housed in Disney vaults. Highlights are many but dynamic trombones, aggressive French horns during "Hot Fire" plus exciting variant of main theme during "Go After Him!" are standouts! Informative notes from Jeff Bond plus brief comments from Botnick are icing on the cake. Jerry Goldsmith conducts. Special Collection release limited to 3000 copies!

Play all clips

01. Escort The Prisoner 4:32
02. He’s White 2:26
03. Thirsty Boy 4:32
04. Camel Trouble 2:51
05. Outwit The Posse 5:30
06. Thorny Landing 0:58
07. Saddle Sore 0:59
08. New Friend 1:21
09. What He Needs 1:31
10. No Choice 7:22
11. End Of The Line 3:17
12. Hot Fire 3:24
13. Necktie Party 4:14
14. Go After Him! 2:19
15. A Free Man 5:30

Jerry Goldsmith
Due 04/16/09

MASTER OF THE WORLD / GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS

Label: Intrada Signature Edition ISE1029
Date: 1961 / 1959
Tracks: 31
Time = 88:09

Treat for Les Baxter lovers! 2-CD premiere of two Les Baxter albums presented in stereo from master elements made for seventies-era Varese Sarabande LP reissues. MASTER OF THE WORLD is Jules Verne sci-fi tale with Vincent Price, Charles Bronson. LP was authentic re-recording made under supervision of composer for Vee Jay label in 1961. GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS was exciting soundtrack album conducted by Muir Mathieson with London Sinfonia for American International label in 1959. But there's more! Thanks to MGM, after exhaustive search Intrada locates 20 minutes of never-before-released actual soundtrack cues for MASTER OF THE WORLD in superb stereo! Longer version of "The Conquerors" (originally titled "The Mountains") is a career highlight. Intrada Signature Edition 2-CD set limited to 1000 copies!

MASTER OF THE WORLD CD 1
World Premiere Suite From The Original Soundtrack In Stereo

01. Main Title And Dreams Of Flight 2:24
02. Topage 1:53
03. Betrayed And Discipline 4:20
04. Flight Concerto 2:18
05. The Mountains 5:07
06. End Title 1:44
07. Come Dance With Me [Exit Music] 2:17

Soundtrack Suite Time 20:21

Original 1961 Re-Recorded
“Soundtrack Music” Album

08. Overture 2:21
09. Topage 1:52
10. The Albatross 2:22
11. Mediterranean 2:50
12. Over The Rocks 4:39
13. Master Of The World 1:45
14. Flight Concert 2:16
15. Philadelphia 1:59
16. Drifting Clouds 3:11
17. The Conquerors 4:26
18. Balloon Waltz 2:18
19. Finale 1:47

Original Album Time: 32:43
CD 1 Total Time: 53:16

GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS CD 2

01. (Main Title) Goliath’s March 0:55
02. (Love Theme) Landa 1:51
03. (Noisy Village) Barbarian Games 3:02
04. The Sacred Crown 4:22
05. Sword Dance 3:24
06. Mountains Of Mystery 5:00
07. Ride Of The Barbarians 1:44
08. Night Attack Of The Stranger 2:58
09. Love’s Farewell 2:37
10. Rape Of The Village 2:27
11. Fire Dance 2:50
12. (End Title) March Of Victory 2:52

CD 2 Total Time: 34:53

Les Baxter

Price: $24.99

"Les Baxter is certainly not a common known name to the younger soundtrack collector. Les in the music world was primarily known for his “exotica” music, billboard hits of his arrangements of Poor People of Paris and Quiet Village in the 50’s, his arranging and musical directing for Capitol records, and his work as a composer for AIP which included Roger Corman horror pictures, bikini beach blanket films, and any drive-in movie theme sure to attract the teenage crowd. While his name appears in the credits for over a 100 films few have reached CD releases or MP3 downloads. Intrada (ISE1029) has made available in a 2 CD limited edition release Master of the World (1961), and Goliath And The Barbarians (1959) both previously released on LP. In addition, OST recorded material from Master of the World was located and included for this release including two vocal numbers of the main title not included in the Vee Jay LP (SR 4000) of 1961 or the film. Called Come Dance With Me (nothing to do with the Sinatra classic except the name) it was a catchy lyric sung in both choral and male vocal arrangements. I can remember purchasing the LP in a mono format from a bargain cut-out bin for the ridiculous price of 3 for a $1.00 Apparently the soundtrack had about the same amount of appeal as the film.

Master of the World used Richard Matheson as a writer and he combined two of Jules Verne novels Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World to tell his story of Robur and his goal to end war in the world at any cost with his somewhat unusual craft which could fly, travel over or under the water and even perform as an automobile. Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, and Henry Hull starred in the William Witney directed film, which offered stereo sonic (?) sound and magna color (?). I noticed nothing special in the color and I certainly didn’t get the idea that this was a 100-piece orchestra, which it inferred. The name of the group could have been the “100 Men” and in reality been a 40-piece group, which is what it sounded like. No matter; it is really nice material from Les Baxter. “Overture” gives us both the main theme and the beautiful waltz, both of which are used throughout the 31+ minute score. If you like schmaltzy music sometimes, and this reviewer does, “Balloon Waltz” is a perfect example with piano and strings in just the right combination. “Master of the World” is another example of pure elevator music again using the piano and strings with the main theme from the film. “Topage” is a whimsical piece offering a little bit of a travelogue with lots of brass and percussion. “Mediterranean” is the romantic interlude music you would experience at an Italian café with a loved one. “Drifting Clouds” is another nice version of the waltz theme with full orchestral treatment giving a dose of brass and nice work from the harp in harmony. If you own this CD there is a slight drop in the left channel that lasts for a second or so, something on the master as both my LP and CD are identical. You’ll also find that the sound of the new material from the film has cleaner crisper sound with fuller dynamic range. The transfer from the LP is a bit flat at times, lacking punch.

Goliath and the Barbarians (1959) was the first in a series of Goliath vs. something from Italy. Fresh from his huge success with Hercules, Steve Reeves starred and the film was marketed in the U.S. by AIP. The original score by Carlo Innocenzi (available on Digitmovies CDDM 113) was replaced by a Les Baxter one, which was originally released by American International on LP. The design of the cover made it look like one of his Capitol ‘exotica’ releases and perhaps helped in the sale of it. The Intrada recording is a remastering and contains the same material as the LP releases. “Goliath’s March,” the main theme, is a typical one a marching band could play; a nice melodic song. “Landa,” the love theme, also repeated with more of a modern flare in “Love’s Farewell,” is a mysterious Middle Eastern one straight out of a Rimsky-Korsakov opera. There is a small blip in a transitional moment at 1:15 on the track. If you’re familiar with the music of Baxter you’ll hear the opening motif of The Pharaoh’s Curse starting the “Barbarian Games,” gladiator type music in the tradition of Rozsa. “Rape of the Village,” and “Fire Dance” is also tracks that you’d expect to hear from a period film such as this one with the difference being the playing of the London Sinfonia.

This release sold out in a relatively short period of time. As a result the speculating on E-Bay is demanding a high price, at least at the time of this writing, and frankly this material isn’t worth the amount of money they’re asking. It is nice material but nothing special. Wait and look for it in the $25.00 price range or as a possible second pressing in the future."

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I do think the price for this will eventually go down but I wouldn't expect it to go all the way back to 25.00, no matter how many people are sitting on sealed copies. I think there's demand for this from the Baxter collectors. I don't know if there's enough for a second pressing though.

Master of the World is so-so to my ears. There's some grand flying music, but it doesn't mesh all that well with the other disparate elements. It sounds like a Jules Verne movie one moment and then a musical the next and then an AIP Poe movie, which I guess makes sense considering the production, but it must have been one helluva a weird movie.

Goliath and the Barbarians on the other hand is great fun. Very catchy main theme. Baxter shows a lot of enthusiasm here, as well as skill in building up these "exotica" set pieces, which work well as self-contained cues. And the end titles are still stuck in my head. I really got a kick out of it.