Customer Reviews

MIDNIGHT COWBOY (OST)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Barry worked as "Musical Supervisor" on this classic gem of a movie to integrate found pop with his original themes.

Many of the "pop tunes" were culled from fledgling United Artists acts of the late sixties such as The Groop ("Tears and Joys" and the Mamas and Papas-sounding "A Famous Myth" are included herein), and someone had the great sense to steer him to the avant garde New York group Elephant's Memory (whose influential work - see Stereolab and Komeda - on Buddah records remains sadly out of print)to patch together a soundscape for the film's psychedelic Warholesque party scene where Joe Buck gets high and Ratso steals all the salami. Of course, it was the inclusion and reorchestration of Fred Neil's folk tune, "Everybody's Talkin'", as sung by Nilsson, that made the soundtrack a hit in 69 and has kept it in print all these decades.

The lasting impression that this time capsule of a soundtrack leaves is the abundance of vocal energy and inventive harmonizing that proliferated in the late sixties, and how styles were changing from cool lounge and orchestral scoring to topical pop music placement to reflect the moment. Modern day soundtrack producers would do well to study this package and the film from which it was borne.

Barry's themes - "Midnight Cowboy", "Fun City" "Science Fiction" "Joe Buck Rides Again" and "Florida Fantasy" reflect and refract pieces of the pop tunes while draping pivotal scenes in a lovely sadness. Outstanding is Toots Theilman's wailing harmonica on the Main Theme; the piece is a wee bit overproduced for the soundtrack edition and I wish the version used in the film - just harmonica and stummed guitar - had been included here.

Though I agree with most of the previous reviews, I was disappointed to see (hear) that Toots Thielemans is not to be found on this recording. He is also not mentioned anywhere on the albums credits.
He was used in the original score for the film, but according to his manager "Toots" was not included on this album.
I would not have purchased this CD if I had known this in advance.

I've had this soundtrack in its original LP form as well as cassette, and now the CD. This disc would be a welcome addition to any serious soundtrack collector's set. The CD works on many levels. Besides Nilsson's famous "Everybody's Talkin," there are hauntingly mellow tracks by British composer John Barry which, on their own, convey the loneliness and vastness of a big city. These tracks blended in seamlessly to the gritty New York City landscape of the film and reinforced the onscreen images. They also make for great listening by themselves. "The Florida Fantasy" segment has a nice comedic calypso beat to it. Rounding out Barry's compositions is the also famous soulful harmonica track, "Midnight Cowboy." Finally, we also get some energetic rock club music of the late 60's psychedelic era by groups such as The Groop, and The Elephants Memory. All in all, this is a highly recommended recording. One of Barry's best.

I first saw the movie on TV about fifteen years ago, having no idea what it was about. I fell in love with it and its been a part of me ever since. I rushed out the next day and bought the soundtrack (on vinyl no less) - primarily for the lovely harmonica theme and 'Everybody's Talkin''. After listening to the whole album a few times, I realized it contained a few gems - notably 'Old Man Willow' by New York's vastly underrated, Elephant's Memory. It plays during the party scene and has to be one of the weirdest, most beautiful and epic slices of psychedelia I've heard! The same band supply 'Jungle Gym at the Zoo' - another great track. Other vocal tracks include the very cool 'He Quit Me', sung by Leslie Miller - whoever she is. I say that, because I'd never heard of her before, or since for that matter, but her voice is terrific. The incidental music that rounds out the soundtrack is great too and supplies the perfect companion to the movie.

The soundtrack of Midnight Cowboy is an excellent film score and once again John Barry proved his talent as a film composer, conductor, and musical director. Barry composed some of the tracks and selected some, and arranged them--all to excellent effect. There's not a bad song on the soundtrack from any of the artists that recorded on it, and my only regret is that it's too short at some 37 minutes. I could listen for ever to Toots Thielemans playing the chromatic harmonica with Barry's orchestral backing as he does in 'Joe Buck Rides Again' and the theme for 'Midnight Cowboy'. Simply a great piece of work.

its really got some cool songs. but i think you have to be pretty flexible with it. some of it is kinda weird, like "jungle gym at the zoo", this and one other song was the reason i didnt give it 5 stars. but the title song is really awesome, of course. so if your really into music its worth it. one of my favorite songs on it is "he quit me" its jazzy and the singer has a cool voice.

I have this soundtrack on cassette, one of the original cassettes that were first produced and I like it, only I am dissappointed that both the one I have and the new releases of it seem to be missing music from the movie. In particular, I was hoping to find anything about the music that is playing the in bar when Joe Buck goes back looking for Ratso when he realizes he got ripped off by him, where the crossdresser hangs out.
I really like that kind of late 60s early 70s swingin sound. Corny as this may sound, tracking down exact examples of this very specific sound has become frustrating. It's very funky and rock at the same time, very much what was happening in NY at the time. It didn't last long before disco started to evolve out of soul and erased it. In watching the movie "Klute" I found they used the same type of music during two scenes when Bree goes to the bar. It would be really nice to find out some artists that produced this stuff so I can track it down. Other than that, Old Man Willow is much shorter than what is played in the movie throughout the whole scene. Just as I get into it, the song fades. With such a wonderful soundtrack, one that (like the whole movie) was very ahead of its time and revolutionary, it only leaves me wanting more! I definitely recommend this however, especially if you are like me and cherish that ever so unique frame of time in history.

My father bought this film on 16mm back in 1983 and played it every night in the basement. This was my fathers favorite film. The music is so beautiful and emotional. I get tears in my eyes every time I hear the soundtrack. Old Man Willow was one of my favorite songs. Dustin Hoffmans performance is unspeakable. This film is sooooo real life.. They just don't make them like this anymore.

I saw the orginal movie way back and decided to try this new DVD. It is in great shape and it came in on time. Good movie...

This is a mixed bag, but an extremely interesting one. The 1969 soundtrack to Midnight Cowboy contains folk, funk, hard rock and easy listening.

"Everyone's Talkin'" is the famous Nilson track, and there is also some great hard rock here from the first Elephant's Memory album. Elephant Memory also do some psychadelic jazz on the soundtrack, also drawn from their first. The Groop have two easy listening tracks here. These are great, but for this band, trust me, its all you need. "He Quit Me," is fantastic funk by Leslie Miller, who should havee been more famous.

John Barry does the actual score here, and it is excellent.

All this sounds patched, but actually works quite well to form a coharent album. Many different shades of 1960s music are here, and gell to make a wonderful listen.