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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Something Worth It!, May 13, 2003
At long last, here is the first-time original soundtrack release of Copland's masterful score to "Something Wild" (1961; not to be confused with the later Melanie Griffith film), which languished in obscurity for more than forty years after United Artists deemed it commercially unviable. Copland did his best to change their minds, but took the defeat philosophically, arranging portions of the music into one of his concert works, "Music for a Great City."Hearing the music in its original guise is a revelation. From an artistic standpoint, the score is head-and-shoulders above ANYTHING being written today (in this listener's humble opinion, of course). Those expecting Copland in a pastoral vein, take note! This is not a folksy rehash of "Appalachian Spring." The language is tough, urban, occasionally strident and sometimes jazzy - in all, a brilliant juxtaposition of violence and lyricism. Admirers of Bernstein's music to "On the Waterfront," or some of Leonard Rosenman's scores of the era, will have an idea what to expect. But Copland's work is even more uncompromising, less Hollywood -- a work of art. That U.A. nixed a soundtrack release of the first score in twelve years by arguably America's greatest composer -- when his last score ("The Heiress") even won the Academy Award -- is criminal. And it's a minor miracle that the situation has come to be rectified. The story of the album's resurrection is a good one, and it's all laid out in the generous liner notes. Basically, the film's director, Jack Garfein, had a limited number of LPs pressed from the original recording sessions. When a commercial release failed to materialize, he gave a number of them to Copland and kept the rest for himself. The master tapes subsequently disappeared. In the 1970s, Garfein sold his LP collection, and apparently one of the "Something Wild" soundtracks along with it. A CD-R surfaced at the University of Texas, twenty years later, and Mark Leneker, who was doing research into Copland's film and TV work, in preparation for the composer's centenary -- and who basically set this project in motion -- was able to trace Garfein, then in his 70s and living in Paris. To make a long story short, Garfein's wife discovered a sealed copy of the LP in their attic. It was flown to California and digitally transferred, and it is this beautiful mint copy which has been released by Varese Sarabande. The transfer has been marvelously accomplished. Under normal listening conditions (I haven't used headphones), it's inconceivable that it was remastered from an LP. The packaging is beautiful, a model of its kind. So sure was he of the album's imminent commercial release, Copland provided his own sleeve notes, which have been included, as has been a blurb from the director, Leneker's history, and a track-by-track description of the action. What's more, the tracks are presented in the composer's authorized sequence, as they would have appeared on the original soundtrack album. (For film score lovers who like their music in the order in which it appears in the film, Varese has kindly included an alternative sequence in the booklet.) I'm sure Copland, in particular, would have been very pleased. As am I. I can't emphasize how very impressed I am with this release. The revival of ANY "lost" Copland is a major, major event. Buy this, and reward everyone connected with its resurrection. Furthermore, reward yourself. Recommended with all enthusiasm.
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~ Alexandre Desplat
is one of Aaron Copland's 
