Normally I would consider film scores pre-60s boring with old clich�d themes with performances lacking in any real power or pace and very simplistic action music. However, there is something about Bernard Herrmann�s score for North By Northwest that has an atmosphere of suspense and inherent danger in almost every track. What�s more the music is to an extent fast paced and certainly displays some moments of pounding action music.
Herrmann�s themes for this score are equally surprising and effect, whilst they do sound old, the love theme especially they stand the test of time and are still quite solid and enjoyable pieces. The main theme is completely appropriate for the film, following a Spanish dance style the theme rockets along at a great pace and the digitally re-mastered orchestra really give the track a vibrant performance. This running man theme follows the events in the film and adds a lot of life and personality to the score.
The score starts slowly with some great suspense cues in Kidnapped, The Elevator and The U.N. From here on the score really gathers pace and the main theme repeatedly explodes out of the speakers with impressive power, especially for a score dating back to 1959. Tracks such as The Wild Ride, The Knife and The Crash are way above the standards of most action pieces from the time with the brass sections giving powerful and brisk performances.
The slower tracks after The Crash offer a shift in the score with Cary Grant�s character on the move and in hiding from both the police and Vandamm after him.
The Caferteria offers Vandamm�s sinister theme and kick starts the second half of the score with the excellent The Shooting following.
Now the chase is on and you can feel it in the music. The suspense moves up a notch and Herrmann seems to be able to create this suspense effortlessly. The strings sections and lighter instruments; the clarinets and oboes take centre stage in these cues through out the build ups and then the brass kicks in for brief yet satisfying bursts of action.
Its at this point that the tracks seem to merge into one another with the suspense hardly letting up at all. Whereas the first half of the score is to some extent carried by the film the second half is rock solid and incredibly effective with the individual cues held together by the now familiar and strong themes.
The pace of the music builds suitably track by track. This is great from a listening point of view as the music gets better and better towards the end of the score.
The last 5 tracks are simply excellent. The Stone Faces is one of the highlights of the CD with by far the most energetic and exciting performance of the central theme with less of the strings and more of the brass and timpani. The tracks follow a sort of pattern with bursts of action followed by riveting sections of suspense. The whole of these last 5 tracks just feels like a finale with the sense of danger greater than at any other point in the score and the performances are completely unrestrained with the orchestra running riot and really blasting out the music.
Unfortunately this would be the point where the original tapes from which this CD is made had degraded to the point where they were only just retrievable and so the sound quality in these tracks isn�t as good as the rest of the CD. This is obviously not anyone�s fault, the tapes are over 50 years old! But it�s a shame of course that the sound quality decreases just as the music reaches heights of excellence.
Overall this score is a classic. Bernard Herrmann�s handling of the orchestra is masterful and the sense of danger and suspense he creates is greater than almost anything in recent years. This CD was a curiosity buy for me, at first I found it to be old fashioned with little of the loud pounding action music of say Tomorrow Never Dies or Total Recall. But I have listened to this CD 5 times now and I find myself liking it more with each listen so this has to be a score. The release is certainly an excellent one with extensive sleeve notes on Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Hitchcock and the CD itself clocks in at over an hour and contains EVERY track from the film, something you can only wish for with scores of today.
****
1. Overture (2.16)
2. The Streets (1.01)
3. It�s a Most Unusual Day (1.10) - Source Music
4. Kidnapped (2.15)
5. The Door (0.37)
6. Cheers (0.39)
7. The Wild Ride (2.49)
8. Car Crash (0.22)
9. The Return (0.20)
10. Two Dollars (0.47)
11. Rosalie (1.33) - Source Music
12. In The Still of Night (2.24)
13. The Elevator (0.45)
14. The U.N (0.59)
15. Information Desk (0.48)
16. The Knife (0.48)
17. Fashion Show (5.19) - Source Music
18. Interlude (1.13)
19. Detectives (0.23)
20. Conversation Piece (2.57)
21. Duo (1.11)
22. The Station (0.49)
23. The Phone Booth (1.13)
24. Farewell (0.44)
25. The Crash (1.47)
26. Hotel Lobby (1.20)
27. The Reunion (0.50)
28. Goodbye (0.50)
29. The Question (0.46)
30. The pad and Pencil (1.02)
31. The Auction (1.03)
32. The Police (0.22)
33. The Airport (0.59)
34. The Cafeteria (1.12)
35. The Shooting (1.04)
36. The Forest (1.18)
37. Flight (0.18)
38. The ledge (1.07)
39. The House (3.10)
40. The Balcony (0.41)
41. The match Box (1.54)
42. The Message (0.53)
43. The T.V (0.40)
44. The Airplane (0.58)
45. The Gates (0.46)
46. The Stone Faces (1.28)
47. The Ridge (1.59)
48. On The Rocks (2.18)
49. The Cliff (1.31)
50. Finale (0.46)
Release Label: Rhino Records Inc
Produced By: Marilee Bradford and Bradley Flanagan
Date Released: 1995
