Track Listing

1. Mrs. Soffel
2. The Times of Harvey Milk
3. Never Cry Wolf

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17305 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack

Customer Reviews

Beautiful
I love really movie theme music and film scores. I remember thinking when I got The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album way back when, that the theme tune by Alan Silvestri at the end of the album was actually the best part - no disrespect to Whitney Houston et al; I think they were all brilliant - and I still feel that way about it now. The pity is that at just 2mins 44secs, it's over almost as soon as it begins.

I've seen two of these three films but I wanted this CD principally because of Lyle Mays (of the Pat Metheny Group), who plays on the theme from 1984's "Mrs. Soffel". It's pretty much what I expected, Mays plays beautiful piano, with Peter Maunu on violin, Mark Isham himself on synthesiszers, Penny Whistle and piano, with a full orchestra behind them all, arranged and conducted by Mark Adler. It's serene, relaxing but at 13mins 59 secs, always interesting, with several different movements.

The theme to "The Times of Harvey Milk" is equally interesting, though shorter at 8mins 32secs. Isham plays synthesizers and trumpet. This 1984 Oscar-winning Robert Epstein & Richard Schmiechen documentary is the only film here that I haven't seeen and I'm quite keen to get my hands on it if I can find it on DVD.

The final tune, from the 1983 Carroll Ballard film "Never Cry Wolf" is also a pleasant surprise. At 24mins 48secs long, it takes me on a delightfully moody, almost haunting journey. Rufus Oliver plays bassoon, Bill Douglass is on bamboo flutes, George Marsh plays percussion, Tucky Bailey plays glass, Natalie Cox plays harp, Mark Isham is on synthesizers and voices are provided by Annie Stocking, Stephanie Douglass, Kathy Hudnall and Jeanette Spartaine. Once again, Mark Adler arranges and conducts the orchestra.

Not quite jazz and not quite classical, maybe it falls somewhere in the middle? Whatever it is, I think it's beautiful.

like the movie, this soundtrack has been overlooked
Like the movie, Mrs. Soffel, this soundtrack did not receive much attention from the public. Listening to any of the tracks will immediately bring you back to the movie which had the same haunting and alluring quality. This is a music review however after reading other reviews of Mrs. Soffel the movie, I would add many people nowadays find it hard to appreciate movies that don't have car chases, explicit sex scenes and in your face dialogue. A young Mel Gibson gives a performance that makes you somehow like and feel sorry for him even though at the back of your mind you know he is a murderer. Very few actors now can pull off such a feat. Diane Keaton gives a very convincing performance of a woman torn between what is expected of her as the wife of the jail warden and yet driven to save the lives of two inmates from a death sentence who she doesn't even know are innocent or not. The movie would not have been complete without this enchanting and mysterious soundtrack. On the other hand I never listen to this soundtrack without remembering very fondly the wintery scenes in this movie and witnessing the undeniable chemistry between Mel Gibson and Diane Keaton. Gibson's ability to draw you into a scene and capture your attention shows he is a treasure to the cinema. I say buy this cd and the dvd together to experience this movie and music magic time and time again.

...Highly Recommended
After scoring many, many films... I always seem to come back to this c.d which compiles three movies scores onto one and each distiguishably different from one another and it's refreshing to listen to a soundtrack that doesn't repeat the same theme over and over which is quite common. If I had to be stranded on a desert island and had a choice of c.d's to come with me, I can not be without "FILM MUSIC"... That's saying a lot of high praise for a musician that was little more than just a session trumpet player playing with the likes of The Beach Boys, Van Morrison. Van Morrison always demanded the best from his musicians or quite simply they didn't play for him at all.

If you haven't seen the movie Mrs. Soffel, don't bother the music clearly out shines the movie...Lyle Mays on piano is amazing and expect lots of penny whistle, synthesizers and being that the setting takes place in Pittsburgh, the industrial sounds of a steel mill. The "Times Of Harvey Milk" is just under 9 minutes, it never gets a chance to mold into anything other than sounding alright. What ever fault there may be with "Times Of Harvey Milk" it was an important score for him to score because of him growing up in the San Francisco area, the main focally point in the documentary...Times Of Harvey Milk went on to win a Academy Award for best documentary. And lastly "Never Cry Wolf"...wow, thats what made me run out to buy the c.d in the first place. You could not ask for a better score to compliament the wintery terrain of Alaska. Although very somber through out the most part, there is a brief moment that will raise a few hairs on the back of your neck...my favorite part of the score, lots and lots of drumming.

What more can I say, just run out and buy it...highly recommended.