GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI
Rating: 
Original Review: A rare dramatic outing for Marc Shaiman, Rob Reiner's movie Ghosts of Mississippi (released in the UK as Ghosts From The Past) allowed the composer to tackle his second meaty courtroom drama and write music to accompany this riveting true story of blind racism, injustice, and eventual victory in the face of bigotry and hate. Whoopi Goldberg stars as Myrlie Evers, the wife of the black political activist Medger Evers, who was gunned down on his driveway by white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith - a terrifyingly realistic performance by James Woods - in 1962. Discharged on a mere technicality by an all-white jury, De La Beckwith seemingly got away with his heinous crime and bragged about his "good fortune" to anyone luckless enough to be within earshot. However, no-one counted on the tenacity of Myrlie and her idealistic lawyer Bobby De Laughter (Alec Baldwin) who, over the course of thirty years, vowed that justice would be done, whatever the cost. Shaiman, whose purely dramatic scores in the past have included Misery and A Few Good Men, has delved deep into a musical corner of himself not generally heard by the public, and emerged with a subtle, mature work which seeks to encompass the emotional torment felt by a family whose focal point is taken from them because of the colour of their skin - and who are punished further because of the colour of the skin of the man who committed the crime, and that of the supposedly impartial legal system. As dictated by the tone of the film, much of the music is quite subdued and restrained in nature, although occasionally it turns rather tense and moody, emphasising the awful events that took place over thirty years ago. Cues such as 'Prologue', 'Bobby Gets Hooked' and 'Busted' gradually reveal a series of attractive, tentative pianos and string themes, while other cues, such as 'Myrlie Plants The Seed', 'Friday Phone Call' and the defiantly inspirational 'Finding Strength' take on a wistful quality, especially when accompanied by the haunting wordless vocals of singer Dionne Farris. The brief but lively 'On The Delta' and the disturbingly upbeat and powerful 'Klandestine Meeting' include some flavoursome slide guitars to add a touch of local colour, while later tracks such as 'Building the Case' and 'Witness for the Prosecution' feature some of the vibrant piano medleys often used to accompany montage scenes of people thinking, talking and shuffling papers in an important manner. However, Shaiman saves his full-throated thematic material for the final few cues, notably the joyous 'Myrlie Victorious', when the full orchestra rises and performs a triumphant refrain to celebrate the long-overdue victory for Myrlie Evers and the American justice system. Also included on the album are several appropriate songs from the era, including Nina Simone's treacly rendition of the anthemic 'I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free', and efforts from jazz and blues legends Tony Bennett, Muddy Waters and B.B. King. Overall, this is an essential album for anyone who dismisses Marc Shaiman as a purely "saccharine" composer. Although Shaiman has tended to gravitate towards movies with a strong comedic content in the past, probably to satisfy his own unique sense of humour, scores such as Ghosts of Mississippi show that, given the right platform and inspiration, he is as good a dramatic composer as anyone working today.
Track Listing:
- I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free (written by Billy Taylor and Dick Dallas, performed by Dionne Farris) (4:41)
- Prologue (6:14)
- Myrlie Plants The Seed (1:33)
- Bobby Gets Hooked (3:16)
- On The Delta (0:58)
- Friday Phone Call (2:09)
- I Will Live My Life For You (written by Henry Salvador and Marcel Spellman, performed by Tony Bennett) (2:28)
- The Smoking Gun (1:29)
- Klandestine Meeting (3:36)
- Mannish Boy (written by McKinley Morganfield, Elias McDaniel and Melvin London, performed by Muddy Waters) (2:58)
- Walking Blues (written and performed by Robert Johnson) (2:32)
- The Thrill Is Gone (written by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell, performed by B.B. King) (4:37)
- Busted (5:42)
- Building the Case (1:33)
- Bomb Scare (1:17)
- Finding Strength (2:02)
- Witnesses For The Prosecution (3:44)
- DeLay Speaks (2:10)
- Waiting for the Verdict (1:43)
- Myrlie Victorious (2:41)
- I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free (written by Billy Taylor and Dick Dallas, performed by Nina Simone) (4:16)
Running Time: 61 minutes 34 seconds
Columbia CK-67914 (1996)
Music composed by Marc Shaiman. Conducted by Eddie Karam and Artie Kane. Orchestrations by Jeff Atmajian and Patrick Russ. Special vocal performances by Dionne Farris and Yvonne Williams. Recorded and mixed by Dennis Sands. Edited by Scott Stambler. Mastered by Joe Gastwirt and Ramón Bretón. Album produced by Marc Shaiman.
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