IT'S MY PARTY

BASIL POLEDOURIS

Rating:

Original Review: In this day and age, it's very rare to hear a movie score such as this - a score full of passion, grace and elegance. It's even rarer to hear it performed in such a simple and old fashioned way, but in the case of It's My Party it turns out to be a master stroke. Put out of your minds your preconceptions of what a Basil Poledouris score sounds like. Gone are the brilliant but overwhelming orchestrations. Gone are the violins and the trumpets, and gone are the drums and the synthesisers. All that remains is Poledouris himself playing a series of beautiful, delicate melodies on a solo, unadorned, crystal-clear piano.

The movie, about a gay man dying of AIDS trying to put his life in order before it finally slips away from him, was not a typically slushy, sentimental Hollywood production and therefore required a much greater level of sensitivity and restraint from the composer to stop the music from entering the realms of schmaltz. Poledouris succeeded admirably to this end, and added volumes to the movie's impact by allowing his music to reflect and complement the emotional turmoil on the screen, rather than overwhelming the audience with blatantly obvious tear-jerking cues. Although the music retains a feeling of sad reflection throughout, it never becomes depressing and in fact the longest cue, 'The Kiss Goodbye', is actually quite positive and seems to give out a definite aura of hope and love.

The song at the end, 'Don't Cut Me Down' was written and performed by cast member Olivia Newton-John, and is consistent with the tone of the rest of the score, providing a fitting conclusion to the album (although I must admit it does initially come as quite a shock to hear something other than a piano!). It takes a very talented and brave composer to allow his themes to be broken down and heard at their most basic level. Whereas other, lesser composers would probably shudder at the thought of having their work exposed to all and sundry without the shield of a full orchestra to mask any shortcomings, the creativity and brilliance of Poledouris' raw talent shines from this album like a beacon. It also takes a very trusting director - in this case Randal Kleiser - to allow the emotional impact of a movie to rest almost entirely on the performance of one man with one piano. I take my hat off to both men for having the audacity and skill to come up with such a remarkable score. I highly recommended this score to all as a wonderful example of just how talented our beloved movie score composers really are.

Track Listing: Running Time: 32 minutes 41 seconds

Varèse Sarabande VSD-5701 (1996)

Music composed and performed by Basil Poledouris. Recorded and mixed by Tim Boyle. Mastered by Joe Gastwirt. Album produced by Basil Poledouris and Tim Boyle.


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These web pages were designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton copyright 1998. All opinions and views expressed on these pages are my own and are in no way intended to reflect those of my employer, the Trent Institute for Health Services Research, or those of the University of Sheffield.