WYATT EARP
Rating: 
Original Review: I don't know why I've not got more James Newton Howard scores, because I really like his style, and I think Wyatt Earp is one of his best. This is another example of a score rising way above the quality of the film it was written for: it's got an epic feel to it, rather like a kind of Dances with Wolves, but without the strong thematic element. The 'Main Title' is an immensely powerful and entertaining cue, with a forceful percussion behind a lot of strings, which then moves onto a gentle theme played on woodwinds which has a kind of romantic yearning about it. It's first heard when Wyatt is just a boy, so I suppose it signifies the road that lies ahead of him, and the legend he'll become. I like 'Going to Town' a lot, which starts with an sprightly accordion and banjo duet leading into another, slightly more thoughtful rendition of the Main Theme with a brief extract from the main Love Theme which is heard fully in 'The Wedding', which I think is my favourite cue on the album - a full-bodied romantic cue with lavish, string-based orchestrations and a tender woodwind underscore. I also like 'Railroad', mainly because of the great start the cue has with a whistle and fiddle playing a bouncy little ditty which then gets accompaniment from the full orchestra; and the rather downbeat 'Nicholas Springs Wyatt', which has a great section in it where strings and brass alternately play a rising four-note scale which ends in a wonderful crescendo. There are also a few great action cues: notably 'The Wagon Chase', which starts slowly but then turns into a terrific, dynamic version of the Main Title theme; and 'O.K. Corral', which is obviously the pivotal point in the movie and is scored with tense, elongated notes on horns and a snare tapping ominously in the background, before exploding in a frenzy of pounding drums and fanfares.
Track Listing:
- Main Title (4:40)
- Home from the War (1:59)
- Going to Town (2:00)
- The Wagon Chase (2:42)
- Mattie Wants Children (1:56)
- Railroad (1:50)
- Nicholas Springs Wyatt (1:31)
- Is That Your Hat? (2:07)
- The Wedding (3:16)
- Stillwell Makes Bail (2:37)
- It All Ends Now (1:54)
- Urilla Dies (4:35)
- Tell Me About Missouri (2:56)
- The Night Before (3:11)
- O.K. Corral (7:02)
- Down By The River (2:58)
- Kill 'Em All (5:02)
- Dodge City (1:02)
- Leaving Dodge (1:24)
- Indian Charlie (1:33)
- We Stayed Too Long (1:50)
- Winter to Spring (1:18)
- It Happened That Way (1:10)
Running Time: 60 minutes 35 seconds
Warner Bros. 9368-45660-2 (1994)
Music composed by James Newton Howard. Conducted by Marty Paich. Performed by The Hollywood Recording Musicians Orchestra. Orchestrations by James Newton Howard, Brad Dechter and Chris Boardman. Featured musical soloists Dean Parks, Alasdair Fraser, Frank Marocco and Phil Ayling. Recorded and mixed by Shawn Murphy. Edited by Jim Weidman. Mastered by Dave Collins. Album produced by James Newton Howard and Michael Mason.
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These web pages were designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton copyright 1997. 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.