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StreamingSoundtracks.com - Conan The Barbarian - Basil Poledouris
| Album Information |
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Album
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Conan The Barbarian |
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Artist
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Basil Poledouris |
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Year
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1982 |
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Genre
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Soundtrack |
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Rating
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 |
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ASIN
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B004H1YH66 |
Hint: Hover over buttons and album/artist name next to the cover for more info.
| Reviewers Rating |
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1 review done for this album. |
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| Poledouris' Masterpiece! |
| By: |
Luther_III |
| Date: |
29 Aug 2006 |
| Rating: |
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Conan the Barbarian, easily Basil Poledouris’ greatest original score, is also one of the finest contemporary film scores ever recorded. Its triumph was made possible not only because the film’s starkly anemic dialogue afforded much opportunity for massive orchestrations to take center stage, but because director John Milius brought Poledouris on board very early in production. The result makes one wonder what might be possible if modern film composers were more often given ample time (and budgets) for production of their scores.
While at least one more version of the album was printed, the Varese printing represented here is vastly superior. Every track on the album (except perhaps “Tree of Woe,” which is mostly atmospheric) is superb, and when played from beginning to end, the impression is that of an epic tone poem, a story told colorfully and brilliantly with music. Its leitmotifs representing important characters and themes are recognizable but never overly repetitive, and the work as a whole is bombastic enough to reflect the brutal warfare depicted while subtle enough to satisfy those craving sweeping melodies, complex harmonies, and caliber musicianship. Poledouris made brilliant use of Russian chord structures that gives the album a unifying coherence and also plausibly represents the fanciful locale of the story. One could almost appreciate the gist of the entire story by listening to the music alone.
“Anvil of Crom” features heavy percussion pounding out a unique rhythm in an 11/4 time signature accompanying the god-like theme played by 24 French horns! Though slightly trivialized by numerous performances of a marching band rendition, it remains one of the most memorable title tracks in film music history. The “Riddle of Steel” portion of the next track expands on the lovely Conan theme introduced in "Anvil" and which is revisited in numerous variations throughout the disc. For “Riders of Doom,” John Milius recommended Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana for inspiration, and Poledouris obliged with the most frighteningly satisfying choral depiction of warfare this reviewer has ever heard. This is “O Fortuna” to the Nth degree. What follows is track upon track of terrific music depicting Conan’s epic journey. Sweeping strings, pounding percussion, gorgeous choral passages, and triumphant brass abound. Other tracks worth mentioning include the brooding, choral “Gift of Fury,” the musically satisfying “Theology/Civilization,” the beautiful love theme stated in both “Wifeing” and “Leaving/the Search,” and of course “Kitchen/The Orgy.” In the first half of the latter track, a lush but ominous male chorus guides us through Thulsa Doom’s subterraneous kitchens. For “The Orgy,” Poledouris made use of a theme his then 9-year-old daughter Zoë made up on the recorder. The theme builds without development resulting in a slightly repetitive listen, akin perhaps to Ravel’s Boléro: hated by some, loved by others.
The main gripe with this score, if any complaint at all could be made, is that in the context of the film, the music does not always go along with the visuals. It is true, Poledouris does not employ the meticulous cueing exemplified by, say, John Williams. Really, though, it is the same kind of complaint that often accompanies Tchaikovsky’s ballets: that the music overshadows, rather than supports, the visual elements. But this was Milius’ intent all along. After all, in the first 30 minutes of the film, there is only about 3 minutes of dialogue. Thus, for Poledouris’ Conan it is an open question whether the music accompanies the film, or the film accompanies this masterpiece.
Track-by-track rating:
Track: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Stars: 5* 5* 4* 4* 3* 4* 3* 4* 3* 2* 3* 5* 3* 5* 3* 4*
19 of 19 found this review helpful
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