Closing a book - with a smile

Hello,

several of you might be aware that MR. MAJESTYK which has just been released and already sold out at Intrada was a holy grail of mine. A big holy grail of mine.

In fact, it was strictly speaking my last holy grail.

I'm not saying that there aren't any scores left anymore that I would really love to see released in the future - say an expanded FACE/OFF by John Powell, a first time release of Carter Burwell's THE JACKAL and of course and always any expanded James Bond soundtracks from the period of 1963 to 1987. All unrealistic, but you never know.

However, MR. MAJESTYK represents the final of four TV and motion picture scores I wrote down on a list in 1999 (or written earlier and only then typed into my then laptop computer). One title some of you might find laughable, one most of you probably never heard of, another one which had several vinyl releases before, but never a legitimate CD before 2007. The list was this:

PATRIK PACARD (1984) by Christian Bruhn. Music for a German children/youngster TV mini series that was first broadcast around christmas 1984/85. As you can imagine, the score is quite dated, but still fascinates me when playing it once in a while. PATRIK PACARD probably represents my first ever soundtrack album (they actually did release one back then) and I still have blurry memories of the store where I bought it with my parents. It was eventually released on CD in 2004. I still remember my enthusiasm, though I still cherish my original 1985 LP album for the nicer artwork (and some tiny bit of shallow pride that it's still in such great condition).

L'ALPAGUEUR (1976) by Michel Colombier. I roughly remember seeing the movie (called "Der Greifer" in German) some time in the 1990s and having found the music intriguing. L'ALPAGUEUR appeared on CD for the first time on one of Universal Music France's eye-candy "Écoutez le Cinéma" editions, coupled with L'HÉRITIER and LE HASARD ET LA VIOLENCE, also by Colombier. Funny enough, I ended up loving the five tracks from HASARD more than my original interest L'ALPAGUEUR. This CD purchase also started my passion for the whole Écoutez le Cinéma series.

BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN (1967) by (Sir) Richard Rodney Bennett. I have to make a confession here. I hardly remember how I became aware of this one. I tend to believe I saw the final minutes of the movie some time in the 1990s and probably caught fire hearing the end titles, but I would not bet on it. Anyway, I ended up with the bootleg CD that was circulating, always regretting the distorted sound in the more outrageous parts of BDB's stunning rolling piano main title. All the more was the first proper CD release by Lukas Kendall in the Black Box a pure revelation and joy: The music in pristine sound quality, worlds apart from both the LP and the bootleg CD that stemmed from the LP. I strongly hope this master piece will become available again on CD in the future.

And now, eventually, MR. MAJESTYK (1974) by Charles Bernstein. It was absolutely love at first sight (or first listen). I saw the movie in the 1990s as well, on TV as well and immediately fell in love with the main theme, a feeling that was probably helped a lot by the cool main titles artwork. I wished they had applied the main titles artwork to the CD cover, but I'm not really complaining. MR. MAJESTYK is the only one of my four holy grails that has never ever been released in any form before - not on vinyl, not on CD, nothing. To be honest, I never found the actual movie particularly exciting or impressive, but never forgot the main title. It actually stuck in my head for years after I had first seen the movie, and I never had a VCR. Well, after I had become familiar with the emerging film music fan scene in the current decade (read: FSM message board), I did my modest contributions to ask for a release which went so far to (hand)write a two page letter to Charles Bernstein around 2-3 years ago. Back then I received an email response by an assistant of his who told me that Charles had appreciated my letter and was looking into the possibility of a release.

Well, it still took a while until this materialized, but that does not diminish my satisfaction about finally seeing it released in the proper CD edition Charles Bernstein's MR. MAJESTYK always deserved.

So, long story short conclusion. In a way this closes a book for me, though it's not something sad in any way. I am glad these four "dream CDs" have all materialized since I wrote these titles down into a Word 5.1 file 10-15 years ago. And I am looking forward to many more surprises in the vintage soundtrack world in the years to come. And maybe some of you might have enjoyed my little story about my "book" becoming reality.

Best wishes,

Urs


handstand, August 19, 2009; 2:31 PM