ribonucleic
01-05-2013, 05:09 PM
Goldsmith’s talent for psychological terror is undoubtedly the biggest selling point of La La’s album, as his majestically twisted score for 1966’s SECONDS stands as one of the most striking scores in a canon that included such spine-tinglers as THE OMEN, POLTERGEIST and ALIEN. However, the fear here doesn’t come from Satan, ghosts or an angry E.T., but rather a blown second chance at life that results in one of the most nerve-jarring body repos in cinema history. SECONDS marked Goldsmith’s second teaming for master suspense director John Frankenheimer after his relatively brief score for the coup d’etat drama SEVEN DAYS IN MAY. But it’s the under-rated SECONDS that still stands Frankenheimer’s most unnerving exercise in paranoia, with a grand sense of musical doom ticking away as an older man gets a “second” chance at youth (personified by his convincing transformation from John Randolph into Rock Hudson).
Goldsmith immediately sets an imposing tone with a rousing organ theme that would spook even J.S. Bach. And it’s a Baroque style that Goldsmith varies with both intensity, and subtlety throughout, always telling us the horrible fate that lays ahead for its protagonist. Darkly suspenseful, always-melodic strings and percolating electronics let us see the just-out-of-camera range members of the mysterious organization who are waiting to take back their gift. Yet such cues as “Quiet Isolation” and “Begin Again / Peaceful Aftermath” also provide introspective beauty, a tender guitar and piano lying on top of a light, melancholy orchestra. The electronic shimmering and rapidly panicking strings of “Nightmare” bring to mind the frenzied musical psychology of Goldsmith’s FREUD– a score most familiar to fans for director Ridley Scott’s tracking of it into ALIEN. And just as that music worked brilliantly for Dallas following the creature through the Nostromo ducts, SECONDS has a similarly florid, skin-crawling effect of evil gradually closing in on its hero. For inheriting a new life is far more of a curse than a blessing in Goldsmith’s hands, one where all-consuming fear has a lyricism all its own. - Film Music Magazine
"...the only source available from the studio vaults were mono 35mm music stems off of the original film. Because this three-channel split source contained dialogue, music and sound effects, there was a bit of bleed onto the music tracks. While many of the music cues were clean and easily mastered, the few cues with faint dialogue bleed had exacting and respectful clean-up work done on them to make the music as presentable as possible. Since we did not want to lose any of Goldsmith's precious, much-demanded music, there is still some bleed present in a few of the bonus tracks, but these tracks have been restored to the best quality possible given the source material."
1. Main Title (3:00)
2. 39 Lafayette Street (2:17)
3. Quiet Isolation (2:14)
4. Nightmare (2:50)
5. Transformation (1:56)
6. Rehabilitation / Strange Arrival (2:16)
7. Restless Hours (2:53)
8. Reflections (1:59)
9. Begin Again / Peaceful Aftermath (2:24)
10. End Title (1:15)
Bonus Tracks
11. Quiet Isolation (contains dialogue bleed) (2:27)
12. Restless Hours (contains dialogue bleed) (3:12)
13. Peaceful Aftermath (contains source) (0:52)
14. Begin Again (contains dialogue bleed) (1:44)
Running Time: 31:13
LLLCD 1109, limited edition of 3,000, out of print. Please PM for link.
[Sorry, I don't have FLAC, the booklet, or the bundled "IQ" score.]
https://mega.co.nz/#!CM8RjayS!R4CbDkXUyEn4htxrE9hw_ma9-Z1MZuDOvLH9o3-GrWQ
Edit: Fresh link added 9/30/13
