Search - Jerry Goldsmith :: The River Wild: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

One of my favorites

Stuart M. Paine | Arlington, VA USA | 05/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The main musical theme in THE RIVER WILD is the 17th century Scottish folk song (according to Wikipedia) "The Water Is Wide". We first hear it on this disc in a relaxed and easygoing semi-country performance by The Cowboy Junkies.



Then it's Jerry Goldsmith's turn. His take on the melody is broad, romantic and entirely of a piece with his work for RUDY of the previous year (1993) and for POWDER the next and actually sounds like a Goldsmith original. It opens as gentle flute with an arpeggiated harp accompaniment for the first statement, rises a fourth to be picked up by trumpet for the second statement and then, again rising a fourth, blooms into a full violin section with a countermelody in lower strings. Gorgeous.



There's plenty of exciting irregular-metered action writing, too. In particular, the fourth track, "Wade Goes Under", is one of the more exciting cues you'll ever hear. Beautifully evoking the turbulence of the water as shown in the film, JG uses sporadic half-measures in 4, combinations of triple and duple meters and even just odd accents within regular common time - keeping the listener always stressed and off guard. Much of the score is like this, with strains of "The Water Is Wide" making periodic reappearances.



The Junkies likewise do a reprise performance within the End Title.



THE RIVER WILD is one of my favorites from Jerry Goldsmith's wonderful 1990s period. I would imagine that anyone who enjoys the music for the two previously mentioned films, FOREVER YOUNG (1992), CONGO (1995), THE EDGE (1997) or MULAN (1998) would certainly also enjoy this."

Pretty darn good

Eiriol Owens | Canada | 07/27/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD features a song in the fist and last tracks. It is a fairly nice little song that has some similarities to the main theme. The main theme is actually a folk tune (that can be found in several hymn books if one cares to look under the tune name of 'Appalachia'). It is a beautiful melody and this verson of it and orchestrations for it are wonderful. It is used several times in the score. My personal favourite is found in the last track. There are some brief hints at some of Jerry's star trek soundtracks which enhance the CD and are played off against the calm and contemplative aspects of the work. I've never seen the film (and I don't plan to either) but from what I can gather it is about a family engaging in some rather risky water sports....possibly to reforge or strengthen their relationships (either that or it is about a group of strangers engaging in dangerous water sports and becoming like a family). I can safely say that if my inferences are correct that the music is perfect for the nature of the film but certianly can be enjoyed on it's own as well."