Search - Jerry Goldsmith :: The Shadow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Mostly instrumental + 2 quotes + 3 songs

Michele L. Worley | Kingdom of the Mouse, United States | 11/15/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Only three of the tracks have lyrics: the two versions of "Original Sin", and "Some Kind of Mystery." I don't consider the first and last tracks to be proper music; one's just Baldwin reading the trademark line, while the other's Orson Welles from the original radio show doing the same. Apart from the bookend tracks, the extra "Original Sin" recording, and "The Tank", the tracks appear in the same order as in the film.



As usual, I'll identify which portions of the film correspond to each track.



Several shorter musical passages from the film have been omitted, but most of the music has been included. If I don't mention it, it's not in here. Among the noteworthy omissions are: the drummers' fanfare at the temple; Khan's emergence from the crypt; the mandala scene, when Khan summons Professor Lane; the butcher of Lhasa dream sequence; and the final battle.



"The Shadow Knows" Not a song, just the Shadow's line after a *lot* of processing.



"Original Sin" (Theme from the Shadow) wasn't written by Goldsmith, but by Jim Steinman. This first version on the CD is about a minute and a half longer than the version from the closing credits of the film, but otherwise very similar.



"The Poppy Fields (Main Title)" picks up as the letters of the title begin floating onto the screen, with a horn carrying the theme and an accompaniment that gives the effect of an elaborately ticking clock. The track runs all the way through the opening poppy field sequence (hence the name), through the rival's confrontation with Yin-Ko, ending with the abrupt closing of Yin-Ko's moving little speech, "Wu, you are a wonderful friend, like a father to me..."



"Some Kind of Mystery" (written by Diane Warren, not Goldsmith) is performed by Sinoa, and appears in the film underlying the first Cobalt Club scene, as the song sung by the lady dressed to match the Club's blue theme. The dialogue of the rest of the scene obscures most of the lyrics, but they're quite appropriate: "You look into my eyes/steal my heart/read my mind...you cast a spell on me..." Very mellow voice with a lot of sax accompaniment.



"The Sanctum" begins with our first view of the ring on the cop's hand at the museum murder scene, tracks all the way through the message-tube delivery, ending as the Shadow receives his report from "the switchboard guy" in the Sanctum itself.



"Who Are You?" picks up a beat after the Sanctum, as the Shadow turns to face Shiwan Khan. It continues (with occasional pauses on the soundtrack, though not in the music, for better emphasis of the dialogue) all the way through their conversation, ending with the coin toss. (Unfortunately, this omits the nice dramatic flourish that accompanies Khan's little speech to his minions, which is visually a nice scene even if somewhat oddly placed.)



"Chest Pains" begins just as Khan's minions shoot the laboratory bodyguards, continues through the subsequent battle between the Shadow and the flunkies (including the heavy percussion passage during which the Shadow himself is wounded and becomes visible), ending with the Shadow's departure from the laboratory building.



"The Knife" (a.k.a., "Oh, *that* knife") begins just as Shiwan Khan rams it into the table between the Shadow's fingers, continuing through the confrontation (including the corny exchange of shots), ending with "It's just an empty lot, boss." Consequently, this contains a little chase music, followed by a variation on what I call the 'Hotel Monolith' theme.



"The Hotel" (a.k.a. "Hotel Monolith", and should follow rather than precede "The Tank") I tracked down the CD on the basis of the opening bars of this one track, because I *really* enjoy the scene where the Shadow finally realizes where Shiwan Khan's headquarters are. *That* is a dramatic musical passage, beginning with the cut from Margo's report to the vacant lot, and ending as the Shadow confronts Claymore in the ballroom.



"The Tank" begins with the cut from the Shadow's conversation with Margo to the tank by the docks. The music is swamped by dialogue and FX on screen until Claymore begins sealing up the tank, when the claves cut in, so it may take awhile to reach a point the listener is familiar with from the film.



"Frontal Lobotomy" begins as Khan opens his eyes in hospital after the final battle (*that* sequence was omitted from this CD), and runs all the way through to the beginning of the closing credits, when "Original Sin" kicks in.



"Original Sin" The version from the closing credits, same singer as the previous recording on the CD, who's listed as Taylor Dayne on the jewel case. I'm fond of it, although I think it's been arranged with too much percussion accompaniment.



"The Shadow Radio Show 1937: Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?" delivered by Orson Welles, the trademark opening of the original SHADOW radio broadcasts."

A Classic Goldsmith Score---A Hidden Gem!

T. Elder | Oregon, USA | 03/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I purchased this score back when it first came out in 1994. The sound of this music score is awesome! This CD has not sat on my shelf over the years, but has frequently been in my CD player. The music has an almost mystical quality. As usual, Goldsmith mixes the traditional orchestra with electronic elements. The combination on this album makes for an excellent listen, not to mention it will blow you away on a nice stereo with woofers. My favorite tracks are 1 and 5, but I enjoy listening to all of the tracks. My wife who usually prefers sweeping string themes, enjoys listening to this score. Definitely, this is one of Goldsmith's classic action scores and a must own for any film music collector or Goldsmith fan. The only downside is Goldsmith's music is mixed in with a bunch of vocal songs which at least to my taste are not worth listening to. I would rather have had more of Goldsmith's music. In other words, the five star rating is for Goldsmith's music and not for the unfortunate inclusion of non-score material or the lousy track ordering.Overall, great sound quality and fun to listen to!"

The Shadow Soundtrack

Anne M. Silcox | Champaign, Illinois United States | 04/15/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was a great movie. The soundtrack is great and the original song 'Original Sin' is fantastic. If you haven't seen the movie, check it out and then get the soundtrack."