Jerry Goldsmith - The Ghost & The Darkness [Soundtrack] (2015)

Wow! Spectacular 2-CD presentation showcases Jerry Goldsmith at his most exciting, evocative best. Intense, flavorful, stirring! The Ghost And The Darkness soundtrack is all that and more. Stephen Hopkins directs Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer with famed screenwriter William Goldman on board to chronicle riveting true story of 1898 British bridge-building site in Tsavo region of Kenya turned terrifying nightmare, courtesy two ferocious man-eating lions that claimed more than one hundred lives - apparently for sport. Terror on an epic scale, presented by Paramount Pictures and Constellation Films. Described to composer as Lawrence Of Arabia meets Jaws, Jerry Goldsmith anchored his melodies in feel of classic David Lean epics, then crossed them with some of his most ferocious low brass action motifs ever. The result is a massive work both richly melodic, frighteningly aggressive. Original 1996 Hollywood label album offered just 12 selections from Goldsmith's score plus five African vocals by The Worldbeaters under George Acogny's direction. Now premiering in this packed 2-CD set are all of Goldsmith's cues, including 70-minutes of score appearing in the film plus wealth of alternates assembled by Goldsmith and engineer Bruce Botnick to accommodate post production changes. Numerous cues were recorded, then re-recorded, then worked again with complex layers of native voice, electronics, percussion over orchestra to yield still further revisions. Voices in some cues were hushed and subdued under the orchestra, then revisited to yield voices with startling emphasis and clarity. Sometimes layers of electronics were recorded anew to add further density, other times they were peeled away to create leaner takes. Changes are both subtle, profound - and all of them appear in this generous set! Some 100 minutes of incredible music are followed by the original album release in its entirety, which interestingly features yet further altered mixes and performances of nearly every scoring cue, resulting in more than two hours total of epic Goldsmith. Previously unreleased sequences abound. Highlights include splendor and excitement of "Over There", "One Shot", "First Kill", riveting action of "John's Nightmare", "First Kill", harrowing suspense of "The Trap", "The Cave" and many others. Major spotlight goes to complete nearly 10-minute finale of score that climaxes with premiere release of Goldsmith's "revised" coda featuring resounding fortissimo major chords that play just prior to end credit crawl. A magnificent, triumphant finish! Entire 2-CD set presented in dynamic stereo from original digital scoring session mixes made by Bruce Botnick. Notes by Jeff Bond plus vivid graphic design by Joe Sikoryak complete this essential addition to any Goldsmith library. One of the composer's finest! Jerry Goldsmith conducts National Philharmonic Orchestra. Intrada Special Collection 2-CD set available while quantities and interest remain!