The Challenge

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

The Challenge is one of those scores many people didn't seem to matter if it was re released or not, since hardly a word was spoken about it. Or it had to be the die hard listener of Jerry Goldsmith music who happened to rent the movie, just to hear the music in context. And in the case of a matter of interest, its always safe to bring another old score from the maestro on the market. Yet, how many scores are still unreleased because the choice is getting slim these days and even if I count myself as a big fan of Jerry, The Challenge isn't exactly what I call "necessary stuff". It is effective listening to a degree but on a large scale basis (meaning a sixty second score) it is basically too much to really pay attention at. Its also one of those scores that doesn't really cover A main theme that jumps out on the occasion to rock the score. It has a light and attractive love theme and something of a danger theme or motif but that's it. The rest revolves around more the moody strings and harsh brass blasts of Poltergeist, a score which was composed during the same time and frankly, it couldn't tip on that original soundtrack. No matter if it all simply listens OK for many, this score isn't a pick of interest for me and mostly listens straight through me, from track 4 to 9 it completely whispered along without me ever realizing a thing.

Yet after all this time it grows but mostly when I try to hum or sing along; it are just several tones and never the actual melody or aggressive style, and hardly with any enthusiasm at all. You do have to admit that the score is not more the melodic side kick to the film but actually either the light ethnic tone or the harsh pounding pace of the scene on screen. And this is all found in the tracks. You've got the soft tracks of the score like 'Main Title', with its opening of the danger flute motif and the love theme on soft strings, 'Half an Equal' that captures a bit more theme on flutes, '"Let's Talk"' which revolves around the lovely main theme and '"As you Wish" / End Title' which states the main love theme in the end after the harsh brass in the beginning. Also around these tracks the more mysterious string work is heard, capturing the same essence of scores such as Poltergeist and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, (like for instance in the second part of the track 'Half an Equal', 'The Pit' between 3.30 and 4.00 or 'The Traitor'). But equally appearing just as the soft music is the harsh pounding pace and the brassy trumpets, bringing equally Poltergeist to mind. Several tracks lean close to this style and those are 'Over the Top / Fish Market' which is really aggressive along with 'Surprise Visitor / Forced Entry', found at the end of the disc. And even if it doesn't really matter, the short statement of the wonderful theme of The Final Conflict is heard briefly in '"I Will Go"', just composed a year before this one.

Yet as an ethnic score to an Asian setting, there are several things that don't warrant my initial praise. Even if they make sense during it, the rattles and flutes don't really make the score more remarkable, they fit but they lack something of an impression, like another example The Joy Luck Club, I only accept them because it fits with the genre of the movie but that's it. They are hardly a piece of the score I remember as being impressive and the same can be said about the score overall. The themes aren't of the stature that you remind them for being these memorable knockout babies, neither is the score memorable for the rest of the action material or the thematic compositions, which equally explains the lack of interest for the theme. It is all nice but doesn't leave a spot of impression after the listen. I do have to comment that this sole love theme is just perfect, giving a sense of heroic nobility to the movie that must feel right at home. In other words, The Challenge as music material is nothing that contains bad stuff, and for representation it counts big time with a booklet covering impressive detail. It is however in my intention a score I easily skip to listen to. And if you would take 80% percent away from the good to brilliant scores I own, it would still be ignored simply because it doesn't give me satisfaction during and especially after it. When I listen to this score, it feels like I have done my duty to give it a try but that's it. Simply there are much better Goldsmith scores out there, especially these ethnic scores like The Wind and the Lion and Medicine Man. The Challenge is only meant for the real die hard fans of Jerry's career who actually were so relieved in seeing it released for commercial publicity.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Main Title (4.55)

2. The Wrong Sword (3.52)

3. Over The Top / Fish Market (5.22)

4. Half An Equal (2.55)

5. Lonely Road (1.59)

6. "Let's Talk" (2.15)

7. Interlude (1.01)

8. "Can't We Do It ?" (5.14)

9. The Pit (4.49)

10. Double Cross (5.53)

11. Bamboo Forest (0.31)

12. The Traitor (3.23)

13. "Stay With Me" (4.27)

14. "I Will Go" (1.22)

15. Surprise Visitor / Forced Entry (6.19)

16. "As You Wish" / End Title (5.50)

Total Length: 60.27

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: Jerry Goldsmith ===