Hour of the Gun

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

He had already worked on a couple of westerns, but it still seemed that Jerry Goldsmith wanted to explore it more and more. And why he wanted to do so was because he wanted to get better in it. After Rio Conchos, you had the feeling Jerry was able to adept at the genre with a good theme, and he was able to pour emotion into it, but the deal was more gritty and low that on specific moments, it felled like it couldn't break out for good. Enter Hour of the Gun, yet another western about Wyatt Earp, Goldsmith felt it was equally important to cement this score around themes. Yet here, one theme did the whole business and he basically made variants on it to keep it going and going. And on the 30 minute release of Intrada, you feel it keeps going wonderfully, even if it repeats that theme again and again. That's the beauty of this score, it keeps going with that theme and it never fails because of that. Of course also important is that the theme (like Rio Conchos) is one of those easy whistable themes to like, and it gets its upbeat version already early in 'Hour of the Gun Theme'. Some people refer it as a variation on the Rambo theme and you could call it that, but its equally funny to see it so likeable in a western. It showed Goldsmith had a knack for themes in his early as latter career. The second track 'Main Title (O.K. Corral)' does nothing more then state the theme, here moodier, low guitar, grittier in the outcome and with some percussion making the distinct feeling like Rio Conchos did, however here sounding just more entertaining.

It continues with 'New Marshall', variation on the theme and brassy played forward on a playful guitar rhythm, even in a 1 minute piece Goldsmith adds so much Western bounciness to it. 'Ballot Box' could fail miserably because of its gritty nature, but its the theme that grows with string emotion which makes it doesn't get that far, and again parts of Rio Conchos come to mind. And 'Ambush' doesn't change that pre score minding, here like in the heroic sections of that score the main theme explodes in a pompous version, still gritty because of the mood its the dancing main theme around it in heroic fashion which makes it just Goldsmith classic, YES already then! 'Whose Cattle' has rhythmic music ala Goldsmith, having maraca's for the bounce while 'The Painted Desert' has flute, oboe and hobo join in on a nice variation on the theme. 'The Search' covering the theme is here backed up by warmer sounding guitar and maraca's, 'Doc's Message' is near the end growing emotionally with some suspense and the outing of the theme makes it briefly worth it. And naturally the theme is making its statement firm in 'A Friendly Lie', orchestral with harmonica, its as good as it ever sounded. You could say Hour of the Gun is dark and covering just the theme, but the quality is, you love it for that so much. For 30 minutes perhaps just enough, but the theme makes the album because it appears just over and over in the score, and shows Goldsmith's knack for keeping it pleasant from start to finish. Hour of the Gun is no classic, but like many in its genre it has got a theme which makes it worth it and a feel which defies Goldsmith's touch.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Hour Of The Gun Theme (2.47)

2. Main Title (O.K. Corral) (5.00)

3. New Marshall (1.12)

4. Ballot Box (3.47)

5. Ambush (2.21) Excellent Track

6. Whose Cattle (2.53)

7. The Painted Desert (1.40)

8. The Search (2.52)

9. Doc's Message (4.46)

10. A Friendly Lie (4.23) Excellent Track

Total Length: 31.48

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