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A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

Elmer Bernstein had the bad fortune to have several scores rejected during the 1990s, with I Love Trouble, A River Runs Through It and The Scarlet Letter coming to mind (and this has, sadly, continued into the new decade as well, with scores already having been rejected for Rat Race and Gangs of New York).  The only one of them to (officially) turn up on album is Last Man Standing, Walter Hill's much-disliked western from 1996 starring Bruce Willis.

The movie is grim and uncompromising in its bleakness; to be honest, Bernstein's score is mostly nothing of the sort.  It is certainly not as bright and bouncy as his classic western efforts from the 1960s and 70s but even so, it is often a soothing and pleasant listen, which would seem ill-fitting for the movie.  It's not all like that, though; the opening cue, "To Jericho", is as far removed from Bernstein's typical style as could be possible; it still evokes Aaron Copland, at least towards the end, but it is without much of a melodic core, and suffers.  "Hijacking" is the first real action music, but again it is not entirely satisfying, seemingly to lack Bernstein's usual energy and charm.

The music's strength is probably exactly what director Hill didn't like, the melodic basis of much of the middle section.  "Felina's Story" is beautiful - written for the smallest of ensembles, it is touching though very different from most of Bernstein's scores.  The theme heard within the cue is subtle and very restrained and you have to listen a few times just to really get a feel for it, but persistence is worthwhile in this case.  "Free" presents another theme, a more noble effort with a great solo trumpet line, though again it is very low-key.

"The Beating" is the lengthiest cue at seven minutes, and certainly some of the music does conjure up as nasty images as the track title implies, with brass hits and percussion doing their duty; it's some of the darkest, harshest music Bernstein has ever penned.  The first half of the cue is not terribly interesting (indeed, it is sometimes barely audible) but the second half is bold and ballsy music, quite unprecedented in Bernstein's career - it's actually more like something his friend and colleague Bernard Herrmann may have written.

This is an unusual album.  The first half passes mostly without incident, but the second features some excellent music.  I have mixed feelings over whether it would have worked in the film (unlike with Ry Cooder's replacement score, which certainly didn't).  Releasing rejected scores is still a very rare practice (despite the seemingly ever-increasing number of them) and it's always interesting to hear what a different composer's take on a film would have been, and here you have the chance.  It's not classic Bernstein, but it's certainly not bad.

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Tracks

1. To Jericho (3:51)
2. First Guns (2:26)
3. Hijacking (2:14)
4. Hello (1:40)
5. Change (1:23)
6. Felina's Story (3:59)
7. Free (3:31)
8. The Beating (6:58)
9. Enough (1:23)
10. Saving Joe (1:46)
11. One of the Last (3:03)