A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

The first movie adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel The Red Pony appeared in 1949 to much acclaim, and is still regarded fondly today.  It also featured one of Aaron Copland's few film scores.  It would take a bold film composer to retread Copland's old ground, but then Jerry Goldsmith is a bold film composer, and when the movie was made again, for television, in 1973, with an all-star cast led by Henry Fonda and featuring Maureen O'Hara, Ben Johnson and Jack Elam, he willingly took on the assignment.  It came at a time in his career when he was, for whatever reason, working extensively in television; the scores vary enormously in both style and quality, with the composer making use of early electronics on many occasions, sometimes with fairly uninteresting results - but this one is a real winner.

Goldsmith wrote numerous western scores yet they are barely mentioned today, due no doubt in part to how scarcely populated they were on album until fairly recently; indeed, The Red Pony has never been available, apart from on this particularly low-rent "private CD" which also features the stunning Prologue music from The Agony and the Ecstasy (curiously incomplete on my copy, not that it matters given that it is available officially elsewhere).  While several of his western scores are dark and edgy and one or two quite quirky, The Red Pony falls very much into the category pleasant, wholesome Americana and is clearly one of the composer's most impressive entries in the genre; it simply cries out for an official CD release and one can only hope that it happens one day.

Alternating between an effortlessly beautiful and evocative main theme for strings and more playful music for a small ensemble of woodwind, strings, percussion, harmonica and guitar, the music is truly delightful.  There is a real pace and energy to the music which summons up a lovely, romantic portrait of the old west, accentuating the flowing landscapes, galloping horses, lazy saloons, blazing sun - it has it all.  Goldsmith wrote many very strong western scores, but it's The Red Pony that (alongside Wild Rovers) really comes closest to the classic Copland / Elmer Bernstein sound that most people associate with the genre.  Yes, the middle-section (specifically track nine) features some dissonant action music, but it certainly doesn't seem out of place.  On the whole it's beautiful stuff and, if you can get your hands on it, comes very highly recommended.

Tracks

1. I (6:41)
2. II (:36)
3. III (4:09)
4. IV (3:00)
5. V (5:20)
6. VI (1:57)
7. VII (1:02)
8. VIII (1:03)
9. IX (4:45)
10. X (1:27)
11. XI (1:25)
12. XII (1:37)
13. XIII (3:20)
14. XIV (6:10)
15. XV (1:44)
16. The Agony and the Ecstasy (11:56)