A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire is frequently mentioned as one of the great American plays, with its steamy and violent emotional content going further than most other things had at the time (1947).  Marlon Brando's performance in the role of Stanley Kowalski on Broadway in the original production changed many people's perceptions of what could be achieved by a stage actor; and four years later, when it was turned into a movie by Elia Kazan, Brando's performance wowed just about everybody and, it is frequently said, changed acting forever.  His contribution to acting was epochal; no less epochal was Alex North's score, which was unlike anything heard previously in a movie and changed the possibilities for film music forever.

It was virtually a given that any film, about anything, would be scored almost wall-to-wall with romantic music in the 19th century European tradition.  North came along and became the first composer to use a 20th century musical form - jazz - to dramatically underscore a movie.  In doing so, he paved the way for composers like Elmer Bernstein and Leonard Rosenman to push things further and further in the years to come, with the likes of Jerry Goldsmith following shortly thereafter.  Goldsmith and North did in fact become the closest of friends and, after North's death in 1991, Goldsmith (with producer Robert Townson) set about recording some of his finest scores for the Varese Sarabande label, resulting in a terrific collection.

A Streetcar Named Desire is a terrific piece of music.  North had quite a habit of writing portentous, dramatic opening title pieces, and this is no exception, with the bluesy main theme making quite an impression.  North's great strength as a composer (well, one of many) was his ability to underscore dialogue with music that managed to be interesting but not intrusive.  Perhaps the most celebrated example is Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? but there are many fine pieces here as well, with the composer's music sounding like it is on the verge of exploding at any moment, but remaining subtle and restrained.  There is no finer example than "Birthday Party", a piece of great beauty but underlying tension and, ultimately, anguish.

More obviously violent is "Mania", a brilliant piece which must rank as one of the greatest musical portraits of a manic state of mind (sadly it was never heard in the movie since the scene was excised).  "Soliloquy" is extraordinarily moving, a piece full of sadness and despair.  Nobody has ever managed to write such effective music as North for such moments of movies.  Perhaps the most extraordinary thing of all is that this music is over fifty years old - but there is little or nothing to suggest that it couldn't be from a film made today - apart from the fact that there isn't a film composer around talented enough to write it.  

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Tracks

1. Main Title (1:23)
2. New Orleans Street (1:29)
3. Belle Reve Reflections (2:15)
4. Stan Meets Blanche (3:03)
5. Blanche and Mitch (3:43)
6. Stan and Stella (3:01)
7. Blanche (2:43)
8. Belle Reve (2:50)
9. Birthday Party (3:09)
10. Revelation (5:12)
11. Mania (2:00)
12. Soliloquy (3:50)
13. Seduction (4:31)
14. Della Robia Blue (2:52)
15. The Doctor / Affirmation (4:16)