Joy In The Morning (Limited Edition CD Soundtrack)
Sound:
B Music: B
In the
middle of the chaos of his divorce and impending split from a declining Hollywood studio system, Bernard Herrmann
did the music for the 1965 drama Joy In
The Morning for M-G-M. It offers the
more string-sentimental side of his work from a man who was not always know for
scoring lighter fare, as the project caught him in rare form. Part of this is simply coming from an
unfortunate time in the composer’s life.
I cannot
say that I have been able to get through this film and it certainly has not
been issued on DVD yet, but it is fair to say it would not have had as
passionate a soundtrack as it did without lucking out to have Herrmann. The low point is the title song as written by
Paul Francis Webber and sung by male lead Richard Chamberlain in what was an
attempt to establish what we would now consider an Adult Contemporary music
career. He was recording for the
now-defunct M-G-M Records at the time, but no other “bonus track” material from
those works is included here.
The rest
of the work in the usually highly-elevated instrumentals we have come to expect
from Herrmann, with many of his signature sounds. Herrmann manages to not let this sound like a
work for Alfred Hitchcock. It also
raised the level of a film that would not be remembered much and certainly not
as well as it even is now.
The PCM
2.0 Stereo has some slight distortion here and there, but is decent
throughout. If Warner Bros. does ever
issue the film on DVD or the like, they ought to take this material and make a
stereo version of the film sound. The
usually excellent booklet found in all Film Score Monthly FSM label releases is
included, but Herrmann fans should note that this and his music from On Dangerous Ground (reviewed elsewhere
on this site) are limited to a mere 3,000 pressings, so be sure to go to www.filmscoremonthly.com for more
details and how to order.
As for
Herrmann, this was unbelievably the last film score he ever finished for a
major studio film. His relationship with
Hollywood and Alfred Hitchcock come to an end when Hitch rejected his score for
Torn Curtain (1966), but Herrmann
went on doing great scores for cutting edge filmmakers (Francois Truffaut on The Bride Wore Black in 1967, Brian De
Palma on Sisters in 1973, Larry
Cohen on It’s Alive in 1974, and
finally Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver
in 1976). Hollywood may not have had Herrmann around
anymore, but cinema did and he will endure as highly as anyone who ever has,
does, or will work there.
- Nicholas Sheffo
