Jericho/The
Ghostbreaker (Limited Edition CD
Soundtracks)
Sound: B-
Music: B
The music archive of classic television is the most
underrated and underestimated of all and Film Score Monthly’s FSM label has
been occasionally accessing those types of archives, revealing music that is
rarely acknowledged. This time, they
offer a double feature of the short-lived war action TV series Jericho
(1966) and television movie pilot The Ghostbreaker (1965). The series only lasted 16 episodes, with
only 11 making it on the air. The
telefilm was a Horror/Supernatural genre work that barely was shown, yet was a
few years ahead of Night Gallery and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
Morton Stevens, Jerry Goldsmith, Lalo Schifrin, Robert
Drasnin, Richard Shores and Gerald Fried all contributed to Jericho,
which has actually found itself on the air on occasion thanks to the Turner
Networks. Now immensely successful
director Richard Donner helmed the pilot show and after hearing all this
scoring, Warner ought to consider putting out on TV down the line as part of
some cult TV showcase. The composers
were also working on shows like The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and all were
more than up to speed to deal with the grid of action series TV. Unfortunately, CBS badly scheduled the show
and it did not get the chance it could have, though shows set in World War II
were hits at the time.
The Ghostbreaker was only shown once and
remarkably forgotten. With a cast that
included Kerwin Matthews, Norman (Mr. Roper from Three’s Company) Fell,
Diana van der Vlis, Richard Anderson, Orson Bean, Kevin McCarthy, Larry Blyden,
Anne Jeffreys, Michael Constantine, Richard Bey and Margaret Hamilton. That it has been in the vault al these years
is insane, but that it has a score by John Williams is the last straw. Fortunately, FSM has finally unearthed the
music score and it is one of his best early scores. The theme song is playful without being juvenile, while other
scoring literally is of the kind that builds suspense, unlike what we usually
get now.
The combination on a single CD is a strong showing, beyond
its diverse nature. It is amazing such
great genre music has gone unheard for 40 years, but its FSM to the
rescue. Both scores come from ¼”
magnetic mono masters, carefully and nicely transferred for this limited
edition release. If you are interested
in picking up one of the only 3,000 copies that have been pressed, you can go
to listen to select sound clips right now at www.filmscoremonthly.com and read
more about the content and history of both scores. It also comes with the usually text and photo rich booklets that
make these CDs the gold standard for soundtrack releases. Act fast though, because if your PC can
stream music, you will hear why this is a key FSM release and soundtrack music
lovers will want to get this one.
- Nicholas Sheffo
