Lonesome Dove

I always thought that I'd immediately recognise Basil Poledouris' style in any score he wrote. Scores such as Starship Troopers and Robocop have many little things that make the score definably Poledouris. Lonesome Dove seems to have none of these stylistics, which is probably just as well since most of the Poledouris quirks seem very much orientated around sci-fi or action films. I didn't really know what to expect with Lonesome Dove; it won an Emmy for best television score and when you listen to it you definitely know why. If this had been a feature I'd have hoped that it would at least been given an Oscar nomination. It is much more a subtle and quiet western score than usual that in the hands of a lesser composer, could so easily mean dull. Poledouris is a composer who can be a little hit and miss sometimes, but this is a definite hit; filled with gorgeous themes, great variety with just the right hint toward the western scores of Copland, Moross and Bernstein.

The opening track features the gorgeous Theme from Lonesome Dove which is a broad, noble theme that makes for an enjoyable alternative to the more bouyant western themes that are so familiar. It is not perhaps the most memorable western theme ever written, but it is one of the most gorgeous and lyrical and this concert arrangement would be a worthy inclusion in any western compilation. The moments when a small brass choir comes together are perhaps the highlight of a wonderful cue. The theme does pretty much sum up the more modest and less exuberent feeling of the score as a whole, but there are of course several exciting highlights such as the thrilling Night Mares which even throws in the sound from South of the boarder which is a touch that Copland in particular was rather partial to and it works particularly well here. There is even some fun saloon music in Cowboys Down the Street, which is an extra that wasn't included on the original and provides for a nice burst of entertaining source music.

Of course, it's the lovely Coplandesque inspired drama that is the real highlight of this score. Sections such as the warm and gentle Deet Dies and the lush Arkansas Pilgrim use smaller groups of instruments rather than going for the full blown orchestral splendour every second. This is all the more surprising when you think of Poledouris' most famous scores such as Conan and Robocop. It is notable that Poledouris' orchestra at most only numbers forty players.However you'd probably never realise that the orchestra was anything much less than a typical set up. In some ways, the cleaner orchestrations make it easier to hear the inner parts that are often lost with a huge symphony orchestra; the superb recording only helps to enhance the detail that can be heard. The brass are full blooded and bright, the strings lush and warm while the occasional use of guitar such as in Sunny Slopes of Yesterday can be heard clearly above the woodwind and string backing textures.

Poledouris wrote almost fours hours of music for the entire series and so there was a lot of music to choose from. The selections contain quite diverse elements and such avoid too much repitition. I suspect that a release of the entire thing would be just overkill, but in this condensed form makes for a superb album. There is a very difficult to find, out of print and shorter previous release, but this adds several noteworthy cues and will hopefully be a lot easier to find. With Bruce Broughton being pretty much the only composer in Hollywood to be composing for Westerns to any extent, Lonesome Dove proves that the new generation can write scores that successfully update all that is great about the classic westerns. This is a more talky and thoughtful approach to the genre, but the music is no less robust and enjoyable and this is certainly one of the finest western scores of the 90's and such unreservedly recommended.