Police Story

I can't say I've ever been a fan of police dramas and have never even heard of Police Story before, although by all accounts it was a good, well made cop drama from the early 70's. Award winning, I am reliably formed by the liner notes. I suspect for someone like me, too many spoofs would render watching it more amusing than exciting. Similar sentiments could probably be made about Jerry Goldsmith's music, which is actually much more funky and 70's than I imagined it would be. Of course, quality composition prevent it from falling into the realms of cheesy.

Goldsmith scored the Pilot Movie which was also theatrically released to good reviews. Of course, it was only the basis for the television series and so after the curtain raiser, the budget was a little restricted and so library cues were used, a selection of which are featured here. The Theme is extremely catchy and the 70's mannerisms are fairly obvious - most notably the guitar riffs that punctuate the other percussion and brass dominated arrangement. The score itself is somewhat low key, with a few bursts of the main theme breaking up some suspense building episodes with occasional bursts of action. A Love Affair features a little romance, adding a little extra dimension to the score, even if it is extremely short lived. The climax is the more protracted The Market & Quick Draw which doesn't reach quite the usual Goldsmith fervor for action, but is still fairly effective. A quiet finale and reprise of the main theme round out the score.

The Library Cue Variations are possibly more exciting simply because they take the basic material and make them less subtle. The more liberal inclusion of the main theme - Foot Pursuit being a particularly enjoyable arrangement - and less emphasis on subtle suspense do render them often more striking. The arrangements by Richard Shores (who also conducted) add more 'period' pop stylings - more guitars and percussion, together with the odd ill-advised synth - and means they also don't age quite as well as Goldsmith's original. However, the library selections are immense fun and despite being in mono, have superb fidelity.

The Police Story format was extended to hospitals with Medical Story although slightly less successfully. The music is meandering, mainly suspense and eerie, it's devoid of even a decent main theme. ER this ain't; add to that some rather horrible synth sections where surely a violin would have been preferable (there is an orchestra anyway) and the short suite is pretty forgettable.

Police Story isn't as good as similar Goldsmith scores of the period such as Contract on Cherry Street, however it is perhaps more fun and likely to be a welcome addition for Goldsmith fans. The stereo sound quality is superb - I don't know how Prometheus get so lucky with finding such good masters for their albums - and sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday. Interesting and helpful liner notes complete another quality album.