Perseverance Releases Rejected Film Score From “Chinatown”

Perseverance Records is releasing “Los Angeles, 1937”, the unused score by Phillip Lambro from Roman Polanski´s movie “Chinatown” (1974), starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. For reasons explained in the extensive liner notes by film music writer Gergely Hubai, the soundtrack was ultimately rejected by Paramount. Now, this score is available for the first time – and on Perseverance Records exclusively. 

Robin Esterhammer, owner of Perseverance Records, says: “Releasing the unused `Chinatown´ score has been our dream project ever since we did our first CDs with composer Phillip Lambro. You probably know Jerry Goldsmith´s replacement score, and now you have the chance to decide which one was a better fit for the movie.”

With 14 original tracks and four bonus tracks, the CD´s total running time is about 45 minutes. The bonus tracks are from “Structures for String Orchestra” and “Music for Wind, Brass and Percussion”, the two concert pieces that were instrumental in Phillip´s hiring for the project. The CD is available at a price of $13.95, and limited to just 1,000 units.

Robin adds: “This is a legitimate release, actually made possible thanks to a deal Phillip made with Paramount in 1974: the studio’s marketing department needed music to score the film’s trailer, but Goldsmith’s score wasn’t `exploitable enough´, according to one executive. Phillip allowed the use of his music in the trailer if he could retain the mastering and publishing rights in exchange. Paramount accepted the offer under the condition that should the music be released, it must bear an alternate title without mentioning `Chinatown´.”

In “Chinatown”, private eye J.J. Gittes (played by Jack Nicholson) is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (played by Faye Dunaway) who suspects her husband Hollis of having an affair. After Hollis, the builder of L.A.'s water supply system, is found dead, Gittes finds himself in a swamp of corruption and abuse of power.

Composer Phillip Lambro was born in 1934, in Wellesley, Mass., and studied music at the University of Miami. During his long and varied career, Phillip worked for the musical director of the United Nations, had his works premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra (“Miraflores”, “Dance Barbaro for Percussion”), wrote practice pieces for children (“Eight Little Trigrams”), scored documentaries (“Energy on the Move”, “Father Pat”), a chilling Euro-horror (“Crypt of the Living Dead”) and a cool crime flick (“Murph the Surf”).

About Perseverance Records

Perseverance Records, based in Los Angeles (California, USA), is a leading producer of soundtracks that haven´t been available for a long time or never at all. The company was founded in 2002 and specializes in film scores of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. For more information, visit www.perseverancerecords.com

Track Listing

1. Main Titles (1M1) 2:02
2. Tailing Hollis (1M2) 1:11
3. The Boy on a Horse (5M1) 3:09
4. Noah Cross (7M1) 1:07
5. Mariachi Source (7M1X) 1:04
6. Orchard Chase (8M1) 1:59
7. One Night with Evelyn (9M2-10M1) 2:42
8. Finding the Captive (10M2) 1:05
9. The Last of Ida Sessions (11M1) 2:05
10. Welcome to Chinatown (14M1) 0:58
11. Evelyn Shot (14M2) 0:33
12. Forget It, Jake (14M3) 0:54
13. End Titles (14M4) 1:03
14. Trailer Music 3:08

Structures for String Orchestra
15. Moderati 3:44
16. Lively 4:36

Music for Wind, Brass & Percussion
17. Lento misterioso 5:16
18. Allegro con fuoco 8:03

Total Time: 44:39

November 19, 2012 11:14am ET by Perseverance Records   Comments (0)

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