soundtrack – Page 15

Cross That Bridge (from “Schmigadoon!”)

Schmigadoon!, a comedy TV series that premiered on Apple TV+ last month, is a parody of and homage to Golden Age musicals from the 1940s and 50s. “Schmigadoon! is nothing if not corny,” said Vulture TV critic Kathryn VanArendonk in her review. “It is a backstage musical (like Cabaret or Follies, a musical about putting on a show) that’s stuck in the world of integrated musicals, shows like Oklahoma! or Sound of Music, where songs are naturalistic extensions of the narrative’s emotional arc. In other words, it is a show where the only real way to register your feelings about being trapped in the aesthetics and the morality of a Golden Age musical is to burst into song about how weird and frustrating it all is. And really, what could be cornier than eventually giving in and singing about the transformative power of love (and also musicals)?”

“Cross That Bridge” is from the third episode of the show, and takes its inspiration from the Frank Loesser songs “Brotherhood of Man” (from his 1961 musical How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying) and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat” (from the 1950 musical Guys & Dolls). The tune features modulations at 1:58 and 2:14.

So Much Better (from “Legally Blonde”)

We conclude our week-long series on Legally Blonde with “So Much Better,” the Act 1 finale. After breaking up with Elle, Warner proposes to his new girlfriend Vivienne right in front of Elle, leaving her devastated. Immediately after, however, Professor Callahan posts the list of who has been selected for his highly coveted internship positions, and Elle makes the cut. She realizes that life is about more than just one guy, and she has more potential than she previously knew. Key changes at 0:38, 0:51, 1:03, 1:29, 1:41, 2:04, 2:28, 2:37, and 2:50.

Legally Blonde (from “Legally Blonde”)

The fourth installment in our week-long series on Legally Blonde:

The title song from the musical comes in Act 2. After Elle makes a discovery in the courtroom that is crucial to helping Callahan’s case defending Brook Windham, he asks the rest of his defense team to leave and forcibly kisses Elle; she responds by slapping him, and Callahan fires her from the case. Elle starts to question if Callahan ever really respected her for her intellect and whether she should stay at Harvard. Key changes at 0:49, 1:06, 1:23, 2:07, 2:23, and 2:42.

Whipped Into Shape (from “Legally Blonde”)

“Whipped Into Shape,” the third installment of our Legally Blonde series, opens Act 2 of the show and introduces us to Brooke Windham, a fitness instructor who has been accused of murder and is being defended by Elle’s tutor Professor Callahan. Key changes at 2:34, 3:06, 3:13, 3:21, 3:29, 3:37, and 3:54.

Ireland (from “Legally Blonde”)

The second in our Legally Blonde series this week:

“Ireland” introduces us to the hairdresser Paulette, who comforts Elle after Warner unexpectedly breaks up with her. Over the course of the song, Paulette narrates her own complicated romantic history, accompanied by her beloved Irish “Celtic Moods” CD. Key changes at 0:22, 1:15, 1:30, 2:05, and 2:23.

Omigod You Guys (from “Legally Blonde”)

The first of our week-long series of tunes from Legally Blonde:

The opening song in the show, “Omigod You Guys” introduces us to Elle Woods and her fellow Delta Nu’s, who are helping Elle pick out a dress for her planned proposal to Warner Huntington III later that night. Key changes at 0:47, 1:14, 1:31, 1:54, 2:23, 3:04, 3:16, 3:36, 3:49, 4:28, 4:45, 4:51, 5:05, and 5:19.

Stephen Christopher Anthony | Capable Of

“Capable Of” is from a new musical, Chaining Zero, that is currently in development. The show has had multiple readings and workshops, including a recent one in New York. The writers, Jeffrey James and Justin Halpin, have been releasing musical numbers on various social media platforms in a series, Chaining Zero Sessions, featuring notable Broadway performers such as Christopher Jackson, Jackie Burns, Jay Armstrong Johnson, and Stephen Christopher Anthony. Key change from A to B at 2:56.

Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra | Star Eyes

Written by Don Raye and Gene de Paul, “Star Eyes” was initially recorded by Stephane Grappelli, praised by NPR as “one of the jazz world’s greatest violinists. Grappelli first found fame in France with Django Reinhart’s Quintette du Hot Club. He went on to an illustrious career playing with everyone from Oscar Peterson to Paul Simon to Yo-Yo Ma.”

In 1943, the tune became part of the soundtrack for the movie I Dood It. IMDB summarizes the plot of the wartime film: “A bumbling pants presser at an upscale hotel’s valet service nurses an unrequited crush on a Broadway star. He gets more than he bargained for when she agrees to marry him, to spite her womanizing fiance, and encounters Nazi saboteurs.” Variety gave the film a tepid review: “Metro has wrapped Red Skelton and Eleanor Powell, among other names, around a popular Skelton radio phrase that’s used for the film’s title, and the net result is moderate entertainment. I Dood It is, by Metro’s usual standards, not one of its best musicals, but that’s due mostly to the screenplay. While the plot of a musical can generally be accepted only as a cue for the song-and-dance, the failing is particularly apparent in Dood It.”

Other than the soundtrack, a redeeming facet of the film is that it managed to feature jazz pianist Hazel Scott and triple-threat Lena Horne, two pillars of the African-American arts community (though Scott was born in Trinidad). Both women later became known for their civil rights activism.

After the tune starts in Db major with Bob Elberly on vocals, 1:32 brings a quickening tempo and a harmonically unsettled transition. At 1:52, the big band’s conductor, the one and only Jimmy Dorsey, stops keeping time and delivers an all-too-short alto sax solo in G major. At 2:19, it’s Helen O’Connor’s turn to shine, with a section in Bb major.

A big thanks to Jamie A. for another wonderful submission!

Edge of the World, feat. Yvonne Elliman (from “War Games”)

The 1983 film War Games targeted a teen demographic, but was well-reviewed as a thriller for general audiences. The film captured the Cold War zeitgeist of the US completely: nearly half of the country (100 million TV viewers) had just lived through the airing of the The Day After, a film about the dire consequences of nuclear war. From a review by the renowned film critic Roger Ebert: “Sooner or later, one of these self-satisfied, sublimely confident thinking machines is going to blow us all off the face of the planet. That is the message of War Games, a scary and intelligent new thriller … The movie stars Matthew Broderick as David, a bright high school senior who spends a lot of time locked in his bedroom with his home computer. He speaks computerese well enough to dial by telephone into the computer at his school and change his grades. But he’s ready for bigger game.”

David interacts with a supercomputer which just happens to belong to the United States Department of Defense; he unwillingly triggers it to play a “game” which leads DoD personnel to think that an actual nuclear attack on the US is underway. MovieThemeSong.com explains that the supercomputer “begins simulating endless nuclear war scenarios, every one ending with the result ‘WINNER: NONE.’ Eventually (it) comes to the film’s famous conclusion about nuclear war: The only winning move is not to play.”

The film’s score, written by busy film/TV composer Arthur B. Rubinstein (not to be confused with the noted classical pianist), included an instrumental closing credit entitled “Edge of the World.” This shorter version features vocalist Yvonne Elliman, perhaps most known for “If I Can’t Have You” from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (1977). The video features scenes of the nascent romance between David and his classmate Jennifer (Ally Sheedy), complicated by the very real risk that their world might soon disappear. Modulations are more the rule than the exception on this short track, starting at 0:28.

Variety reports that Rubinstein, who died in 2018 at age 80, reflecting on his career, said: “In classical music and jazz there is a constant, living swirl of wonder and discovery — both sensual and intellectual. As a composer and conductor, I’ve always tried, in some way, to be part of that swirl.”

For contrast, here’s the more expansive original version of the closing credits.

Billy Preston + Syreeta | With You I’m Born Again

“With You I’m Born Again” (1979) was “the last Top 10 charting hit of Billy Preston‘s prolific career,” Songfacts reports. “He was active in music from the 1950s into the 2000s, and was then stopped only when he lost his battle with kidney disease. This song was done in duet with Syreeta Wright, a soul and R&B singer best known for working with and being married to Stevie Wonder.”

In addition to his own hits such as “Nothing from Nothing” and “Will It Go Round in Circles,” Billy Preston was also known for playing keyboards as part of the Rolling Stones’ touring band. He was honored with the title “fifth Beatle” for his intermittent work with the Fab Four.

Songfacts continues: “‘With You I’m Born Again’ was written specifically for the film Fast Break, a very routine sports-comedy film at the tail end of the ’70s from producer Stephen J. Friedman, who made a name for himself in comedy flicks, especially sports-related ones. Today, the song is the most notable thing people remember about the film, which tells you something. Songwriting credits here go to singer Carol Connors and songwriter/composer David Shire; Shire also had a hand in the scores to the films Saturday Night Fever and Return to Oz. As for Connors, she … co-wrote the theme to the 1976 film Rocky and several songs from Disney’s the Rescuers film series.”

The 2016 book Dynamic Duets: The Best Pop Collaborations from 1955 to 1999 (Bob Leszczak) recounts a story from songwriter Connors: “The late great Marvin Hamlisch told me that he was in the barber chair when he first heard the song on the radio and stood straight up in amazement, narrowly missing getting his throat cut by the scissors.”

Starting in D minor, the tune begins with a lazy, string-sweetened rubato with a lyrical flute countermelody (0:53 – 1:13). At 1:38, a groove is finally added to the mix for the second verse as the orchestration continues to build. At 2:51, a late modulation to Eb minor crashes down on us; at 3:19, returning to a gentle rubato, we close in Eb major.