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The L.A. Confidential score truly is brilliant.

I can safely say that this is the kind of score that just about any serious drama that already includes songs by vocalists from the time period needs to glue everything together. The CD sure does pack a lot in only thirty minutes. Those lonely trumpuet solos are what do it for me the most, as are the eerie rumblings of the instruments heard when the police discover the aftermath of the Nite Owl massacre. The din of the timpani in a track like "Bloody Christmas" is what the hijacking shootout in "Air Force One" should have sounded like.

After all of my ranting and raving, the score does have its intended effect: punctuating the lives of the characters involved in the movie, making us as viewers feel what they feel. And that is the mark of a good film composer.


"Off the Record, On the QT, and Very Hush Hush"   June 5, 1998
 2 out of 8 found this review helpful

Mostly vocal soundtrack to this Oscar award winning film (Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress). Master composer Jerry Goldsmith is represented by a track at the beginning and again at the end. He's probably best known for the Oscar nominated score for that _other_ colorful, set-in-LA neo-noir. You know, the one directed by Roman Polanski, to which this film has often been compared. His work here is quite similar, but with a bit more bite--as befits the cinematic version of a hardhitting James Ellroy text (part of his famed "L.A. Quartet"). The vocal tracks cover the pre-rock era of the early '50s (the film is set in 1953): Dean Martin (upon whom Kevin Spacey based his Jack Vincennes character) clocks in with "The Christmas Blues" and Chet Baker croons "Look for the Silver Lining" among others. Compiled by director Curtis Hanson ("Bad Influence", "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle") and featuring detailed liner notes about each track.


One of Goldsmith's best scores in years   October 8, 1998
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

During the 1990's Jerry Goldsmith's music has gone from interesting and experimental to downright ordinary (exceptions:Rudy,First Night). LA Confidential returns Goldsmith to an earlier style of writing. Harkening back to his Chinatown score, Goldsmith writes a score dripping with noir (low key jazz, and moody strings)that will convince you that you are listening to a master at work. The major detour from Chinatown is Goldsmith's use of heavy percussion (tympany) and jarring strings. This most noticably comes out in "Bloody Christmas" the opening track. Highly recommended for a 30 minute listening experience.

~D

Todd Smith