last copies available! In 1964, Twentieth Century-Fox released a widescreen western called Rio Conchos. The film was an ''A'' production with a strong cast, including Richard Boone, Stuart Whitman, Jim Brown, Tony Franciosa and the great Edmond O'Brien. The film was hard-edged, fast-paced and action-packed, but with strong characters and a story that kept you involved from start to finish.
By the time of Rio Conchos, composer Jerry Goldsmith was well on his way to becoming one of the busiest of the then-new composers scoring films. He'd already done great work for television, scoring several memorable and classic Playhouse 90, Twilight Zone and Thriller episodes among many others, including his wonderful theme and occasional score for Dr. Kildare.
His film career had really taken off quickly and in a big way in the early 1960s. Before Rio Conchos Goldsmith had really only scored one western film, his very first feature film score, the 1957 film Black Patch. He'd scored a few western TV episodes from Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, Rawhide and Have Gun Will Travel and he'd also scored Lonely Are the Brave, which could be considered a modern-day western of sorts.
But with Rio Conchos, Goldsmith immediately showed that he could score westerns with the best of them and it began a long and fruitful association with Twentieth Century-Fox. He would, of course, go on to score many other notable westerns, including Stagecoach, Hour of the Gun, Bandolero!, 100 Rifles, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Rio Lobo, Wild Rovers and others. But his score for Rio Conchos remains high at the top of that great list like the film, his score is hard-edged, fast-paced and action-packed, with a memorable main theme that is one of his best.
The original soundtrack was previously released on Film Score Monthly, with the entire score presented in mono with a handful of stereo cues, the only stereo that could, at that time, be saved due to extreme wow and flutter. But thanks to new technologies that have emerged in the last couple of years, Mike Matessino was able to go back to the original elements and perform a miracle of a stereo restoration for the entire score except for three cues those three cues are presented so seamlessly you might not even be aware they are mono. The sound is amazing and really shows off Goldsmith's superb score in the best possible way.
Track listing
1. Main Title
2. The Prisoner
3. Get Me Out
4. The Exterminator
5. Where's the Water?
6. The Fuse
7. Bandits Ho
8. Smoke Signals
9. The River
10. Unlucky Lover
11. River Crossing
12. The Aftermath
13. Lassiter Remembers / The Lance
14. Wall of Fire
15. Lonely Indian
16. Cantina
17. A Change of Luck
18. The Captive
19. The Big Deal
20. Chief Bloodshirt
21. Drag Race / The Corral
22. Free Men / The Intruder
23. Special Delivery
24. Cast Credits
25. Rio Conchos (Performed by Johnny Desmond) |
