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1M1 Records Newsletter
May/June/July, 2004
Contents
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- Welcome
- Recent Soundtrack Additions to the Website
- The 1M1 Records Website
- New & Upcoming Releases
- Farewell to Australian Pioneer Director Tim Burstall (director of "Eliza Fraser")
- Review of "The Celluloid Heroes" (Nigel Westlake) 1M1CD1025
- Review of "Grendel Grendel Grendel" (Bruce Smeaton) 1M1CD1033
- Correction to "Eliza Fraser" track listing
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Welcome
Welcome to 1M1 Records' May/June/July 2004 newsletter.
Our last release of "Grendel Grendel Grendel" has been very well received with an appreciated response from reviewers, collectors and magazines around the world.
With sadness we report the death of Tim Burstall following a stroke on April 19, 2004. He was 76.
Tim Burstall was the director of 1M1's January release "Eliza Fraser" and our forthcoming releases, "The Naked Country" and "The Last of the Knucklemen", both scored by Bruce Smeaton. He was instrumental in assisting 1M1 Records in producing these scores for release. In a section below I have more information about his work.
Forthcoming releases include the film score by Peter Best for "Bliss". We have had to delay the release of this score previously because of some damage to parts of the tapes while searching out new dubs or other sources for the music. Rather than going off half cocked we decided to delay the release until we had the best materials available. We are also working on "The Naked Country" which will also be released this year.
Three Australian scores have been added this month, for the recent Australian film, "Danny Deckchair", the 1996 film "Dating the Enemy" and the Oscar-winning "Shine", with David Hirschfelder's Academy-Award nominated score.
This month we have revised our secondhand section as well, with some new additions.
Our soundtrack release from 2002, "The Celluloid Heroes" was reviewed last week by the British soundtrack specialist Music From the Movies. A four and half stars out of five rating was accompanied by exuberant praise from the editor such as:
"The film has a wonderful score from Australian composer Nigel Westlake. His music captures every aspect of film music from adventure to romance, from the Silents to Technicolor, from blockbuster to documentary. In the thirty-six tracks there is taster of every mood and genre as the film transcribes the Twentieth century, but surprisingly the music flows like a well-oiled projector throughout the score, while drawing on some wonderful variations of the main theme and many auxiliary taster themes during the journey...
There are also many tender and romantic moments, which are beautifully orchestrated and weave seamlessly in-between the action cues. The music is always full of activity and highly entertaining, almost as if each cue is heralding its own new screen surprise...
For a score that covers something as diverse as one hundred years of cinematic history, Nigel Westlake has achieved wonders producing appropriate and enthralling music that has such a "belonging" feeling while still addressing each emotion and circumstance so effectively. The score for Celluloid Heroes is primarily action and comedy driven, but really has something for everyone."
Our last soundtrack release from 2004, "Grendel Grendel Grendel" was also reviewed by them with four stars out of five:
"'Grendel Grendel Grendel'... is a fantastic combination of minimalistic characterised drawings, bold bright colours, superb dialogue and refreshing imaginative music and songs. The dialogue is spoken by a cast of actors of international stature; Peter Ustinov, Julie McKenna, Keith Michell and Arthur Diagnam. ... The magnificent music comes from Australian composer Bruce Smeaton and is the glue that holds the project together. One M One have released the music from the film along with a lavish set of sleeve notes that explain the story and the significance of each cue...
The soundtrack's songs all have a lovely clarity and charismatic charm that is reminiscent of the songs of Noel Coward. The instrumental cues are just as appealing with moods that stretch from solemn, complex orchestral cues like 'Appeasing The King Of The Gods' to thrilling action cues like 'Attacking The Castle'. The music, which has a distinctly classical feel, is varied and always fun with just a touch of tongue-in-cheek humour".
We have included the full reviews below.
Also in this Newsletter is a correction regarding the printed slick originally shipped with "Eliza Frazer". All future shippings include an erratum correcting the track listing error.
That's it for this newsletter, but we look forward to having you back here for updates in the August 2004 Newsletter.
Your feedback is always welcome.
Philip Powers
info@1m1.com.au
Recent Soundtrack Additions to the Website
Three Australian scores have been added this month, for the recent Australian film, "Danny Deckchair", the 1996 film "Dating the Enemy" and the Oscar-winning "Shine", with David Hirschfelder's Academy-Award nominated score.
This month we have revised our secondhand section as well, with some new additions.
The 1M1 Records Website
Current Releases; Australian film scores which are still being manufactured and distributed.
http://www.1m1.com.au/current.html
More Soundtracks; previously released titles which are still available, including titles previously released by 1M1 Records which are no longer being manufactured, and brand new CDs of other soundtracks which 1M1 has in its stocks. Australian scores like "Lantana", "The Bank" (winner of the AGSC 2002 award for Best Score), "The Nugget", "The Tracker", "Two Hands", "Romper Stomper", "Silhouettes of the Desert", "The Dish", and a range of Brian May scores are available here. New this month are "Danny Deckchair", the 1996 film "Dating the Enemy" and the Oscar-winning "Shine". Several scores by Jerry Goldsmith, Georges Delerue, Elmer Bernstein, Ennio Morricone, Leonard Rosenman and Bruce Broughton are also available here. Use our 'search the site' feature to find scores by composer names, or click on "Browse Catalogue by Composer" hyperlink.
http://www.1m1.com.au/more.html
Collectors Items; rare 1M1 CDs priced in the premium range because of the difficulty in sourcing them, containing 1M1 CDs like "Devil in the Flesh / We of the Never Never", "Roadgames / Patrick", "Race for the Yankee Zephyr / The Survivor" and "Harlequin / The Day After Halloween": items which have very few soundtracks left in stock and are quite unlikely to become available again in the foreseeable future.
http://www.1m1.com.au/collectors.html
Secondhand Titles; soundtrack releases from anywhere in the world which 1M1 currently has in stock, containing quite a few bargain-priced excellent condition soundtrack CDs for sale, including a few Australian film soundtracks. CDs available this month include "In Love and War" (George Fenton), "Casper" (James Horner), "Don Juan de Marco" (a Michael Kamen gem) and "Charlotte Gray" (Stephen Warbeck), and the underrated "Some Mother's Sons" (Bill Whelan), to name just a few.
http://www.1m1.com.au/secondhand.html
New & Upcoming Releases
Forthcoming releases include the film score by Peter Best for "Bliss". We have had to delay the release of this score previously because of some damage to parts of the tapes while searching out new dubs or other sources for the music. Rather than going off half cocked we decided to delay the release until we had the best materials available. We are also working on "The Naked Country" soundtrack which will also be released this year.
In progress: "The Last of the Knucklemen", "Maybe This Time", "Departure", "Double Deal", "Five Mile Creek", "Eureka Stockade" and "The Trespassers".
Farewell to Australian Pioneer Director Tim Burstall (director of "Eliza Fraser")
Burstall was from the Melbourne side of Australian filmmaking and was one of the half dozen most important and influential people in the renaissance of the Australian film industry in the early 1970s, which is where the current industry boom began, now 35 years old.
His early films, "Stork" (with a screenplay by David Williamson) and "Alvin Purple" were two of the ground-breaking films in this period, along with Peter Weir's films, "The Cars That Ate Paris" (also scored Bruce Smeaton and hopefully a 1M1 release in 2005) and "Picnic at Hanging Rock" (another Bruce Smeaton score).
Tim Burstall's "Alvin Purple" was also notable because it was for about a decade the highest grossing Australian film ever. In today's dollars, it is still right up there with the smash hits of the "Crocodile Dundee" films and "Babe", when figured on the basis of 'bums in seats'.
Review of "The Celluloid Heroes" (Nigel Westlake) 1M1CD1025
The Australian film industry closely followed the developments in Europe. At the end of the Nineteenth century, Augustin Le Prince in Leeds and the Lumière brothers in Paris, unwittingly vied for the honour of inventing an industry that would eventually dominate the Twentieth century. By 1900 Marius Sestier was using moving pictures to record Australian life, such as the Melbourne Cup horse race, and the first public shows of "moving pictures" were staged. These small beginnings were to blossom over the next hundred years into a world-class industry, producing world famous films and movie stars.
To celebrate the centenary of Antipodean films, Film Australia and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation joined forces to produce a four hour film called The Celluloid Heroes, which follows the industry's development from the silent era to the dawn of the Twenty-first century. The film has a wonderful score from Australian composer Nigel Westlake. His music captures every aspect of film music from adventure to romance, from the Silents to Technicolor, from blockbuster to documentary. In the thirty-six tracks there is taster of every mood and genre as the film transcribes the Twentieth century, but surprisingly the music flows like a well-oiled projector throughout the score, while drawing on some wonderful variations of the main theme and many auxiliary taster themes during the journey.
The early tracks are particularly fun, alternating between a bold action theme, complete with heavy brass and clashing symbols, and delightful "silent" style picturesque characterisations that include brief references to styles such as the 'Can-Can', Westerns and even an Egyptian sand dance. However, it is the epic orchestral cues like 'The Kelly Gang', 'The Melbourne Cup and 'The Birth Of A Nation' that stand out. As the score develops the composer throws in enough different styles for ten films, from the Horner Glory-like 'Major Joe Perry' to the Mancini-like 'The Sentimental Bloke' and the John Williams-like 'The Banning Of Bushranger Films'. There are also many tender and romantic moments, which are beautifully orchestrated and weave seamlessly in-between the action cues. The music is always full of activity and highly entertaining, almost as if each cue is heralding its own new screen surprise.
For a score that covers something as diverse as one hundred years of cinematic history, Nigel Westlake has achieved wonders producing appropriate and enthralling music that has such a "belonging" feeling while still addressing each emotion and circumstance so effectively. The score for Celluloid Heroes is primarily action and comedy driven, but really has something for everyone.
- Andrew Keech, Editor, Music from the Movies (London), June 2004"
http://www.musicfromthemovies.com/review.asp?ID=3342
Review of "Grendel Grendel Grendel" (Bruce Smeaton) 1M1CD1033
The story of Beowulf has been told through the generations for more than fifteen centuries. In 1971 John Gardner adapted and expanded the classic poem into a novel, which in turn formed the basis of an adaptation by Alexander Stitt when he wrote the screenplay for a wonderful animated film Grendel Grendel Grendel in 1981. The animation is a fantastic combination of minimalistic characterised drawings, bold bright colours, superb dialogue and refreshing imaginative music and songs. The dialogue is spoken by a cast of actors of international stature; Peter Ustinov, Julie McKenna, Keith Michell and Arthur Diagnam as well as Phillip Adams who also produced the film along with Alexander Stitt. The magnificent music comes from Australian composer Bruce Smeaton and is the glue that holds the project together. One M One have released the music from the film along with a lavish set of sleeve notes that explain the story and the significance of each cue.
The album starts with a scene setting 'Prologue' narrated by Phillip Adams. The second cue, 'Tuesday Morning. Scandinavia. 515 AD; A Song For Grendel', also sets the scene musically with a dainty, charming song about Grendel sung by his mother. "Big, green and spotty, Grendel is the kind of son only a mother could love." With 'Thursday Afternoon' the score takes on a bold Knightly pose with flourishing trumpets and dashing horns. The album continues with some superb songs like 'The Shapers Song' with its harpsichord accompaniment, the charming 'The Dragon's Song' and the amusing 'We Know A Lovely Monster'. The soundtrack's songs all have a lovely clarity and charismatic charm that is reminiscent of the songs of Noel Coward. The instrumental cues are just as appealing with moods that stretch from solemn, complex orchestral cues like 'Appeasing The King Of The Gods' to thrilling action cues like 'Attacking The Castle'. The music, which has a distinctly classical feel, is varied and always fun with just a touch of tongue-in-cheek humour.
Grendel Grendel Grendel was obviously produced with the younger generation in mind and is bound to be a hit with successive generations of children. However, the music and songs work on other, more complex levels and that makes it just as appealing to older listeners. The music and lyrics are captivating and the album has the feeling of a classic musical. More information on the release can be found at http://www.1m1.com.au/index.html.
- Andrew Keech, Editor, Music from the Movies (London), March 2004"
Correction to "Eliza Fraser" track listing
We have noted that there is a track order mistake on our "Eliza Fraser" disc, which has been addressed.
In the original slick that was distributed with this CD this is what was printed:
29. Wild Koto 2.06
30. Duelling Strings 1.08
31. Elegant Guitars 1.39
The correct name for these three tracks are:
29. Duelling Strings 1.08
30. Elegant Guitars 1.39
31. Wild Koto 2.06
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