CD REVIEW - All The Rivers Run


All The Rivers Run
Music by Bruce Rowland
BSX Records BSXCD 886 (U.S.)
25 Tracks 42:30 mins

Previously only available as a Swedish LP and as 3 tracks on a 1990 Bay Cities Bruce Rowland compilation CD, BSX Records have done us a great service in releasing Rowland's score for this 1983 Australian mini-series, adding 13 previously unreleased cues to the original 12 track programme.
For those of you, like I, who love melodic film music, and fondly remember Rowland's scores for the Snowy River films and Phar Lap, this CD will come as a real treat, as it's jam-packed with melodies, commencing with the propulsive main theme over the "Opening Titles," a theme that is reprised a number of times, sometimes in more laid-back, expansive style. This is immediately followed by the tender - if a little brief - piano-lead "Deli & Brenton Love Theme." Next up is the simply gorgeous "River Theme," followed by the sad, piano-lead "Adagio in A Minor." "The Old Sea Captain" is another fine flowing theme, as is "Rayburn's Theme," which is first introduced in "Mrs. Pike," but later given a fuller treatment in the penultimate track.
Other elements of the score include variations on an Irish jig, first heard in "Paddy Goes Overboard" and catchy country & western music, featuring harmonica, banjo and fiddle for the character of Cyrus. There's also some '20s-style jazz in "The Automobile," and a breezy polka in the "Love Theme Montage."
Really, no track disappoints on this wonderfully tuneful CD, which comes accompanied by Randall D. Larson's notes on the production and its music. So, if you have the other Bruce Rowland scores I mentioned, you will certainly want to add this one to your collection, but hurry, the release is limited to 1,000 copies.