CD REVIEW - SEBASTIAN + NEWS FROM TOP DOLLAR PR


Sebastian
Music by Jerry Goldsmith & Tristram Cary
Harkit Records HRKCD 8327 (EU)
23 Tracks 45:57 mins

1968's Sebastian, starring Dirk Bogarde and Susannah York was another release in the swinging spy genre that was sweeping cinemas and TV at the time. The man assigned to score it, Jerry Goldsmith had already enjoyed big screen success in that genre with his music for Our Man Flint and its sequel In Like Flint; and for TV there was of course The Man from U.N.C.L.E., for which he provided the iconic main theme and scored first season episodes. Nobody was better suited to Sebastian then. Which, of course was disappointing then for Oxford-born Tristram Cary who, with his interest in the relatively new field of electronic music, was asked to provide the electronic music effect used for the audio code embedded in the satellite radio signal, Oxford professor and expert decoder for the British Secret Service, Sebastian (Bogarde) was on a mission to crack. In the event, Goldsmith was obviously the right choice for this mix of thrills, comedy and romance.
His score, released on a now rare LP at the time was quite brief and, for this premiere CD reissue, it is only slightly expanded to include the Anita Harris version of Goldsmith and Hal Shaper's ballad "Comes the Night" (the other version, also included, is by Jimmy A. Hassell). As a bonus however, Cary's music is included, if music is indeed what you can call it (there's really nothing musical about it, to my ear, anyway), complete with spoken introductions, further expanding the disc from 11 to 23 tracks.
The greatest element of Goldsmith's score for the film is his title theme, a tremendously "with it" and infectious piece for electric guitars, brass, xylophone, percussion and vocal group - worth the price of this CD alone. After of course opening the disc, this versatile theme receives a number of interesting variations throughout the score, being at the heart of the action in "Checkmate," romantic in "Night Scene," and given a breezy orchestral arrangement in the optimistic "First Day at Work."
Apart from this theme and variations, there are a vocal group's rendition of the poppy song "You Gotta Let Me Go;" a somewhat jazzy arrangement of a Bach fugue in "The Decoders;" and a couple of typically Goldsmithian suspense cues of the time, "Carol's Apartment" and "The Trip."
If you're a Goldsmith fan and you haven't got the original LP, or even if you have and want to update to CD, you certainly should have this release in your collection.
Accompanying the disc is the usual quality booklet from Harkit, with stills from the film, a synopsis of the plot, profiles of the principal cast, producer and director, together with Randall D. Larson's essay on the film and its music; and a further essay on Cary by Professor Charles Bodman-Rae. Strangely, however, no profile of Goldsmith, a serious oversight if ever there was one. No matter, the music's what counts and it's great that the score has finally received a well overdue re-release. Order your copy from www.harkitrecords.com.


From Top Dollar PR:

Capcom® Partners with Sumthing Else Music Works to Release Video Game Soundtrack
Catalog in North America
Award-winning Label to Distribute Digital and Physical Soundtrack Albums including
Bionic Commando®, Resident Evil®, Dead Rising(TM), Street Fighter® and Monster Hunter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New York - May 11th, 2009 - Sumthing Else Music Works, the premier label dedicated
to licensing and distributing video game soundtracks, is delighted to announce that
it has entered into a multiple-title licensing partnership with Capcom®, a leading
worldwide developer and publisher of video games, to release the original soundtrack
albums for best-selling franchises including Bionic Commando®, Resident Evil®, Dead
Rising(TM), Street Fighter® and Monster Hunter. Under the terms of the agreement,
Sumthing Else Music Works will license Capcom's catalog for distribution on digital
and physical formats in North America. Physical CDs will be distributed by Sumthing
Distribution and digital releases will be available on Sumthing Digital
www.sumthingdigital.com and iTunes®.

"We are very excited to partner with Capcom in bringing their video game soundtracks
to the North American market," said Andy Uterano, President of Sumthing Else Music
Works. "Our mission as a label is to support and enhance the lifestyle experience
of the gamer by offering the latest and greatest soundtracks so they can enjoy and
revisit their favorite gaming moments through the music."
Building on its reputation as the industry leader for licensing and distributing
video game soundtracks, the deal with Capcom further expands Sumthing's growing
list of partnerships with the world's top video game developers and publishers
and continues its tradition as a distributor of high quality entertainment products
for the gaming consumer.

The deal announced today with Capcom includes the following titles:
Bionic Commando®


Resident Evil® 5

Street Fighter® IV


Dead Rising(TM): Chop Till You Drop


Dark Void(TM)

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite(TM)

Spyborgs(TM)

Release dates for each album will be announced shortly.

For more information on Sumthing Else Music Works and its complete catalog of video
game soundtracks, please visit www.sumthing.com and www.sumthingdigital.com.

About Capcom

Capcom is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive
entertainment for game consoles, PCs, handheld and wireless devices. Founded in
1983, the company has created hundreds of games, including best-selling franchises
Resident Evil®, Street Fighter®, Mega Man® and Devil May Cry®. Capcom maintains
operations in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Korea, with corporate
headquarters located in Osaka, Japan. More information about Capcom can be found
on the company web site, www.capcom.com.

Bionic Commando, Dead Rising, Resident Evil, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, Capcom,
Mega Man and Devil May Cry are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Capcom
Co., Ltd., in the U.S. or other countries. Street Fighter is a registered trademark
of Capcom U.S.A., Inc. Spyborgs and Dark Void are trademarks of Capcom Entertainment,
Inc. All other trademarks are owned by their respective owners.

About Sumthing Else Music Works, Inc.

Since its creation in the late 1990's by the world-renowned song writer, musician
and record producer, Nile Rodgers, Sumthing Else Music Works has become the acknowledged
industry leader in licensing and distributing video game soundtracks. Possessing
full in-house services worldwide, from retail marketing and sales through physical
and digital distribution, Sumthing is partnered with the world's leading video game
developers and publishers including BioWare, Bungie Studios, Capcom, Crytek, Eidos
Interactive, Epic Games, Gearbox Software, Microsoft, Mistwalker, Rare, SEGA, Silicon
Knights, Sony Computer Entertainment and Ubisoft. Their catalogue of titles includes
the best selling video game soundtrack of all time, Halo 2: Volume One, as well
as award-winning titles including: Halo Wars, Halo Trilogy, Gears of War 2, Fable
II, Too Human, Brothers In Arms, Crysis, Advent Rising, Fable, Gears of War, Halo:
Combat Evolved, Halo 2 Volume Two, Halo 3, Hitman: Blood Money, Hitman: Contracts,
Jade Empire, Kameo: Elements of Power, Mass Effect, Red Steel, Unreal Tournament
3 and many others.

Sumthing Else Music Works and Sumthing Distribution logos are copyright of their
respective companies. All other names of products mentioned herein may be the trademarks
of their respective owners.

All names of companies and products mentioned herein are the trademarks of their
respective owners.