John Williams MISSOURI BREAKS Film Soundtrack LP Brando Nicholson United Artists

	£		28
	$		37

British 1st release of the original motion picture soundtrack LP to ‘The Missouri Breaks’ (1976, dir. Arthur Penn), composed by John Williams.

The movie starred Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson, with supporting performances by Randy Quaid, Harry Dean Stanton, Frederic Forrest, John McLiam, and Kathleen Lloyd.

John Williams – The Missouri Breaks (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1976)
'Refreshingly laid-back soundtrack to an offbeat western!'

Condition (refer also to notes at bottom):
VINYL: VG-EX. No marks or scratches on visual inspection. Played just pre-listing and sound clarity is superb. The odd click/pop in places.
OUTER SLEEVE/COVER: VG. Colours are unfaded and bright. Top right of front cover shows residue, tear and mark from price tag. Very light corner wear and no major obvious wear. Aperture is clean and unworn. Some disc showthrough outline, notably on top of rear. A nice cover in spite of aforementioned tear.
INNER SLEEVE: EX. Original. White paper with curved corners. Minor folding. Intact.

Label: United Artists UAS 29971
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: UK
Released: 1976
Genre: Folk, World, & Country, Stage & Screen, Instrumental, Theme
Style: Soundtrack, Ambient, Contemporary, Score, Easy Listening

Track listing:
A1.  Main Title (02:45)
A2.  Arrival Of The Rustlers (02:00)
A3.  Love Theme (02:55)
A4.  The Train Robbery (02:16)
A5.  Bizarre Wake (02:35)
A6.  Celebration (02:15)
A7.  Confrontation (03:10)

B1.  Love Theme (03:40)
B2.  Crossing The Missouri (02:10)
B3.  The Chase (03:24)
B4.  Remembrance (02:24)
B5.  The Horse Rustlers (02:13)
B6.  Love Theme (End Title) (03:23)


Review:
For such a quintessentially American composer, John Williams's forays into the western genre have been surprisingly few and far between.  By far his most familiar works are those for Mark Rydell's The Reivers and The Cowboys (both written a few years before Williams hit the real big time), but in the mid-70s (and just after Jaws propelled him into the limelight) Williams scored Arthur Penn's The Missouri Breaks, featuring a truly bizarre Marlon Brando performance.  It was the one and only pairing between two of Hollywood's most iconic figures (and good friends), Brando and Jack Nicholson; Brando's eccentricities on the screen led to initially scathing reviews, but in later years also contributed to the movie achieving something of a cult status.

Williams's music is small.  Very small.  For a composer who never seems able to resist an opportunity to write the biggest music he can imagine, this is quite something, and I have to say it's truly refreshing to hear Williams write in such a laid-back style and not take everything so seriously!  The music for The Missouri Breaks is performed by a modest ensemble of "American" instruments like harmonica, guitars of various descriptions, bass and percussion for a decidedly bluegrass feel (there's occasionally a very small orchestra too).  As always with Williams, the themes are the key, and even here he creates a few memorable ones.  The "Love Theme" is certainly attractive and appears a few times in different guises; the more up-tempo "Arrival of the Rustlers" and "Crossing the Missouri" will bring a smile to anyone's face; and there's some source music too, like "Celebration".  "Remembrances" is a beautiful, touching piece of music that shows just how much a good composer can do even with such modest resources.

There are some more dramatic passages (not least the opening title sequence) - "The Chase" and "The Horse Rustlers" are extremely dark, featuring some decidedly Goldsmithian piano jabs, the sort of writing Williams has done quite rarely, but always does so well.  Indeed, the same thing could be said of the whole score.  There are certain similarities with the earlier The Reivers and the (much) later Rosewood, but these are somewhat fleeting and The Missouri Breaks occupies a place all by itself in the composer's long and distinguished list of scores.  This album is a straight reissue of the previous Rykodisc release (featuring three bonus tracks of the original soundtrack recordings - the album as a whole is a re-recording, as was customary for Williams) and features fine liner notes by Jerry McCulley.  For an alternative view of Williams, it comes highly recommended, though with the caveat that those who enjoy him for his big orchestral works more than anything else may be in for something of a surprise.

Sandwiched between John Williams' career-defining scores for the blockbusters Jaws and Star Wars sits his work on The Missouri Breaks, a 1976 Western starring Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson.

While eschewing the grandiose string arrangements and heroic sweep of the composer's best-known efforts, it's nevertheless one of Williams' most delightful and ambitious scores, applying traditional Western instrumentation like guitar, banjo, and harmonica to melodies rooted in contemporary pop and jazz.

It's an approach as idiosyncratic as the film itself (and if anything only compounds the narrative's disjointedness), but taken on its own terms The Missouri Breaks is a rare exercise in subtlety and restraint from Williams' most bombastic period as well as a potent reminder of his remarkable versatility.


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ITEM CONDITION - items are graded according to Record Collector definitions - see below:

MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and / or creasing.

VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and / or defaced.

POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler.