Music Composed by Jerome Moross
Rating: *****

I can say very little about The Big Country score that hasn’t already been said by just about every film music scholar in the industry. It’s easily one of the five most legendary and influential film scores for the Western genre, a genre that used to be one of the biggest in Hollywood. Jerome Moross was essentially a concert composer who occasionally moonlighted as a film composer, and for The Big Country, he essentially wrote a sprawling Americana ballet that moonlighted as a film score. If you’re somehow entirely unfamiliar with the score, imagine Aaron Copland’s Billy the Kid, amplify the intensity by about 20 degrees, inflate the parameters into sprawling epic form, and throw in some of the most memorably melodies ever written for a Western. It’s wild, lovingly over-the-top Americana in the best way, music that virtually defined the genre until Morricone and Bernstein rewrote the rules all over again.

And indeed, the music is about the best thing the picture has to offer. William Wyler’s epic has its heart in the right place, but this longwinded study of masculine violence and hatred in the Old West would drag insufferably without Moross’s thrilling music. Indeed, because the music is the most interesting thing happening at almost any given moment in the movie, I can forgive Moross for being nearly oblivious to any of the actual drama conflict in the film. With a small handful of exceptions, the music is almost unflinching in its bucolic glee, often standing completely at odds with the dark story unfolding onscreen. This means that when Hannessey’s ruffians humiliate McKay (”The Branding”), or when Major Terrill stubbornly leads his clan into a needless battle (”Ambush In Blanco Canyon – Part One”), the music remains chockfull of jubilant charm. At times, it almost seems like Moross was only interested in how much fun it is to watch men riding horses, unconcerned with where those horses were going or why the men were riding. And yet, seemingly for no good reason, it works. The truth is that the onscreen action in The Big Country is so monotonous that any thrust or excitement that comes from the music is welcome. Much as the music sometimes plays at odds with the point of a given scene, every scene still plays vastly better with Moross’s thrilling presence. Though the music isn’t always appropriate, it invests the film with so much undeserved magic and excitement that I have a hard time honestly faulting it.

Jerome Moross

And magic and excitement are plentiful on this CD. From the iconic “Main Title” straight through “Night in Blanco Canyon,” every other track seems to unveil a new sprawling melody, any of which could dominate a lesser film score. Better still, after this point these wonderful themes get their own fully realized developments, making the score feel like a complete whole and not a mere collection of highlights. Again, it’s often like listening to a Cowboy ballet, where every cue is a complete piece in its own right that simply happens to function perfectly in the context of a larger work. And though my earlier paragraph seems to indicate the opposite, not every track is a loud rambunctious rodeo piece. The boisterous main theme also goes through quite a few gentler variations as well, and the “Night in Blanco Canyon” theme lends the score a great sense of pastoral mystery every times it appears. Every now and then Moross even introduces darker and more violent ideas, particularly in “Horror Stories” (a rather incidental scene to go for broke with more vicious music, I’ll grant) and in “The Death of Buck Hennessey.” The latter actually does reach the level of great drama, perhaps because Moross understood that this was the only truly emotionally affecting moment in the film.

But mostly, it’s the musical rowdy-dow, hoopin’ and/or hollerin’ that dominate your 74 minutes of cowboy merriment. Again, my recommendation should mean very little for a score like this – it’s one of the canonized film music classics, and if you’re interested enough in the genre to be reading a review at a film music site, you should own it. Whether or not you should own this version is another story, I suppose. Prior to this release, your options for obtaining The Big Country were either the rerecording conducted by Tony Bremner or SAE’s extremely limited private pressing of the original tracks. While Bremner’s recording is fine enough, this is really a score that soars best with its composer conducting and with every available cue on the CD. La-La Land’s new release marks the first time the original tracks have officially been pressed for the general public, so unless you were one of the lucky ones to get SAE’s release, this version is essential. The sound may be in mono, but it’s a great-sounding mono, cleaned up as much as humanly possible and bristling with energy. This has certainly been an insane year for keeping up with new releases of old masterpieces, but The Big Country should be pretty high up there on your list of must-haves. Pret-tay…Pret-tay…Pret-taaaay high up there. Buy it.

Music Composed and Conducted by Jerome Moross; Orchestrated by Bernard Mayers, Conrad Salinger, Gil Grau and Alexander Courage; Album Produced by Ford A. Thaxton; Label: La-La Land Records, (LLLCD 1055); Availability: Limited edition of 3,000 units; U.S. Release Date: May, 2007.

01. Main Title (3:22)
02. Julie’s House (2:12)
03. The Welcoming (3:10)
04. The Hazing (1:49)
05. Courtin’ Time (1:22)
06. The Terrill Ranch (1:37)
07. Old Thunder (1:42)
08. The Raid (Pts. 1 & 2) (3:38)
09. McKay’s Decision (1:05)
10. The Capture (1:30)
11. McKay’s Triumph (:37)
12. Major Terrill’s Party (1:31)
13. Major Terrill’s Party - Pt. 2 (1:11)
14. Waltz (2:17)
15. Polka (:56)
16. Night In Blanco Canyon (:53)
17. McKay’s Ride (1:22)
18. McKay Is Missing (2:02)
19. The Old House (2:20)
20. Waiting (:31)
21. Horror Stories (1:06)
22. Big Muddy (2:34)
23. Still Waiting (1:39)
24. McKay Alone (1:22)
25. Night At A Ladder Ranch (1:12)
26. The Fight (2:56)
27. Cattle At The River (2:22)
28. Pat’s Mistake (1:22)
29. Buck Comes For Julie (1:14)
30. The Abduction (1:12)
31. The Captive (1:35)
32. The Attempted Rape (2:12)
33. The War Party Gathers (2:41)
34. McKay In Blanco Canyon (2:28)
35. Jim And Julie (:37)
36. The Major Alone (1:53)
37. The Duel (:52)
38. The Death Of Buck Hannassey (2:46)
39. Ambush In Blanco Canyon - Pt. 1 (1:17)
40. Ambush In Blanco Canyon - Pt. 2 (1:48)
41. The Stalking (1:23)
41. End Title (1:59)

Total Playing Time: 73:37