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Midnight Cowboy was director John Schlesinger's 1969 classic Oscar winning masterpiece portraying the shattered optimism of the American dream starring Jon Vought (father of Angelina Jolie) as male-prostitute Joe Buck and Dustin Hoffman as his sleazy scheming friend Enrico 'Ratso' Rizzo. The film follows Texan Joe as he naively sets off for New York to earn his fortune as a hustler. Upon arrival he finds little success and things only get worse when he befriends greasy con-merchant Rizzo. This album is a true soundtrack of the film in that, unlike many modern soundtracks, it truly follows the sequence of events in the film rather than just being a collection of hit songs banged together and added to the movie after it's finished.
The original version of Harry Nilsson's "Everybody's Talking" appears just as it was in the film as the opening track and where Joe buck has his bags packed and is ready to leave his small town life behind and head for the Big Apple. The sunny optimism of the song like the opening scenes in the film are set in stark contrast to the sordid reality and grim alienation awaiting Joe in NYC. Nilsson's classic used to be one of my favourite tracks, I remember playing it on my headphones once as I entered New York City myself on a Greyhound bus (although I hasten to add that I wasn't looking for work dressed as a camp cowboy). Over the years though countless cover versions and now that
god damned awful BBC 'switch to digital' advert have somewhat diminished the authentic feel the track once possessed. The song was actually written by Fred Neil, an American folk singer who also wrote the memorable 1960s chart hit "Candy Man" sung by Roy Orbison. It's incredible to think now that "Everybody's Talkin'" was not originally planned for inclusion in the film. Harry Nilsson had written the song, "I Guess the Lord Must Be In New York City" specifically for the film, but director John Schlesinger thankfully decided to use Fred Neil's song and asked Nilsson to sing it for the soundtrack. Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" was another song that was originally intended for the soundtrack but eventually excluded because it missed the deadline. On this CD there is both the familiar version of "Everybody's Talking" and a shorter notably different version used as the closing track. This makes use of a harmonica which is absent from the hit single release of the song.
There are some nice atmospheric compositions by writer John Barry (also renowned for his for James Bond music) the most notable being the "Midnight Cowboy" theme, a languid, melancholic instrumental with its sublime lonely harmonica introduction. This is memorably heard during the daydreaming sequences that Joe Buck has on his bus Journey to New York. Near the end of the film we here another well known Barry tune but perhaps not its lesser known title "Florida Fantasy". Some might be familiar with this bouncy instrumental as not only am I sure it's been used on at least one TV advert, but it was also used as the theme tune for a long-forgotten 1970s TV programme called "Wildtrack". In the film it is played during Rizzo's bus ride daydream about the life he will have upon his arrival in sunny Florida. Other Barry tracks include the languid western/cowboy orchestral piece "Joe Buck Rides Again", a short dramatic orchestral piece called "Science Fiction" and the laid back 'Fun City' with strings, alto sax and tinkling piano - something you might hear in the lift at Selfridges.
There are two tracks on the CD by a group called Elephant's Memory: the excellent funky soul-rock groove number "Jungle Gym At The Zoo" - also recently used on a TV advert - and the spaced out "Old Man Willow", the longest track on the album at seven minutes. The latter has a real 60s psychedelia sound with a jazz section, rampant slushy percussion and an trippy electric organ accompanied by the haunting female vocals of female singer Michal Shapiro. "Old Man Willow" is played during the psychedelic Andy Warhol-like party scene towards the middle of the movie where Joe Buck innocently smokes his first joint. Incidentally, Andy Warhol was meant to put in an appearance in the movie but was shot by radical feminist Valerie Solanas prior to filming. Both tracks were originally released on the bands début 1969 album "Elephant's Memory". Elephant's Memory were a horn-rock ensemble whose sound is very much associated with the late 60s early 70s and bore the flavour of spaced-out psychedelic, jazz, rock and soul. In the early days Carly Simon was a singer with the group for a while, but the band more famously served as John Lennon's backup band in the early 1970s.
Other tracks that fill out the CD include a jazzy 60s rock number "He Quit Me" performed by Leslie Miller and Garry Sherman and two more period pieces performed by Garry Sherman and "The Groop": a gentle theatrical vocal harmony "A Famous Myth" and the more rock based "Tears and Joys". Some of the easy-listening parlour music on this CD might give your average indie-rocker a heart attack and to be honest there are some petty average tracks on this CD. However, you have to appreciate that this CD is a true soundtrack to one of the great Hollywood films. It poignantly evokes the period of the late 1960s and early 1970s and retains a nice balance between Barry's more orchestral pieces and the harder psychedelic rock numbers all of which are held between versions of Nilsson's classic song.
The packaging to the CD is a bit of a let down. There should be lyrics at least. What you get is the standard jewel case with a two page booklet containing no film notes and only a small reproduction of the original Midnight Cowboy poster that acts as the cover of the album. There is so much historical background to this film and it would have been nice to have booklet telling some of the stories behind the songs and the movie. Nevertheless, this is still a CD to be highly recommended for admirers of the movie, the period or the music of John Barry.
Track Listing: 1. Everybody's Talkin' Harry Nilsson 2. Joe Buck Rides Again John Barry 3. A Famous Myth The Groop 4. Fun City John Barry 5. He Quit Me Leslie Miller 6. Jungle Gym at the Zoo Elephant's Memory 7. Midnight Cowboy John Barry 8. Old Man Willow Elephant's Memory 9. Florida Fantasy John Barry 10. Tears and Joys The Groop  11. Science Fiction John Barry  12. Everybody's Talkin' Harry Nilsson
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Though perhaps overshadowed by the pop success of Harry Nilsson's rendition of Fred Neil's ... more
"Everybody's Talkin'" (and overwhelmed on the album by songs from B.J. Thomas, Elephant's Memory, and even early Warren Zevon), John Barry's elegant title track ...
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Though perhaps overshadowed by the pop success of Harry Nilsson's rendition of Fred Neil's ... more
"Everybody's Talkin'" (and overwhelmed on the album by songs from B.J. Thomas, Elephant's Memory, and even early Warren Zevon), John Barry's elegant title track ...
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