Beat

I was a bit more surprised at the score that reached my mailbox a short time ago for a film called Beat scored by little known composer, Ernest Troost, and I feel bad for having not reviewed it sooner. Troost first gained my attention for his work on the sci-fi/horror/comedy Tremors, and has garnered my attention again for his work on this film. Beat follows the life of "beat" writer William Burrows and his wife Joan during the heyday of himself and contemporaries like Lucian Carr and Allen Ginsburgh. It has a relatively well-known cast with Kiefer Sutherland, Courtney Love, and Kyle Secor, but being an independent film, will likely see a small release, making catching this film a bit difficult. However, with Intrada’s release of the score, the film music fan, and Ernest Troost neophyte, can get a listen to this very well done period score.

It’s not strictly period oriented for the 1940’s, but stylistically it fits well with the theme and timeframe of the film. Even though the selections on the CD are grouped according to sequence, they blend together into a well presented set of musical snapshots. As they say, the whole is the sum of it& #146;s parts and the entire album fits perfectly as a standalone work which I could easily have in my CD player anytime of the day or night. Very few film scores can fit well with the theme of the movie and stand alone as a separate work worth recognition. The last time I enjoyed a jazz influenced score as much as this one is for another smart film, The Last Seduction with music by James Vitarelli. The complexity of the work and arrangements on this score reflect the depth of talent required to write the music, and I look forward to hearing more of Mr. Troost in the future. After this, I& #146;m actually surprised if Ernest doesn’t get more higher profile projects can help nurture this talent.

I’d have to say that Intrada’s recent rekindling interest in smaller scores and lesser known composers has done a great service to the film music community as well as it’s fans. This release keeps with that service and gets us a taste of something new and different that doesn’t come around to often in an oft synth populated landscape of film scores of the 1990s. Besides giving a nod to the musical roots of the past, Ernest Troost provides a solid musical score that can be easily paired with those of John Williams, Mark Isham, and Michael Nyman for the sure diversity of the elements contained herein.