The Goldsmith Odyssey

Robert Townson, the prolific soundtrack producer behind over 1400 releases over the course of his 30-plus years with film music label Varèse Sarabande, joins Yavar for a sprawling, candid conversation. In this first half, Townson talks about his start in the film music business, getting to know Jerry Goldsmith, working with Jerry on a variety of re-recordings, watching Jerry work under a tight dea...

Suppose, just suppose, that a man living in the year 1961 were able to travel all the way back to the year 1865, arriving mere hours before President Lincoln's assassination. Would he be able to do anything to stop that tragic event? That's an intriguing question posted by "Back There," a second-season episode of The Twilight Zone . Now suppose, just suppose, that four men (you...

Who's this new guest on the Goldsmith Odyssey, summoning up thoughtful commentary on the brilliance of Jerry Goldsmith? There are some who call him… Tim (Greiving, a film music journalist who has written pieces for NPR, Variety, the New York Times, and many other publications). After telling your humble hosts David, Yavar, and Clark about his career and his relationship to Jerry's music,...

Phase 2 of the Goldsmith Odyssey Podcast Universe has begun! Jens has relinquished his regular hosting/editing duties (he'll remain involved in a variety of other ways), passing the baton to friend of the show W. David Lichty. David joins Yavar and Clark for an exploration of the Thriller episode "The Cheaters," an anthology show within an anthology show centering around a pair of s...

After over twenty years of collecting, it’s not often one finds a Jerry Goldsmith album one has never heard—let alone never heard of . Yet, while doing research for this podcast, that is precisely what happened to Jens. He therefore invited David as an impromptu guest to share this joy for the first time ever. The opening music is "The Price of Gold", composed for Kill the Wicked! by Ang...

Hey look, we dug up another Gold Nugget! After offering a quick update on his progress through James T. Farrell’s Studs Lonigan trilogy, Jens offers an examination of a 2003 concert in which conductor Charles Fox (filling in for an ailing Jerry Goldsmith) led the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra through a series of Goldsmith cues. How did Fox and the KPO fare? Jens offers his analysis while samplin...

Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Jer-ry! Jer-ry! Jus-tin! Jus-tin! Ya-var! Ya-var! In this installment of Odyssey Interviews , Yavar has a conversation with composer, conductor, and CineConcerts co-founder Justin Freer, who is preparing to conduct Jerry Goldsmith’s score for Rudy live to picture in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 30th, 2019. In addition to discussing that beloved score and the upcoming performance, F...

The Goldsmith Odyssey 's next regular episode is in the oven, but in the meantime, we're pleased to serve up an exciting and substantial installment of Odyssey Interviews ! This time, Yavar has a lively conversation with Oscar-nominated film composer David Newman (known for his work on films like Ice Age , Galaxy Quest , Anastasia , The War of the Roses , and many more). As someone who h...

The Goldsmith Odyssey will be spending quite a bit of time with the classic anthology TV show Thriller in 2019, and we’ve got the perfect special guest to kick off our examination of the series: Leigh Phillips, an award-winning composer, orchestrator, and conductor best-known for reconstructing classic film scores like Exodus , The Salamander , King of Kings , and many more. Phillips is also respo...

"Have Mics—Will Podcast" reads the card of three men, They’re knights without sponsors, they need your subscription. "Listen to them speak," heeds the calling PC, "Chatting about music on a Goldsmith Odyssey ." Odyssey , Odyssey , how long will you run? Odyssey , Odyssey , here’s the next one. Have Gun—Will Travel is the focus today, Two 1960 episodes will be surveyed...

The second season of The Goldsmith Odyssey launches in January, but in the meantime, we’ve got another Odyssey Interview for you. This time, Yavar has a wide-ranging conversation with Kritzerland Records founder Bruce Kimmel (also a multi-talented actor, director, writer, playwright, and songwriter), who worked on multiple Goldsmith albums for Varèse Sarabande before releasing a number of Goldsmit...

Season's Greetings! Chestnuts are roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost is nipping at your nose, and Uncle Jens is in the kitchen preparing his signature dish: the Gold Nugget, a consistently comforting delicacy assembled from whatever ingredients Jens finds in his musical pantry. This time, he's exploring the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra's concert disc Free as the Wind: Tribute to J...

Pssssssst. Hey, pal. You know Studs, right? Studs Lonigan? No? You must be new around here. I mean, Studs is… ah, but why am I telling ya? You should hear it directly from his pals. Head down to the pool hall and look for three guys named Jens, Yavar, and Clark. If you see some shady-looking characters arguing about motifs, that’s probably them. Anyway, they’ll tell you all about Studs, and the mo...

Good news, Goldsmith fans: our latest trip to the musical mines has produced another Gold Nugget. Jens returns to Japan for an exploration of the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra's 1998 concert album Jerry Goldsmith: Hollywood Symphonic Spectacular . Over the course of a music-heavy half-hour, Jens guides you through a serious of unique, spacious concert recordings of Goldsmith gems like Super...

Howdy folks! We're saddling up and riding into Dodge City for an exploration of the long-running TV western Gunsmoke . Your humble hosts Jens, Yavar, and Clark take a look at three episodes from 1960, each highlighted by its own distinctive Goldsmith score. First up is “Doc Judge,” featuring a suspenseful score anchored by an ominous five-note theme. Next, we meet “The Blacksmith,” containing...

In our second installment of Odyssey Interviews , Yavar has a conversation with film composer and conductor Cliff Eidelman. Eidelman is perhaps best known for his striking score for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , and has scored such diverse projects as Leap of Faith , Triumph of the Spirit , The Meteor Man , and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants . Eidelman has also written a variety...

We are pleased to present the first installment of Odyssey Interviews , an occasional feature that will offer interviews with special guests who have some connection to Jerry Goldsmith and/or his music. In our debut interview, Yavar has a conversation with internationally acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin, Music Director Laureate of the Detroit Symphony. Slatkin maintains a rigorous schedule of...

In the second and final part of our CBS Music Library Spectacular , returning guest W. David Lichty guides your humble hosts Jens, Yavar, and Clark through a remarkably diverse array of suites spotlighting a large portion of Goldsmith's contribution to the CBS music library. Over the course of this episode, you'll hear playful comedy, moody suspense, lush romance, chilling horror, and lo...

Presenting an important campaign announcement from The Goldsmith Odyssey. To vote in Intrada's new Kickstarter poll, go directly to this thread . If you haven't already signed up for their forum, you'll need to register. Even if you're already registered to purchase items from Intrada's store ( store.intrada.com ), a separate registration is required for the forum. To comp...

Supported by the invaluable aid and research of returning guest W. David Lichty, your humble hosts Jens, Yavar, and Clark offer the first installment of a two-part examination into Jerry Goldsmith's contributions to the vast CBS Music Library, which featured a diverse array of fully orchestral cues that would ultimately be used on a wide variety of CBS television programs, including The Twili...

Another episode, another special guest: Friend of the show and Goldsmith archivist extraordinaire W. David Lichty joins your humble hosts Jens, Yavar, and Clark for an examination of "Saturday Night in Santa Monica", the unaired television pilot for Man on the Beach , starring Gavin MacLeod as an eccentric private investigator. While gritting our teeth and playfully dissecting the pilot&...

Portrait of a film music expert: John Takis, a talented writer known for his exceptional liner notes and informative blog posts. John has been invited to be the very first guest on a podcast known as The Goldsmith Odyssey . He knows that he will be asked to offer his thoughts on the virtues of film composer Jerry Goldsmith. He knows that he is expected to offer commentary on the classic television...

Submitted for your approval: a voyage of musical discovery, critical analysis, and profound mystery. These three men – Jens, Yavar, and Clark – are entirely ordinary in every way but one: their odd obsession with the music of a film composer named Jerry Goldsmith. Crossing the threshold into a new era, they explore two classic episodes of television: “The Four of Us Are Dying” (which features a dy...

The day has finally arrived. At long last, we have reached the end... of the 1950s, thus concluding the brief prologue to this obscenely lengthy podcast journey. On this episode, your humble hosts Jens, Yavar, and Clark gather up odds n' ends from the decade: an exploration of the Climax! episode “Trail of Terror” (featuring a suspenseful Goldsmith score highlighted by a lovely, reflective me...

In our first side episode, Jens listens to an anime score and makes a discovery. The result is a forum post in podcast form. Intro music from Ginga Kikoutai: Majestic Prince by Toshiyuki Watanabe. Please send your correspondence to goldsmithodyssey@gmail.com .