cover art for FourMorning

Four in the Morning

1965

LP: Roulette OSS-805
CD: Play it Again PLAY 002

  1. Four in the Morning
  2. River Walk
  3. Lover's Clasp
  4. Norman's Return
  5. River Ride
  6. Four in the Morning
  7. Lover's Tension
  8. First Reconciliation
  9. Norman Leaves
  10. Moment of Decision
  11. Judi Comes Back

The Movie

This is one of those little low budget movies that was meant to run on The Independent Film Channel or The Sundance Channel on cable, instead of some of the "indies" they play now. I've never seen it--it's a British "kitchen sink" drama (e.g. a character-driven, relationship drama) that was produced on a shoestring. It's main claims to fame now are the John Barry score and an early performance by Judi Densch.


The Music

When he did not want to score a film, rather than say "no," Barry sometimes quoted an exorbitant fee and figured it would be refused. This was the flip side--Barry wanted to score the movie, and since the budget was so small he waived his fee and spent it on the orchestra. And still it was spare--just 9 musicians and three recording sessions.

Personally I never cared much for the score--but I never saw the movie; maybe it worked better on film. It's slight and it's spare. And it doesn't sound like his other albums. Just not the sort of thing I find myself playing for enjoyment.


Release Notes

This is another one of those soundtracks that shows up everywhere, like everything in the Ember catalog (see my notes on Zulu and Elizabeth Taylor in London). The original soundtrack was released on LP on the Roulette label, and since then has been released numerous times in various ways on both vinyl and CD, usually paired with Zulu or Elizabeth Taylor in London.


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