The Hungarian ensemble utilized for
Cherry 2000
doesn't seem to be that large, but their lack of depth is fully
compensated for by a driving enthusiasm in their performance. Some of
that creative, flashy soundscape is written right into Poledouris'
composition, but sharp performances by every section of the orchestra
highlight cues throughout the score. The ensemble is enlarged by a 'wet'
mixing sound and deep bass (the bass strings will cause your floor to
vibrate) that allows the electronic instruments to echo along with the
organic elements; this effect also enhances the futuristic feeling of
the score. In sum,
Cherry 2000 is a comedic Western parody with
electric guitars that never sounds hokey, and how Poledouris managed to
pull it off so well is a mystery. It's a perfect match between
synthesizers and orchestral traditions, with neither element allowed to
overshadow the other. It stands alongside Goldsmith's
Hoosiers as
one of those great electronically rooted scores that sucks you into its
themes and emotions to such an extent that even ardent detractors of
such hybrid music may cease to notice the synths. If
Cherry 2000
has a significant weakness, it extends from the film's lack of a truly
cohesive narrative, occasionally forcing Poledouris to be sidetracked
with source-like material. So much of the "downtime" in the score is
handled with soft and fuzzy statements of the love theme that truly
satisfying development of the main theme is lacking. Some listeners
won't care for the prancing attitude inherent in the silliness of
certain scenes either, even when the emotion Poledouris is trying to
convey is one with more serious connotations, like the love theme). The
lack of ensemble depth at times may also bother those expecting to hear
the composer's beefier orchestral mannerisms from the era. That said, if
you allow the score to creep into your list of favorite all-time guilty
pleasures, which could easily happen to those of you who have heard
thousands of scores and ache for originality, then
Cherry 2000
could very well be a five-star score. It is a reliably refreshing change
of pace that you may find yourself returning to often for a respite from
the plethora of otherwise less-than-inspiring film music to come from
the software generation of composers in subsequent decades. This fact is
in part why the score has remained one of the most notable on album in
the history of soundtrack CDs, fetching thousands of dollars for a
single copy and eventually afforded limited treatment by no less than
three separate specialty labels.
The original album for
Cherry 2000 was
Varèse Sarabande's very first Club title in 1989, limited to
1,500 copies and plagued by a number of issues. It's hard to imagine
that demand for the $12 CD at its initial mail-order offering was so
tepid, because it would eventually join Goldsmith's
The 'Burbs to
become the cornerstones of Varèse's original Club series. A
horribly erroneous arrangement of tracks out of chronological order is
accompanied by completely mangled track listings (albeit with welcome
sexual overtones) on the packaging, omitting two tracks and shuffling
others. Several typographical errors are also to be found on the
packaging. Still, an original
Cherry 2000 copy once sold once for
$2,500 in auction (though Filmtracks sold its #26/1,500 for a more
reasonable $300 in 1999), making it one of the most storied CD
collectibles ever to exist. When considering the unique personality of
the score, the mystique of the CD was nearly unparalleled for over a
decade. As the 2000's dawned, however, that mystique began to fade as
the bootleg CDr market began to flourish. An inconsequential limited-run
bootleg of
Cherry 2000 (together with Poledouris'
Flesh +
Blood, another Varèse Club title) circulated in a supposed
pressing of 500 copies, and several reproductions of that bootleg
followed. In 2004, however, Prometheus Records attained the rights to
both
Cherry 2000 and Poledouris'
No Man's Land (also an
early CD release by Varèse and certainly out of print and as
difficult to find as its Club title companion) and pressed them together
as a non-limited album. The inclusion of
No Man's Land is an
unexpected but logical bonus. The two scores came from Poledouris during
a distinct and specific point in his career, and both were out of print.
The music is presented here in the full length of the original 30-minute
album, but the "Porsche Power" and "Drive My Car?" cues have been
combined into one track.
No Man's Land is a cop thriller long
forgotten, and the score was Poledouris' first chance to produce an
entirely synthetic pop and drama effort for the big screen. After such a
hectic period in 1986-1987 (including the incredibly long score for the
TV series
Amerika), Poledouris perhaps should have passed on
No Man's Land. The score suffers from the same uninspiring
characteristics that would surface once again in
Love and
Treason, and beyond all his other works, its style is now extremely
dated. The only notable aspect of
No Man's Land is that the
droning, ambient "Payoff" cue would be tracked in the "Crazy Ivan"
sequence in
The Hunt for Red October.
The treatment of
Cherry 2000 on the Prometheus
album is substantially better than what you get on the Varèse
collectible, with the cues presented mostly in film order, additional
material sprinkled throughout, and a correct track listing on the 2004
offering. The additional cues aren't terribly exciting or important,
with the exception of a rousing rendition of the Lester theme late in
"Lights Out" (in fact, much of the added music on the later albums is
related to that theme). Other additional cues are largely redundant and
short in length, the overall time padded by three alternate mixes (only
two of which are labeled as such; "Lester on the Move" is simply an
alternate version of "Moving," though both are entertaining). The same
musical contents and master source were accessed by Intrada Records in
2011 for yet another re-release of the score on CD, this time switching
the track titles and their order once again (mainly moving the three
alternate mixes to the end and inserting the seemingly sparse and
synthetic source material, including the rather irritating "Movietone"
and "Jake's Jukebox," into proper order). The 1,500-copy product did
accomplish two purposes, however, primarily meeting continued demand for
the score since the 2004 album had gone out of print. Secondly, the 2011
album also provides 17+ minutes of music from Poledouris' 1984 score for
the medical drama
The House of God. In this previously unreleased
work, a chamber orchestra of 40 players alternates between bright,
propulsive baroque rhythms under pleasant themes for various soloists
(including hearty material that foreshadows the main theme of
Kimberly, especially considering the solo role for trumpet) and
somber, weighty background drama for strings, all of it cleanly
harmonious and easy on the ears. For those seeking the best album on
which to enjoy
Cherry 2000, the Intrada combination with
The
House of God is superior to the Prometheus pairing with
No Man's
Land, if only because of a better arrangement of tracks and more
palatable secondary score on the product. If you already own the
Prometheus album, however,
The House of God is likely not
substantial enough to merit purchasing the Intrada album unless you are
a Poledouris completist. Despite its storied history, the original
Varèse album serves no continued purpose other than to complete
fans' collections of the label's Club titles. On any album,
Cherry
2000 is a fantastically overachieving score representing a composer
at arguably the prime of his career, one that very closely skirts
five-star territory. If you could never get a hold of
Cherry 2000
in its previous forms, now is definitely the time to do so.
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