Conducted by Dominic Frontiere

Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra

Produced by Dominic Frontiere and Ford A. Thaxton

Release Date: 2004

            La-La Land Records

     After spending my time listening to darker, more reflective works like The Butterfly Effect and Angels in America, it was nice to finally switch to a more upbeat style of scoring with Dominic Frontiere’s score to the John Wayne film, Brannigan. While I have enjoyed my fair share of John Wayne films over the years, I’ve never been much experienced with his later films, though the premise of this one sounds intriguing. Following the stream of gritty anti-hero crime dramas such as Dirty Harry and The French Connection, Brannigan follows the titular character’s transfer from the streets of Chicago to the drizzly atmosphere of London England.

     For this odd mixture on film, composer Dominic Frontiere was hired to compose the score and record it using the talents of the London Symphony Orchestra. And you’ve probably never heard them tackle something exactly like this. From the opening refrains of the Main Title, it is clear that this is a seventies film with all the musical connotations it brings along. Thankfully, those connotations do not include any of the funky seventies disco or electronic sounds. Instead, Brannigan is a fully orchestral score that manages to stay enjoyable with its boisterous melodies, driving percussion, and the oddly-placed musical effect here and there (take the Ransom cues for a perfect example of that). Take the music from the A-Team and give it a much fuller sound while conventionalizing it a bit and you have a great synopsis of what this music approaches style-wise.

     Frontiere also keeps the score thematic to a basic degree, which is also delightful given the stylistic approach of the music. It works to the effect of keeping the music from sounding like a simple hodgepodge of cues, but the album falls slightly flat in the second half. With all the entertaining tracks that make up the opening half, the rest of the CD never quite achieves the same level. The format doesn’t switch or anything but it seems like the score takes a less over-the-top approach as it continues on.

     An unexpectedly fun score for a 70s John Wayne film, Brannigan is an overall winner for those who like the funkier side of music and shouldn’t be missed by anyone who knows what a good typically seventies score should sound like.