2-CD soundtrack premiere from legendary Howard Hawks western, starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, scored by Dimitri Tiomkin! Walter Brennan, Angie Dickinson also star in landmark film chronicling events that happen after Sheriff John T. Chance locks up Nathan Burdette’s murderous brother in his local jail, then finds his town under siege by Burdette and his gang of hired guns. Aided only by drunken deputy Dude, old coot Stumpy and lone gunslinger Colorado, Chance finds his world now offering striking parallels to the siege of The Alamo. Burdette’s men vow “no quarter”. Amongst parallels, ironically, are Tiomkin’s music, which introduces his stirring trumpet theme “De Guella”, which became the bugle charge for Santa Anna’s armies the following year in John Wayne’s epic The Alamo. Stunning trumpet tune plays major role in Rio Bravo. Actual musical architecture of entire score is brilliant! Tiomkin scores for orchestra but saves tutti sections for gunfights, sequences of violence. Opening is gentle mode for guitar, harmonica, low woodwinds. As picture progresses, Tiomkin imbues with embellishing triplet figures with Hispanic flavor, rustles of Mexican guitar, flourishes for marimba, xylophone. Tension abounds. In balance is sensual love theme, often on trombone. But once “De Guella” arrives, it never lets go.
Intrada 2-CD set presents entire score from pristine condition mono scoring session masters vaulted at Warner Bros. Also included are cues deleted from final film plus several alternates, two vocals by Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson written by Dimitri Tiomkin/Paul Francis Webster and both original trailer scores. Special treat: Tiomkin recorded full “playout” versions of “De Guella” and the “love theme”, possibly intended as “exit” pieces since original running time approached three hours before editing. Former never-before-heard piece is dynamic, stunning set-piece for trumpet and full orchestra. Stirring! Informative liner notes by Frank DeWald plus “flipper” cover art featuring dramatic original one sheet artwork, packaged by Joe Sikoryak, bring further excitement to this important release. Dimitri Tiomkin conducts Warner Bros. Orchestra.
Composer Dimitri Tiomkin was no stranger to working with director Howard Hawks or the western genre, encompassing Hawks’ classics such as Only Angels Have Wings, The Big Sky, Red River, The Thing and Land of the Pharaohs and other westerns including High Noon, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Last Train from Gun Hill. For Rio Bravo, Tiomkin outfitted the director’s leisurely paced but dramatically concentrated western with a genre score that is notably restrained and subtle — an unusual approach for the composer. The result is a score that is an essential part of Rio Bravo’s drama. In the opening sequence dialogue is notably absent, yet Tiomkin’s score runs continuously, setting mood and reinforcing the on-screen dramatic tension.
Warner Bros. provided access to their entire scoring session elements, including the lengthy session masters stored on 2″ monaural tape. As the composer had scored a longer picture than what was finally released, Intrada discovered a number of additional cues not in the finished picture, as well as two versions of the trailer music and some fascinating alternates. Closing the extras portion of this release of Rio Bravo are two studio recordings of the movie’s main vocal themes, sung by Dean Martin, prepared for the Capitol label and released in 1959 on a 45 rpm record. All presented on this 2-CD set.
In the film, John T. Chance (John Wayne), sheriff of Presidio County, Texas, has a bull by the tail. There is a cold-blooded killer locked up in his jail, but he must wait several days for the U.S. marshal to take his prisoner into custody. Meanwhile, the murderer’s brother, wealthy rancher Nathan Burdette, has the town in a stranglehold, with hired guns waiting to pounce. Chance has only two deputies to help him—a gimpy old coot named Stumpy (Ricky Nelson) and Dude, a friend who was once a skilled marksman but is now nicknamed Barachón (drunk) (Dean Martin) by the local Mexicans. And when a beautiful lady gambler named Feathers (Angie Dickinson) comes to town, Chance’s problems multiply.
TRACKLIST
Disc 1
01. Rio Bravo [Main Title – Revised] (1:29)
02. Opening (1:26)
03. Spitoon – Revised (2:24)
04. Wagon Train (1:46)
05. Rio Bravo [Wagon Train No. 2] (1:00)
06. The Package (1:54)
07. Night (4:38)
08. Rio Bravo [Dude] (3:02)
09. Love Theme [Search Me] (3:01)
10. Apology (1:34)
11. Excitement (1:30)
12. Gunfight (2:28)
13. Paid Killer (3:04)
14. Love Theme [Hotel Bar – Revised] (2:39)
15. Love Theme [Night Love] (0:54)
16. Riders (1:20)
17. In Jail (1:16)
18. De Guella No. 1 (1:13)
19. Love Theme [In Love] (2:54)
20. De Guella No. 2 (2:49)
21. De Guella No. 3 (1:10)
22. Rio Bravo [Memories] (1:24)
23. Exit Jail (1:07)
24. Love Theme – Hangover (3:19)
25. Capture (1:39)
26. Three Horsemen (0:49)
27. Love Theme [Drinks] (0:53)
CD 1 Total Time: 53:21
Disc 2
01. De Guella No. 4 (2:59)
02. More Excitement (0:51)
03. The Gagging (0:39)
04. The Gang – Revised (2:28)
05. De Guella No. 5 (1:59)
06. Hispania (3:38)
07. Gunfights Nos. 1 & 2 (2:15)
08. That Girl (1:44)
09. My Rifle, My Pony And Me [Saloon Piano] (1:03)
10. Love Theme [Proposal] (2:30)
11. Rio Bravo [End Title – Alternate No. 1] (0:42)
12. De Guella [Playout] (4:02)
13. Love Theme [Playout] (2:30)
Total Score Time: 71:23
The Extras (Soundtrack)
14. Trailer (2:28 15. Trailer [Alternate] (2:26 16. Rio Bravo [Main Title] (1:29 17. Spitoon (2:19)
18. Funeral Drums (1:21)
19. Rio Bravo [Stumpy] (0:27)
20. Love Theme [Hotel Bar] (2:39)
21. De Guella No. 3 (With Harmonica Overlay) (1:10)
22. The Gang (0:20)
23. De Guella [Alternate – Mandolin] (1:33)
24. My Rifle, My Pony And Me [End Title – Alternate No. 2] (0:46)
25. Wild Harmonica Chords (0:18)
26. Rio Bravo [Wild Victory Whistles] (0:16)
27. Rio Bravo [Wild Victory Whistles No. 2] (0:17)
28. Rio Bravo [Wild Victory Whistles No. 3] (0:17)
29. My Rifle, My Pony And Me [Wild Whistles Duet] (0:17)
30. My Rifle, My Pony And Me (Dean Martin & Ricky Nelson) (2:11)
31. My Rifle, My Pony And Me [Bathroom Vocal] (Dean Martin) (1:27)
32. Rio Bravo [End Title – Film Version] (Dean Martin) (0:45)
Total Extras (Soundtrack) Time: 23:22
The Extras (1959 Cover Singles)
33. “My Rifle, My Pony And Me” (Vocal By Dean Martin) (2:44)
34. “Rio Bravo” (Vocal By Dean Martin) (3:00)
Total Extras (Cover Singles) Time: 5:47 CD 2 Total Time: 57:07
