Special Notes:

16-page colour booklet with liner notes by Jeff Bond / Limited to 2000 copies.

La-La Land rescues a previously unreleased John Barry score from 1977, one of seven film and TV projects composed during a very busy year which included The Deep and The Gathering [M].

Barry was among a handful of top-level composers who managed to move between TV and theatrical projects without any stigma, and First Love is in fact a hybrid of both worlds: The Partridge Family’s Susan Dey was reasserting her career with more adult-themed stories, co-star William Katt was fresh off of Carrie (and would shortly appear in Big Wednesday), and prolific TV director Joan Darling was making one of two rare forays into feature films.

Barry’s score features his lush string writing, and a thematic structure slightly reminiscent of Body Heat (1981), especially the theme’s slow-burning style. A jazzy bass line is barely perceptible under the theme’s sensuous chords, and Barry uses an airy descending motif and gentle harpsichord to accentuate the theme’s beats. The title track also contains a short digression where electric bass and trumpet engage in a little duel before an abrupt deceleration, with flutes reintroducing the melody and kick-starting the cue’s thematic replay.

Other variations emphasize breathy flutes which capture the curiosity between the two lovers, and the insecurity of their relationship which, as the score’s tone arguably suggests, will peter out after a lengthy period of euphoria. Less successful, if not a little intrusive, are two source cues by Barry which jar his soothing strings, such as the synth-blues “Elgin’s Room,” and the synthetic burlesque “The Hallway,” which feels more typical Tinto Brass’ quirky pop-jazz soundtracks.

While neither a standout score in his C.V., First Love is quite charming, and Barry’s gift for melody and mood are in top form for what was a minor drama that’s pretty much disappeared from circulation.

It would be a nice surprise if the film soon emerges from oblivion on video, allowing affected listeners to see how the music worked in the film, but as the CD’s liner notes reveal, Paramount executives had reservations of the score’s ‘mature’ tone, and Barry’s music was reduced to 8 minutes, with songs by Paul Williams and Cat Stevens taking over the soundtrack. Additional instrumental cues are attributed to Carmine Coppola and Jean Sibelius, and the rather indignant treatment motivated Barry to request his name be removed from the film. (The extensive replacement recalls two other partial rejections experienced by the composer: The Golden Child [M], and Mike’s Murder.)

© 2013 Mark R. Hasan