Sold Date: May 19, 2019
Start Date: April 21, 2019
Final Price: £30.00 (GBP)
Seller Feedback: 1118
Buyer Feedback: 8

Here I have for sale the first British release of Mark Isham's soundtrack LP to "The Moderns" (1988).

Mark Isham and Charlelie Couture ‎– The Moderns (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)  (1988)

Condition (refer also to notes at bottom):
Vinyl – EX. A superbly clean surface showing no signs of wear or marks. Played just pre-listing and sound clarity is superb throughout. Only played a few times since bought new some 26 years ago. Stored responsibly since purchase.
Cover – VG-EX. Colours are unfaded. No rips, tears. Very minor creasing, corner nicks, light disc showthrough and a 2cm split in the centre of the spine.
Sleeve – EX. Original. White paper with angled corners. Clean and intact.

Label: Virgin Records ‎– V2530
Country: UK
Year: 1988
Genre: Jazz, Classical, Stage & Screen, Instrumental
Style: Soundtrack, Contemporary, Vocal, World, Big Band

Track listing:
A1 Les Modernes 5:58
A2 Cafe Selavy 4:26
A3 Paris La Nuit / Selavy 3:30 (Arranged By – Rich Ruttenberg; Bass [Acoustic] – Dave Stone; Cello – Suzie Katayama; Piano, Vocals – Charlelie Couture; Written by – Charlelie Couture)
A4 Really The Blues 3:38
A5 Madame Valentin 5:49
A6 Dada Je Suis  1:01  (Piano, Vocals – Charlelie Couture / Written by – Charlelie Couture)

B1 Parlez-Moi D'Amour (Retro) 2:54  (Written by – Jean Lenoir)
B2 La Valse Moderne 2:50
B3 Les Peintres 2:24
B4 Death Of Irving Fagelman 1:52
B5 Je Ne Veux Pas De Tes Chocolats 2:14
B6 Parlez-Moi D'Amour (Moderne) 8:28 (Piano, Vocals – Charlelie Couture, Written by – Jean Lenoir)


• Bass [Acoustic, Electric] – Patrick O'Hearn
• Composed By – Mark Isham (tracks: A1, A2, A5, B2 to B5)
• Design – Randi Lynn Braun
• Drums [Machine] – Michael Barsimanto
• Mixed By [Additional Recordings] – Larry Mah
• Painting – Keith Carradine
• Piano – Rich Ruttenberg*
• Producer, Arranged By – Mark Isham (tracks: A1, A2, A4 to B6)
• Recorded By [Additional Recordings] – Scott Leviton
• Recorded By [Additional Recordings], Mixed By [Additional Recordings] – Ira Rubnitz
• Recorded By, Mixed By – Stephen Krause
• Trumpet – Mark Isham
• Vibraphone, Marimba, Drums [Snare] – Ed Mann
• Violin – Sid Page
• Violin, Mandolin, Electric Guitar – Peter Maunu

Recorded at Earle-Tones Modern Music Laboratory, Hollywood, CA & Producers Studio, Hollywood, CA.

Mixed at Mad Hatter, Los Angeles, CA.


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Review:

Mark Isham's sophisticated, eclectic score to Alan Rudolph's equally sophisticated and eclectic film will pique the interest of both soundtrack fans and followers of post-rock and contemporary chamber music. While the general mood and atmosphere that run throughout THE MODERNS are tied to 1926 Paris--the era in which the film is set--Isham's spacious, angular arrangements and inventive instrumentation (the line-up here includes violin, mandolin, electric guitar, vibraphone, marimba, cello, electronics and drum machines) transform the music into something decidedly postmodern.

In his appropriation of period styles and nuances, Isham can be seen working in a vein similar to other like-minded, inventive film composers such as Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone. His use of ragtime ("Really the Blues") and the vaguely creepy, French cabaret balladry of CharlElie Courture ("Paris La Nuit/Selavy") grounds the music in the film's time frame. The ethereal electronica of tracks such as "Death of Irving Fagelman" would not sound out of place alongside most cutting-edge, contemporary ambient music. Given its broad, intriguing range, and its clash of retro/futuristic aesthetics, the soundtrack to THE MODERNS should please any fan of stylistically adventurous, "orchestral" compositions.

About the film:

The Moderns is a 1988 film by Alan Rudolph, which takes place in 1926 Paris during the period of the Lost Generation and at the height of modernist literature. The film stars Keith Carradine, Linda Fiorentino and John Lone among others.

American film critic, Roger Ebert, in his review stated that The Moderns is: "sort of a source study for the Paris of Ernest Hemingway in the 1920s; it's a movie about the raw material he shaped into The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feast, and it also includes raw material for books by Gertrude Stein, Malcolm Cowley and Clifford Irving".



Cast
Keith Carradine as Nick Hart
Linda Fiorentino as Rachel Stone
John Lone as Bertram Stone
Wallace Shawn as Oiseau
Geneviève Bujold as Libby Valentin
Geraldine Chaplin as Nathalie de Ville
Kevin J. O'Connor as Ernest Hemingway


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Postage and packaging FREE to UK. Will post worldwide. Europe £6.50; N and S America, USA, Canada £9; Asia, Australia, Japan £11. No returns accepted.

Payment by cheque (UK only) or Paypal please.

Please see my other soundtrack listings.

Thanks for looking and happy eBaying!


ITEM CONDITION - items are graded according to Record Collector definitions - see below:

MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and / or creasing.

VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and / or defaced.

POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler.