"Green sky at night?" "Neighbor take flight."

As today is my birthday (and the only composer born today is Jack Nitzsche, so don’t worry about continuing that trend), I want to write about a score to one of my favorite films. However, this presents some problems. James Newton Howard’s flavorful score to Big Trouble never received a soundtrack release and, as it is a Disney production, I wouldn’t wager on one in the immediate offing. The Varese release of Hudson Hawk contains but a smattering of Michael Kamen’s delightful music. Even more, I don’t own it. I already wrote about Bernard Herrmann’s North by Northwest, and Mark Knopfler’s The Princess Bride could do with an orchestral reinterpretation (hint, hint). The underscore of Singin’ in the Rain is nice, but hardly substantial compared to the songs. Moving a little further down the list of favorite movies, I’ve found the perfect score to write about: Jerry Goldsmith’s The ‘burbs.

There’s an unusual (and virtually unseen) family that has just moved into the neighborhood and suburbanites Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks), Art Weingartner (Rick Ducommun) and Mark Rumsfield (Bruce Dern) want to know about their new neighbors...especially since another neighbor (Gale Gordon) disappears without warning. Though less fantastical than some of Joe Dante’s other films, this is, nonetheless, a highly amusing comedy, highlighted by some great lines (most of them from Dern) and some fine quirky touches.

Goldsmith’s score for the film is enjoyably off the wall, augmenting the fine themes with an array of peculiar sound effects, such as in the opening credits track, "Night Work", whose clanking electronics give way to the Klopeks theme on organ. Amongst the introduction of the Mayfield Place/suburbia theme, "Home Delivery" also features the sound of a barking dog, a nice bit of mickey-mousing if you’ve seen the film. (The doorbell sound that accompanied "The Note #2" in the film is missing on disc, but, hey, you can’t have everything.)

In such tracks as "Snooping Around", "The Window" and "Bad Karma", one can hear a quote of Goldsmith’s legendary Patton theme, a nice match for the militaristic Rumsfield. Ray Peterson gets a Western-sounding melody, introduced (with shooting guns) in "Let’s Go" and given a somewhat heroic treatment in "Something is Moving". As Ray is convinced that something is rotten on his street ("The Wig"), his theme is drawn-out and elaborated with churning electronics. The effect is quite amazing.

"The Sentinel" features gorgeous string work for the story of a neighbor who’d gone off the deep end. A spiritual offshoot of the clanking electronics, another motif is introduced in "My Neighborhood", the chirping strings reminiscent of "Bravo Link" from Link. Creepy tribal music and a wailing female voice earmark "Devil Worship" and "The Dream", as Ray believes that the Klopeks may answer to a dark power.

The "My Neighborhood" motif gets quite a bit of attention in cues like "Spare Key", "Walter’s Home" and "I’m OK", the strings taking on more of a pitter-patter character. "Ask Him" features an amusing, almost Star Trek: TMP-like piece for strings introducing the neighbors to Dr. Klopek (Henry Gibson).

The last reel of the film features some terrific scoring as well. "There’s a Body" utilizes more beautiful strings, while "Pack Your Bags" concludes an almost-Native American-sounding version of Ray’s theme, making for a peculiar bookend to the score.

The Varese CD Club release came out last summer and disappeared within weeks. The film is your best bet to experience the score, and it’s worth a look.