Sudden Impact (Original Score)

Aleph Records, a label that has done a bang-up job of reissuing Lalo Schifrin's film music over the past five years — in both sound and presentation — offers listeners a full version of the composer's score for Sudden Impact. The work was arranged by Harvey Cohen and conducted by Schifrin with an enormous group of players, including a lovely horn section with all shapes and colors of the spectrum for his moody and often dramatic cues. And while it's true that most people are familiar with the scratching, hip-hop, and synthesized funk in the main title theme, it's perhaps the least evocative thing on the set. The delirious "Too Much Sugar," with its gorgeous noir setup, is followed by the tense, moody "Frisco Night," which gives way to a full-blown chase anthem. The long cues are especially wonderful for "Ginley's Bar" and the ever so freaky "Remembering Terror," which begins as a carnival nightmare and ends up on another planet, capturing almost every taut notion of dread, suspense, and violence from the film in a single piece. This is a great score and Aleph gets high marks again for its presentation.