Last Man Standing [Music Inspired by the Film]

• Artist: Elmer Bernstein
• Rating:
• Release Date: October 22, 1996
• Total Time: 32:14
• Type: Soundtrack
• Genre: Soundtrack

Review

For reasons unknown -- and largely beyond comprehension -- producers rejected Elmer Bernstein's completed score for Walter Hill's 1996 Yojimbo remake Last Man Standing in favor of an inappropriate electronic score by the otherwise unimpeachable Ry Cooder. Varese Sarabande nevertheless committed Bernstein's music to CD, and it's impossible to fathom what the producers were thinking -- a vivid orchestral effort wrought from classical cinematic idioms, its menacing atmosphere seems perfectly attuned to Hill's violent milieu. Instead, listeners must accept Last Man Standing solely as a distinct listening experience, but that's problematic because the music wilts outside of its planned celluloid context -- Bernstein's melodies simply aren't strong enough to stand on their own two feet. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
To Jericho	Elmer Bernstein		(3:51)
First Guns	Elmer Bernstein		(2:26)
Hijacking	Elmer Bernstein		(2:14)
Hello	Elmer Bernstein		(1:40)
Change	Elmer Bernstein		(1:23)
Felina's Story	Elmer Bernstein		(3:59)
Free	Elmer Bernstein		(3:31)
The Beating	Elmer Bernstein		(6:58)
Enough	Elmer Bernstein		(1:23)
Saving Joe	Elmer Bernstein		(1:46)
One of the Last	Elmer Bernstein		(3:03)

Credits

Elmer Bernstein (Conductor), Joe Gastwirt (Mastering), Keith Grant (Engineer), Keith Grant (Mixing), Robert Townson (Executive Producer), Kevin Mulhall (Liner Notes), Matthew Peak (Paintings), Emilie A. Bernstein (Producer), Emilie A. Bernstein (Orchestration)