Well, dear readers, as I write these here notes I am listening to a motion picture soundtrack recording – the Miklos Rozsa score to King of Kings. This is, perhaps, my favorite Rozsa score. I’d seen Ben-Hur and had that box set soundtrack in stereophonic sound and loved it and the film. I saw King of Kings at the Egyptian Theater the week it opened and many times thereafter in its 70mm roadshow glory. I absolutely loved the film and I still do, even though some people don’t find it all that. In fact, I hate to say it, but I prefer it to Ben-Hur. But when I was thirteen, which was my age when I saw King of Kings, I absolutely went bonkers for the score, which sounded breathtaking in six-track stereo. So, of course when the LP box set came out I bought it immediately and played it to death on my Columbia House Stereophonic Record Player. Nothing touched that box set and the various CD releases never sounded anywhere near as good, and there were several. But finally, Rhino did it right and that two-CD set, now out of print and pricey, is so wonderful – really good sound for the most part, and the entire score. Right now, I’m hearing the dance music for Salome. As you may remember, one of my favorite actors in epic movies, Frank Thring, has the immortal line, which he speaks as, “Dansssssssssse, Salomay.” And boy does she dance. As a matter of fact, I just did Salome’s dance and it was quite enticing and exciting. I was agog, simply agog, how enticing and exciting I was. Frank Thring would have been thrilled with my danssssssssse. If only I had the Salome outfit. Well, you can’t have everything. In any case, King of Kings is the accompaniment to today’s notes.
Yesterday, I do think I managed to get almost eight hours of sleep and I got up at eleven. Once up, I did my morning ablutions, answered e-mails, did some work on the computer and then at the piano. I had several telephonic calls, too. I know I must have done other things, but I have no memory of them – all I know was before I knew it, it was time for the work session.
We have a singer who hasn’t done Kritzerland before and she wanted to get a jump on her material, as she’s very busy, so she came over. Alby Potts, our musical director, got here thirty minutes before she did and we worked out an arrangement of a put-together, and a little arrangement of another song. The third song our singer has done in concert and she brought that arrangement with her. She’s quite wonderful (her name is Christina Saffran), and her songs will be great.
Then at five I moseyed on over to the mail place, where I picked up a couple of mail things but no packages. Then I went to the Coral Café for dinner with an occasional dear reader her two daughters, twins who look nothing like each other. We had fun – they’ve been on a month-long cross country journey. I had a chicken Caesar wrap – I researched it and it’s only 430 calories – I had a little dinner salad with it, my only food of the day. The girls both had hot fudge sundaes for dessert and boy did they look good and boy were they tempting but I did not let temptation rule the day. I am on my path and I will stick to my rules – no real desserts until September or October.
After that, I came home and did a jog. Then it was too late too watch a motion picture, so I wrote the blurb for the Kritzerland show, did some work on the computer, had a telephonic conversation, and then began listening to King of Kings, which brings us full circle.
Today, I can sleep in, then I’ll do a few errands and whatnot, and hopefully pick up some packages. Then David Wechter will arrive and I’ll drive us to the birthday dinner. I haven’t seen him since he came and saw the LA show, so we should have fun.
Tomorrow I think I can have a ME day, then next week is really busy with meetings, meals, work sessions, ALS show rehearsals and seeing several shows.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, sleep in, do errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up some packages, jog, and have a birthday dinner. Today’s topic of discussion: What movie soundtrack do you think you’ve played more than any other? What was the very first movie soundtrack you ever purchased? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have come full circle not once, but once.