Music Composed by Charles Marawood Orchestrated & Conducted by Alan Dean Music from The Irishman was released on an EP in 1978 by EMI: Stereo EP EMI ED-3 1978 Music and lyrics by Charles Marawood, orchestra conducted by Alan Dean, sound recording by Bunratty Enterprises Pty. Ltd., all titles published by Charles Marawood: Side 1: The Irishman Jenny's Theme Side 2: The Irishman's Song, vocals Brendan Locke Jenny This was subsequently released as a CD and on the DVD:
The music for the film was much criticised and subject to controversy. According to Cinema Papers, January 1978: Composer Charles Marawood spent some time on location to get the "feel" of the Clydesdales, walking beside them and watching them work. He had already put together some guide themes and these were used on the sets to provide a mood for the actors and crews. But that's where the positive vibe ended. On the DVD commentary, director Donald Crombie recalled: (The) composer was an interesting man Charles Marawood he actually didn't write music he used to hum it, and then he had another guy who would write it down as musical notes it was quite bizarre. I mean, quite bluntly, he got the music completely wrong because when we were briefing him, I told him that what I was looking for was the human voice as an element in the music, and I wanted it to be like an instrument, not a choir, and he completely blew it. I mean, frankly you cringe when you see your punch (Crombie is talking about an amateur punch by fellow commenter Simon Burke) and your other stuff and so on, but I must admit on that title sequence when the Mormon Tabernacle Choir breaks out, I go 'oh my God' I remember being absolutely devastated because we'd actually asked him, we don't want the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which is what we got, and we just didn't have the money to re-do it. Normally we would have said look that's not right and sorry we'll have to re-do it. Some of it's lovely, I mean that music there, it was Jenny's theme I think it was called, he got that absolutely right, but the main title music I think was a bit over the top Here come the Mormons, Crombie jokes as the end titles near on the commentary track: Poor old Charles with Mormons. I wish I'd had the courage and the budget of Peter Weir when he did Gallipoli and he listened to the score and he threw it out and started again Maurice arrived as a result of that, but we just didn't have the money I mean
they obviously had bigger budgets and they had Rupert Murdoch with his long pockets Crombie amplified this response in his interview with Cinema Papers Oct/Nov 1978: Frankly it was a disappointment, and I am sure Charles Marawood was disappointed too. When first discussing the music with Charles we said the last thing we wanted as a choir in the background - but we ended up with one. Charles' intention was to use the human voice as another instrument, so that one would think, "My God, that's an interesting sound, what is it?" The score just didn't work, but because of the way you record music - strings one day, woodwinds the next and so on - you don't know until the final mix how it is going to sound. By then, we had no money to fix it more than half the music is not in the film. We tried taking the choir out, but we were often left with a very thin soundtrack, and we had to put it back. (Below: Charles Marawood in The Age 29th July 1965) Charles Marawood was an eccentric composer who composed this score and the score for the feature film Weekend of Shadows, did the underscore for the children's TV series The Elephant Boy (1973) and provided a couple of songs for Skippy, episode 23, Walk You High and I Must Go, sung by runaway Aboriginal character Moona, played by Candy Devine. His song "Magdelena" for Weekend of Shadows was performed by the character Nora (played by Sonja Tallis) during a prison talent quest sequence in Episode 582 of Grundy's Prisoner, which aired in in 1979.
That song can be found as track 10 on side 2 of an LP released by exotic label Pakktel, Boomeride, Soundtracks from the television series, released in 1965, which seems mainly to have been designed to feature the songs of a little known thirteen by half hour channel Nine TV series, composed by Marawood. The LP contains this elegant description Charles Marawood and his career to that point: From the lyrical beauty of "Turn the other Cheek" to the raucous plea for "Some luv, a cuppa' tea and a bagga' Prawns" to the dramatic intensity of "Tavenors Hill" to the outrageousness of "By such Things" to the rock beat of "Boomerang Baby" to the heart-searching quality of "Magdelena" to the satire of "Poor Fred" Charles Marawood proclaims his genius to the world! One minute you think you've got him - "yes, he writes sad, soulful songs", says the listener to "White Grass", only to revise his statement completely on hearing "Jump up on the Wool Press", or "Humpin' Me Bluey". There is absolutely no way to contain the talent of Charles Marawood in a pigeon hole. He just writes superb songs; encompassing every mood, every human emotion, every possible colouring of day-to-day existance (sic), with the self-assurance of the born poet, and the musical skill of the natural harmonist. Who is Charles Marawood? Why haven't we heard his music before? Where does he come from? How was he discovered? All these questions would require the back of 10 record covers to explain in full; however, in the brief space allotted I will attempt superficially to outline the career and dedication of an enigma. Charles was born in the 20's (he is a young man), and with skilful cross examination and searching questions, I have been able to discover nothing about his first 19 years. That is, other than the fact that two years of his late teen's were spent sitting on a rock overlooking Sydney Heads. Charles entered the A.I.F. in 1940 with a book of musical theory and a determination to change the army to his way of thinking. The A.I.F. played a profound part in winning World War II and Charles left the army in 1945 with an expert knowledge of musical technique. It has not yet been established if there is a connection between these two facts. Charles then took a scholarship in 1945 at the Sydney Conservatorium under Eugene Goosens, to study musical composition and harmony. Whilst there he won the respect of his tutors to the degree that, after a difference of opinion with Mr. Goosens - and the subsequent withdrawal of his scholarship - his tutors agreed to donate part of their income to enable Charles to continue his studies. Unable to accept this charity - though deeply moved - Charles took his talent to the world and turned away from the classics to the song art-form that is contained on this record. For the past twenty years Charles has devoted himself entirely to writing songs. Why have we not heard of any of these songs before, you may ask? It is patently obvious that Charles Marawood is the finest song writer in Australia today, yet he is virtually unknown. How can a talent such as his be so totally ignored? The answer to these questions is very simple. For twenty years Charles has been writing songs prolifically, singing them quietly through to himself and then putting them in a drawer and forgetting them. He has made little attempt to have them sung in public and absolutely no attempt to commercialize them. He went to England in 1952, having composed a musical play, only to discover that he lacked the pushing personality needed to force open the doors. Apart from this
brief sojourn, he has been living in Sydney, where he has built his own home rock by rock in Seaforth over a period of twelve years. He has learned the technique of living on the minimum possible income (it will take a more searching interviewer than myself to discover the source of this), and for the past twenty years has devoted himself absolutely to his art. In 1962 he married one of Australia's most beautiful models, Carolle Clements, and they have been living on love ever since. The discovery of Charles Marawood was one of those accidents designed by fate to rescue a genius from oblivion. Charles is not is not unknown to a select band of singers who have made it their habit to call on him for the occasional song to fill out their repertoire. One of these singers, Doug Kennedy, was to be the star of the television series planned by Pakktel. The pilot film of the series had been made with five of Marawood's songs sung by Kennedy and had made a tremendous impact on all who heard them. After travelling around the world with the pilot "Some Ballads", and noting the reaction to his music, the producers determined to meet charles and find out if he had any other music they could use. The result of this quick trip to Sydney is history. Abandoning their idea of a musical show with 25% Australian content, they decided to do the entire series of 13 half hour programmes using ONLY songs written by Charles. This step, whilst being unique, was only justifiable because of the fact that they discovered a backlog of over 400 superb songs, unsung, unpublished and unheard. Hence the "Boomeride" series!! "Boomeride" (the title of one of Charles' songs) is a world first for a television series. The first time one composer has provided all the songs for an entire series. The first Australian produced musical series with 100% Australian content. We the producers, feel that it is long overdue for Charles Marawood's music to take its rightful place in Australian musical history, and dedicate this record to everyone who loves beautiful songs. After this introduction, it feels almost superfluous to quote Matt Carroll, one of the producers of Weekend of Shadows, on Marawood: He was a real eccentric. He lived close to me in Paddington at the time... he wore way-out clothes, capes and things like that, and his house was crammed full of amazing stuff. The movie wasn't that good, but his music was great. He was very talented, but I don't think he ever got the recognition he deserved. (Quoted by the excellent Milesago site, which provides more details about the Pakktel label, here) Apparently Marawood's songs attracted the attention of singer/actress Marlene Dietrich on her first Australian concert tour around 1965, and Marawood auditioned some of his songs for her while she was performing in Melbourne - including the antiwar song "White Grass" and the upbeat "Boomerang Baby". Both songs turned up on Dietrich's 1968 and 1972 TV specials (for more details, and for links to Dietrich performing Marawood's songs, go here). TV Memories provides details of the Boomeride album here. Though it doesn't have much to do with the soundtrack for The Irishman, which is a relatively conventional outing, it is fun to quote the rest of the blurb about the record:
This Record A television series is rarely a vehicle for fate. Usually conceived with an eye fixed firmly on rating charts it frequently sublimates creativity for a standard mass acceptance formula. Sighting itself on the lowest common denominator, it fires shot after shot into the ground, compromising intelligence and compounding sub-standard taste. "Boomeride" is an attempt to fire a cannon into the air! Somewhere, somehow Charles Marawood's music was bound to be discovered. With today's means of communication it would be tragic if a genius of song should leave us unsung and unheard. That the vehicle of discovery should be television is fitting - for through no other medium is it possible to convey as intimately, all the nuances and subtleties of dramatic interpretation needed to give proper expression to his art. In this one respect, Pakktel, the producers of "Boomeride", feel slightly guided by fate. For over twenty years Charles Marawood has been writing songs - and at the very time John Kirkbride, conceiver of Pakktel, should turn his creative thoughts to a musical theatre-in-the-round form of television entertainment, Charles Marawood's music comes forward to provide a perfect meeting ground of artistry. "Boomeride" is a wedding between two creative people; the artist of the visual and the artist of musical expression. This record is the logical extension from their meeting. Taken from the sound tracks of the first thirteen half hour programmes, each side of this disc is representative of a complete "Boomeride" show. In fact, with a little imagination you are joining our audience whilst two performances are being telerecorded. We have shortened down the applause, removed the commercials and invite you to relax and thrill to the quality of our artists as they present song after song from the brilliant pen of Charles Marawood. (Below: Charles Marawood, as featured on the album artwork, and in a story in The Age 29th July 1965)
Alan Dean, who arranged and conducted the music for the film The Irishman with Marawood (and also for Weekend of Shadows), might be the Alan Dean active in the music industry in Australia around the same time. Dean is described at the UK's National Jazz Archive as being born in London on 1924, a boy soprano who became a popular musical vocalist. His rise to fame in the UK saw him voted the country's most popular male singer in the Melody Maker 1949-50. He retained that position until 1952, leaving the vocal group The Keynotes for a solo career in 1950, and his discography and details of his group for this period of time are recorded here. He then emigrated to the United States in 1951 and began a
successful career there. He was living in Miami Florida when he received a three month contract from Melbourne's Channel Nine, and began working on In Melbourne Tonight with Graham Kennedy. After returning to Miami, he received another three month contract, and then decided to settle in Sydney,Sydney, Australia, where he composed and recorded for radio and commercials, and did club work. He also worked for the ABC, and did a series for the ABC Jazz Meets Folk. There is an interview in three parts with him at the UK National Jazz Archive here, here and here. (Below: Alan Dean) Or is it another Alan Dean altogether? If anyone knows the answer, we would appreciate clarification. There is no clear reference on the internet. However there is no doubt that this is the same Alan Dean also worked with Marawood on the score for Weekend of Shadows.