Broughton Undertakes A Dangerous Voyage

Desperate Voyage (1980) is a rare treat for Bruce Broughton fans.  Christopher Plummer heads this made-for-TV movie about a modern-day pirate that hijacks yachts, steals everything and relegates those on board to die at sea.  It aired in late November.  One of the other notable aspects of the score is that it was recorded shortly after a musician’s strike and Broughton had a more than enthusiastic group ready to get back to making music.  It is also an early orchestral score from the days of his many TV series scoring work with orchestrations by Don Nemitz.  It is now available in a limited edition release and as a download from Dragon's Domain Records.

The style of Desperate Voyage is within that orchestral style that is a blend of John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith.  Broughton’s writing pulls from these styles which are parallel to his own and the hybrid results make for a fun discovery here.  This is a bit of a seafaring score and the opening titles set this up very well.  “Ramming the Boat” has some great pizzicato strings ideas with slides and jabs that play against a busy trumpet line (the more Goldsmith-ian/Stravinsky like approach).  More intense moments of dissonance add an appropriate menace for contrast (“Taking Ralph’s Wallet and Watch”). These moments are also balanced with the warm, full orchestral flourishes.  A more romantic style enters briefly in “Vic Forgives Karen” with nice lines for flute and oboe.  The former is also used for some more intimate scoring segments.  Some of the more distressing segments are scored with slashing strings and twisting wind lines which work quite well.  Clusters of sound also help add to the intensity (“Karen’s Mayday Distress Call”; “Louie Destroys the Valhalla’s Mast”; “Louie’s Death/Vic Is Shot”). The result is a compelling score with engaging orchestration.  

Desperate Voyage is a perfectly fine score with some engaging thematic material.  It provides a great example of Broughton’s dramatic style and how it borrows stylistically from current big-screen fare which can easily set alongside.  Easily recommended for fans of Broughton’s later work and any looking for something that hearkens back to an era of thematic writing and orchestral writing.  To hear a sample of the score, head to the BuySoundtrax website: https://buysoundtrax.myshopify.com/collections/new-releases/products/desperate-voyage-original-soundtrack-by-bruce-broughton .