There are plenty of tracks in the score for the Ed Harris directed and produced western, Appaloosa, covering every nuance of the movie.  The film is based on the novel by Robert B Parker and gets points for having a genuine feel throughout of the old western saga movies that many of us have grown up on.  That includes the score by Jeff Beal, who has also worked on a previous Ed Harris film, Pollack.  Beal has also scored history pieces for HBO series, Rome, and Carnivale, a dust-bowl saga.  He understands the music of the past as well as our perceptions of it.

Appaloosa centers around two straight-laced lawmen bent on keeping peace in the badlands of New Mexico.  Hired to find the murderer of Appaloosa’s city marshal, the two lawmen, played by Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen, grapple with the powerful rancher who sees no problem with his men having their way within the town.  As always, this opposition of ideals will have its consequences and in Appaloosa, that conflict is the unfolding nightmare.

Beal constructs a very good score that not only reminds greatly of the old film westerns, but also plays well in a stand-alone mode, without the aid of the film.  In the first track, the Main title theme, the music is immediately memorable, sounding like a ‘60s Western series opening theme.  Musically, this should have the attention of everyone who had ever revered an old Western series on TV back in the late ‘50s, and throughout the ‘60s.

There are plenty of tracks that create tensions, excitement, and sadness, all conveyed by the use of instruments popular in that era of Old West lawlessness.  Harris required the authenticity of that time period and his hard work shows within the music of this Jeff Beal score.  There are also two vocal tracks, “You’ll Never Leave My Heart,” written and performed by Ed Harris (not bad; it has a Johnny Cash spirit to it), and “Ain’t Nothing Like a Friend.”

Appaloosa, the film, is good filmmaking.  The score is good music and stands alone very well.