L.A. Confidential, one of 1997 best movies, has a magnificent musical support that we could split into two parts: the songs that appear along the film, and the score composed by Jerry Goldsmith. This CD collects the songs (as well two of Goldsmith's cues), from which we should say that fulfil a basic function in the film, locating us in the era in which is developed the story, this is at the beginning of the fifties. In this sense is curious see, at the beginning of the film, how the spectator suffers a continuous songs bombardment (even in the credit titles) as if wanted to let clear in what years is developed the action, to go letting little by little a greater role to Goldsmith's score. The song selection is very good, with authors as George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer or Howard Arlen; in reference of the performers are the best of that times, Dean Martin, Chet Baker, Betty Hutton or Jackie Gleason among others. It results especially meaningful the absence of "The Voice" (Frank Sinatra), that it does not appear neither in the movie since, for example, from Bing Crosby is listened a song in the movie that it does not appears on the CD. I would emphasize the song performed by Dean Martin, The Christmas Blues, a very curious, excellent song in a extremely rare and very little known recording. The first of Goldsmith's two included cues is the generic of the movie that appears in the final titles, and that recalls on its beginning, as already occurred in City Hall (1995), to Leonard Bernstein's On The Waterfront (1954); it is a nice theme, but which is far away of the one composed, for example, for a similar movie as Chinatown (1974). The other Goldsmith cue is less than 30 seconds longer, and whoever wants to listen it in the film will have to be remained to see all the final titles; it will be a last surprise worth the trouble. By the way, those who are interested in the whole Goldsmith score should know that it has been edited by Varése Sarabande; we will soon comment it in these pages. A.M.

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