(I don't really use Apple Podcasts/iTunes, so I always forget that rating and reviewing is a thing here, so I'm a little late, but better late than never!) I have had a general awareness of this show since it started up, and did initially listen to the earliest episodes as they were coming out, but ultimately because of some real life craziness I lost touch for a couple years. Finally came back around to it during the pandemic, and have been a frequent listener especially during the last year or two. Jerry Goldsmith is my number one favorite composer -- like, some people say that, but then they say the same thing about other composers... but not in my case; Jerry is on a top-tier all by himself, unrivaled, for me. He is THE reason why I became a soundtrack lover. He is THE reason I began making up original melodies in my head as a kid when I would play outside. He is THE reason why I became a composer. And I've always felt like he doesn't quite get the recognition that he deserves. People in my circles would perk up at the mention of "John Williams" or "Hans Zimmer," but when I would say the name "Jerry Goldsmith" I would almost always get confused reactions, like they didn't know who I was talking about. I'm not kidding, there have been times where I thought I (and my sister, who is likewise a huge fan of Jerry's, and she was my gateway into his music) was one of the only people who truly loved his music, let alone knew his name. Thankfully in time, as the Internet progressed, I realized that absolutely was NOT the case, and that there was a rather large fan community across the globe.
It is just an amazing thing to find a community that you share a common love with. And the Internet, for all it's horrific faults, played a tremendous part in me finding such a community of Jerry Goldsmith fans. So I was just absolutely overjoyed to see this podcast start up (despite my falling away from it for a few years), and I honestly believe it has been HUGELY instrumental in the sort of increased love and discussion of Jerry and his music we've been seeing that has ultimately led to the production of deep-dive and celebratory videos and books (like Jeff Bond's upcoming set), not to mention a steady flow of Jerry's music being restored, remastered, and re-released, along with sheet music publications, plus Leigh Phillips' re-recordings of long lost scores.
I know there have been a LOT of factors behind all of this, but I don't for one minute downplay The Goldsmith Odyssey as one of those contributing factors, and a major one at that. I have thoroughly enjoyed their chronological score-by-score reviews, and especially their Interviews, which I'm not kidding when I say I re-listen to all the interviews A LOT; hearing a lot of these real life stories just really brings me closer to the *actual living man* that was Jerry Goldsmith, making him so much more to me than just the "sounds" that he wrote. So I cannot overstate or underline enough how highly I value the work that these gentlemen are doing to both preserve and "evangelize" (if I may use that word) Jerry Goldsmith for and to future generations. May there be many more years to come!
