Duel
Released by Intrada
19 Tracks with a total running time of 47:39 min.
Composed and Conducted by Billy Goldenberg

A few years before he made Jaws, Steven Spielberg gave us another beastly predator, one that is much more common than the Great White shark….a semi-truck. In his tele-film Duel, Spielberg created a work of suspense and terror that everyone has felt for a moment every now and then while driving on the highway, thinking that one of these mechanical beast just might be out to destroy you. One of the reasons this film works as well is it does it due to the incredibly tension-building score from Billy Goldenberg.

Goldenberg had worked a few genre projects in his career, especially in the ’70s. He supplied the music for the original Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1973) as well as several episodes of the series Circle of Fear (1972-73). But his talent really shines with what he composed for Duel. There are certain tracks that burst into your ears, such as track 2, Passing the Truck, that immediately shows you the direction of what we are going to hear. With a sound of something like strings being twisted, repeating over and over, building such an intense feeling of terror that rides up the back of your neck, there is no way that it cannot get under your skin. There are other tracks that are a little more sedate, more quiet, but they still build up that atmosphere of fear.

Using a lot of strings throughout this score, Goldenberg is able to create some intense sounds both going full throttle with screeching as well as slower and almost grating notes that all create a wonderful and powerful audio impact. Also with the use of cowbells, wind chimes, and other metal banging sounds, it gives such a unique feeling to the score. Track #13, Final Duel, is a perfect example of what it can do, running the gambit from slower and softer sounding music and background sounds, to a fast past and screeching use of the strings, sending your pulse into overdrive. I think fans of this movie will definitely enjoy this score, and as well as film score fans since it is such a unique and interesting use of wind chimes.