THE JOEL GOLDSMITH COLLECTION: VOLUME 3

Dragon’s Domain Records presents THE JOEL GOLDSMITH COLLECTION, VOLUME 3, a third compilation of scores from film and television composer Joel Goldsmith’s extensive filmography. Joel was the oldest son of veteran composer Jerry Goldsmith and Sharon Hennagin.

Released in 2006, CALL OF DUTY 3 was the latest installment in the first-person shooter franchise which had first appeared in 2003 and continued the series’ focus on the intense combat of World War II. The plot centers on the Allied campaign following the D-Day invasion, particularly the battle to liberate France in the summer of 1944. The narrative focuses heavily on “Operation Cobra”, the historic breakout from the Normandy hedgerows that allowed Allied forces to push deeper into occupied France. Rather than presenting the war from a single perspective, the game continued the franchise’s tradition of multiple viewpoints. Players assume the roles of soldiers from four different Allied armies: American, British, Canadian, and Polish forces. Each storyline interweaves with the others, giving players a broader sense of the scale and complexity of the campaign.

The score for CALL OF DUTY 3 was composed by Joel Goldsmith, a composer known for his work in film, television, and video games. Goldsmith’s music provides a dramatic and emotional framework for the game’s wartime action. His score combines powerful orchestral writing with rhythmic intensity, underscoring both the heroism and the tension of the battlefield. Sweeping brass themes and urgent percussion evoke the scale of the Allied campaign while quieter passages highlight the human cost of war.

The second score on THE JOEL GOLDSMITH COLLECTION: VOLUME 3 is music from the 1993 science fiction horror film MAN’S BEST FRIEND. Directed by John Lafia and starring Ally Sheedy, Lance Henriksen, and Robert Costanzo, the film blends elements of thriller, horror and dark satire while exploring themes of scientific experimentation and humanity’s uneasy relationship with technology and genetic manipulation.

MAN’S BEST FRIEND follows Lori Tanner (Sheedy), a television news reporter investigating rumors of unethical animal experiments at a secretive research facility known as EMAX Laboratories. While pursuing the story with her cameraman, Dean (Costanzo), Lori breaks into the laboratory after hours and discovers a highly intelligent and seemingly gentle dog named Max. Unknown to Lori, Max is the product of a radical genetic engineering program designed to create a superior animal by combining canine DNA with traits from other species. Disturbed by what she perceives as cruelty toward the animals in the lab, Lori rescues Max and brings him home.

At first, Max appears to be the perfect companion — loyal, affectionate, and remarkably intelligent. Lori quickly becomes attached to him, believing she has saved the dog from a life of experimentation. However, Max soon begins to display disturbing abilities and behavior...

For MAN’S BEST FRIEND, Goldsmith crafted a tense and atmospheric soundtrack that combines orchestral writing with electronic elements to reflect both the scientific origins of Max and the escalating horror of the story. Goldsmith’s score helps maintain the film’s sense of mounting danger while reinforcing the tragic irony at the heart of the story.

Joel Goldsmith was born on November 19th, 1957, Los Angeles, California, the third of four children of singer Sharon Hennagin and legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith. Since his first cinematic composition, a collaboration with then-newcomer Richard Band on the low-budget science fiction thriller, LASERBLAST (1978), Joel scored a number of feature and television films throughout the 1980s and ‘90s, including the sci-fi series SUPER FORCE (1990), Roland Emmerich’s early sci-fi thriller MOON 44 (1990), and Jim Wynorski’s gentle family comedy, LITTLE MISS MILLIONS (1993). After THE UNTOUCHABLES, Joel went on to score the TV series HAWKEYE (1994), BAD BLOOD (1994, aka VIPER), KULL THE CONQUEROR (1997), TV’s WITCHBLADE (2000), HELEN OF TROY and several iterations of the STARGATE TV series (1997-2011). He also provided synthesized sound effects for STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979) and composed additional music for STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT (1996).

Dragon’s Domain Records presents THE JOEL GOLDSMITH COLLECTION: VOLUME 3, featuring previously unreleased music composed by Joel Goldsmith, mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland. The booklet contains liner notes written by Scott Davis.