A well-above-average soundtrack, both for the contributions of top film scorer
John Barry and some interesting odds and ends of late-'60s rock. The
Midnight Cowboy soundtrack is most famous for
Nilsson's hit single cover of
Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," present in both the familiar version and a shorter one that is substantially different, particularly in its use of harmonica (which is not present at all on the single).
Barry's five compositions are suitably atmospheric, the standout being the "Midnight Cowboy" theme, with its memorable languid, melancholy melody and
Toots Thielemans-style harmonica; it should have been a hit single (
Ferrante & Teicher had one with a less interesting cover of the tune). The album is filled out by rock from
the Groop,
Leslie Miller, and
Elephants Memory, which is mostly period music suitable for background party scenes, though
Leslie Miller's "He Quit Me" was written by a then-unknown
Warren Zevon. Check out
Elephants Memory's seven-minute "Old Man Willow," though, an enchanting slice of whimsical and surreal late-1960s psychedelia with trippy organ and female vocals.
Elephants Memory is mostly known for briefly serving as
John Lennon's backup band in the early 1970s, but this is a lot closer to
Ultimate Spinach than the Plastic Ono Band. ~ Richie Unterberger