Don't know the specifics but apparently Peckinpah for whatever reason didn't have final say on the score, because according to the commentary people he probably would have found it too much and would have made changes. Would be interested for anyone in the know shedding light on this.
This is a very old post by now, but I'll offer the story since no one else has.
The MGM studios' incoming head of production (whose predecessor Sol Siegel had been very pro-Peckinpah and RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY) absolutely hated what he saw of the movie. (Witnesses report that the honcho even slept through some of it.) The new guy fired Peckinpah and had him barred from the MGM lot, so it fell to the producer to oversee the final details of the picture's post-production, such as sound editing and dubbing/volume levels. Fortunately, Richard Lyons was much more congenial and appreciative than most of the combative producers who would darken Peckinpah's career, so he consulted the absent director frequently to let Peckinpah retain a degree of approval over remaining creative decisions ... over the telephone, which obviously was less than ideal. But at least Lyons tried, and Peckinpah had some input.
Since composer George Bassman's music was only recorded during this period, of course Peckinpah there could not enjoy the control he would have wanted. Like contributor turtletommy above, I too find the score's main theme attractive and moving, especially at the end. But while Peckinpah has been quoted repeatedly as having felt the HIGH COUNTRY score was terrible, I suspect that what he really objected to was the crudeness and lack of subtlety in particular cues such as that for the arrival at the Hammond brothers' camp, or the lead-up to the climactic gunfight. Those happen to be
my gripes about the music.
Most great films deserve a more appreciative audience than they get.
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