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The Music Buffs Web Pages (The Best and Worst of 2001)

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Presents...

[Image]  The Best and Worst Film Music of  2001  

Once again it's time to announce the FILM MUSIC REVIEW choices for Best and Worst of the past year.

The soundtracks and compilations are selected by two FMR reviewers: Roger Hall and Steven Kennedy.  Each reviewer has made comments about their choices.

They are listed in the following eight categories, with links to the review pages:

*Top Film Composer

*Editor's Choice:  Best TV Soundtrack, Compilation and Songtrack

*Best New Soundtrack Releases

*Best Vintage Soundtracks (Re-Releases or Reconstructions)

*Best Compilation Releases

*Best Record Labels and Outstanding Album Producers

*Best and Worst DVD Releases

*Worst Soundtrack, Compilation and Songtrack Releases

Note:  Choices are the opinions of each reviewer and not based on fan or media hype.

If you wish to send in your own Best and Worst picks, send them to to:

FILM MUSIC REVIEW

To see the previous year's choices, go to:  Best and Worst of 2000

For best film scores and songs of the past decade or so, see the SAMMY Awards

Best and Worst Film Music of 2001

By Roger Hall, FMR Editor

General Commentary

I had hoped that after the lackluster year of 2000, the next year would be a lot better one. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.  In fact I'm finding it harder and harder to discover good scores for good films.  Often it's one or the other.  For example, FINAL FANTASY had an excellent score by Elliot Goldenthal to a rather silly animated feature.  On the other side, HEARTS IN ATLANTIS was a much better film than the minimal score by Mychael Danna.

One trend that I most heartily welcome are the re-releases (often with extra music) of past scores.  This is one category soundtrack collectors should be grateful for and stop complaining that every last second of music isn't included on the CD.  Just take a look at the choices for vintage releases made by Steve and myself and you'll see how many of these are well worth having in your collection.  We thank the record labels for these treasures - all five of my choices are labels that have released vintage soundtracks.

Even with my reservations, this year has given us memorable music by the old gang of five film music composers (Barry, Bernstein, Goldsmith, Morricone and Williams), plus a few surprises like Amenabar's THE OTHERS and Endelman's BRIDE OF THE WIND.

Now, on to my choices for Best and Worst of 2001... 

 The Top Film Composer of 2001          

John Williams

For the third time in the past four years, I have chosen Williams as the top film composer for the year.  In 2001, he had two memorable scores:  A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE and HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE.  

He just keeps turning out significant scores year after year and deserves the title of world's most popular film composer.  In 1998, his score for SAVING PRIVATE RYAN  was my choice for best of the year. In 1999, he composed two impressive scores - one for the somewhat disappointing film, STAR WARS - THE PHANTOM MENACE; and the other one a more sensitive score for ANGELA'S ASHES.  

Since 1988, John Williams has received 7 SAMMY Awards, more than any other film composer.  He began in the 1950s as a jazz performer and arranger.  He continues to produce memorable scores of great dignity and strength.  In short, he's a master of his craft.

For information about his upcoming score, STAR WARS: EPISODE TWO - ATTACK OF THE CLONES, go to:

Film Music News

To read about his Symphony Hall concerts in Boston, go to:

From the Editor

Editor's Choice:  Best TV Soundtrack, Compilation and Songtrack  

Best TV Soundtrack:

BAND OF BROTHERS - Michael Kamen (Play Tone/ Sony Classical) - a moving score

Best Compilation:

FILM MUSIC - William Stromberg and John Morgan (Promotional) - well worth having

Best Songtrack:

Capitol Goes To The Movies (From the Vaults, Vol. 7) (Capitol) - great movie songs and great singers

The Best New Soundtrack Releases from 2001    

Soundtrack choices in alphabetical order (click on the links to read the reviews):

1.  A.I. - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE - John Williams (Warner Sunset/Warner Bros.)

2.  ATLANTIS - THE LOST EMPIRE - James Newton Howard (Walt Disney)

3.  BRIDE OF THE WIND - Stephen Endelman, Gustav Mahler, Alma Mahler (UMG)

4.  BROTHERS - Joe Hisaishi (Silva Screen)

5.  CANONE INVERSO - Ennio Morricone (Pacific Time Entertainment)

6.  FINAL FANTASY - THE SPIRITS WITHIN - Elliot Goldenthal (Sony Classical)

7.  THE LAST CASTLE - Jerry Goldsmith (Decca)

8.  THE LUZHIN DEFENCE - Alexandre Desplat (Silva Screen)

9.  THE MISTS OF AVALON - Lee Holdridge (Varese Sarabande)

10. THE OTHERS - Alejandro Amenabar (Sony Classical)

 Best Vintage Soundtrack Releases (Re-Release or Reconstruction)                                                                                        

The composers with most vintage soundtracks below are:  Barry (3), Goldsmith and Herrmann (2 each). Five labels have two soundtracks each:  Film Score Monthly, Marco Polo, Prometheus, Silva Screen and Varese Sarabande.

Here are my choices in alphabetical order:

1.  BENEATH THE 12-MILE REEF (Bernard Herrmann) - Film Score Monthly

2.  CLEOPATRA (Alex North) - Varese Sarabande

3.  FROM THE TERRACE (Elmer Bernstein) - Film Score Monthly

4.  THE LAST VALLEY (John Barry) - Silva Screen

5.  THE LION IN WINTER/ MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS (John Barry) - Silva Screen

6.  THE OMEN (Jerry Goldsmith) - Varese Sarabande

7.  RIO LOBO (Jerry Goldsmith) - Prometheus

8.  RUBY CAIRO (John Barry) - Prometheus

9.  THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO/ FIVE FINGERS (Bernard Herrmann) - Marco Polo

10.  THE SON OF KONG /THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (Max Steiner) - Marco Polo

  Best Compilation Releases of 2001  

Another good year for compilations, especially for Silva Screen, Telarc and Varese Sarabande. These are my five choices for the best of the year, arranged alphabetically.  Click on the links to read my reviews:

1.  THE CARDINAL - THE CLASSIC FILM MUSIC OF JEROME MOROSS (Silva Screen)

2.  CELLULOID COPLAND (World Premiere Film Music) (Telarc)

3.  CON PASSIONE - Film Music of Mark McKenzie (Promotional)

4.  THE FILM MUSIC OF JERRY GOLDSMITH (Telarc)

5.  IN SESSION - A FILM MUSIC CELEBRATION (Varese Sarabande)

  Best Record Labels and Outstanding Album Producers of 2001   

These record labels and producers deserve highest praise for their efforts to make both new and vintage soundtracks available to collectors:  

Film Score Monthly - Lukas Kendall and Nick Redman

Marco Polo - William Stromberg and John Morgan

Prometheus - Ford A. Thaxton

Silva Screen - James Fitzpatrick

Varese Sarabande - Robert Townson

  Best and Worst DVD Releases of 2001                                                                                           

With so many DVDs being released these days, it's difficult to pick out the best and worst releases for 2001, but here are my choices:

Best DVDs:

Single Disc (Songtrack) -

O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (Touchstone Home Video)

Single Disc (Soundtrack) -

SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (Warner Bros)

Two Discs -

CITIZEN KANE/The Battle Over Citizen Kane (Warner Bros)

Three Discs -

CLEOPATRA (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment)

Worst DVDs:

Ugliest Design -

BASIC INSTINCT (Special Edition)(Artisan Home Entertainment) - The DVD is encased in a see-through plastic case with an added "ice pick" fountain pen.  The DVD falls out when you open the case and the booklet is round and folds out like an accordion - a really stupid design which is very hard to read.  One of the worst DVD designs yet.  Runner-up:  The red Mars tin can cover for TOTAL RECALL.

Nothing Much Score -

WONDER BOYS (Paramount) -  Christopher Young's score - what there is of it - is barely heard and not even mentioned in the commentary.  The songs get all the attention in the movie, especially Bob Dylan's Oscar winner, "Things Have Changed." 

 The Worst Soundtrack, Compilation and Songtrack Releases      

Three releases that I wish weren't released.  They offer nothing new and were badly produced. 

Worst Soundtrack -

HANNIBAL - Hans Zimmer (Decca)

Worst Compilation -

Music From The Movies (Deutsche Grammophon Panorama)(2-CDs)           

Worst Songtrack -

The Princess + The Warrior (Trauma Records)

And now for another opinion...

The Best and Worst of 2001

By Steven Kennedy

General Commentary

This has not been a great year for film music. Big name composers were assigned to pictures that often flickered, or were over-hyped--not that that has not happened too long ago in recent memory. Films like MOULIN ROUGE discovered new ways to insert popular music into a film in a way not seen since perhaps FLASHDANCE or THE GRADUATE. Although, I think the film confirms a long-standing desire for the "film musical" when everything looks great and seems to connect well.

Admittedly, in all the years I have been interested in film, this year has been a nadir of interest for me. It is interesting to see how many films coming up next year appear to be far more interesting than anything we have yet seen and that points out a terrible problem. Can Hollywood continue to run itself basing its hopes on the one big yearly blockbuster instead of developing quality, entertaining films more consistently?

On top of this dearth of interesting films, I also began to rent the films that never seem to make it around my local cineplex. (I thought the beauty of having 30 screens was to create more film options not show the same three films on 10 different screens!) These included some great foreign films and sleeper hits like THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE and the delightfully campy SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (both with great scores). Add to this what seems to be a general increase in audience rudeness (especially an increase in cell phones), and the idea of sitting in my own home watching a film becomes more appealing for everything but big epic pictures.

This year also saw new contracts with studio musicians requiring identification of personnel (something only Varese Sarabande seems to be honoring consistently). At the same time, Decca (a subsidiary of Universal) managed to enter the soundtrack market rather consistently providing releases for some films that would not have seen them otherwise and consistently offering 40 minutes of music or more on their releases.

 The Top Film Composer of 2001          

Harry Gregson-Williams

This was a difficult choice because of my love of John Williams' music, but Harry Gregson-Williams has begun to get my attention. I revisited some of his earlier scores for ANTZ, THE BORROWERS, and CHICKEN RUN, and realized that he has a real gift for writing for children's films while also being able to include some amazing musical nods that are both satirical and extremely appropriate in their use. While SHREK is perhaps not as great a score as CHICKEN RUN (mostly because the film relied on other music as well as original score), it points out Gregson-Williams talents very well. SPY GAME provided an amazingly eclectic mix of music as well that worked in the film and still managed to make interesting listening on disc. It also allowed for a real chance for him to showcase his own ability, and presented a unique voice that manages to expand upon a kind of "Media Ventures" sound.

The Best New Soundtrack Releases from 2001    

  1. THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE (Blanchard)  - Decca

  2. THE MUMMY RETURNS (Silvestri)  - Decca

  3. SHREK (Gregson-Williams, Powell) - Varese Sarabande

  4. A.I. (Williams) - Warner Bros

  5. FINAL FANTASY (Goldenthal) - Sony Classical

  6. PLANET OF THE APES (Elfman) - Sony

  7. THE MUSKETEER (Arnold) - Decca

  8. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE (Williams) - WB/Atlantic

  9. SPY GAME (Gregson-Williams) - Decca

10. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (Shore) - Reprise

Earlier this year, Roger asked me for a "best of" list that went about a year back in time. Some of the choices on that list reappear here because they come from scores released this year. The fact that they are still "in my mind" as we begin 2002 should be endorsement enough. My list is in the order of the film's appearance this year.

Until hearing THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE I had only a cursory knowledge of Terrance Blanchard through his jazz work. This is an extremely impressive effort for any composer and it is a shame that it went by the wayside. The score is truly fascinating and works extremely well in the film. This is a hidden pleasure that is really worth checking out as a score and on its DVD release. It is important to note that one of the highlights of the CD, "The Moth Ballet," was cut from the film but appears on the DVD as an extra.

Alan Silvestri took over the reins for THE MUMMY RETURNS that, unlike JURASSIC PARK 3, used mostly new themes and music. The music was great in the film but is not as interesting to listen to on the CD as much of the more fun stuff was evidently composed and recorded after the CD went to the factory. Goldsmith's THE MUMMY is probably one of the most frequently listened to scores in my library though I cannot say the same for this score, though it is technically brilliant. It could use a second disc with the action cues and perhaps some alternates available. Even so, when revisiting the music on DVD I was reminded again on the superb job Silvestri did for this film.

SHREK is one of those films that caught you by surprise. An intelligently made film that was aware of the importance of music, both as popular song and as score, that is rarely seen. It also manages to lift up these choices as satire and commentary and even has a moral to boot. With a pathetic commercial release at the time of the film's appearance, many score fans were wondering if they would have to forget about the underscore altogether, but luckily Varese stepped in this past fall with a score release. As you listen to the score on CD, you immediately are struck by the challenge that faced this composer team. The cues that are meant to help join songs work well in the film but are harder to place apart from that experience. The CD presentation though is well put together and really captures this part of the film's musical accompaniment.

Williams' score for Spielberg's A.I. is brilliantly eclectic and illustrates in Williams' film music what he has employed in his concert music. Most were so busy trying to argue about the directorial comparisons that they have missed what will probably come to be one of Spielberg's top films. On top of this, few critics seem to have even checked out the Brian Aldiss stories on which the film was based. I simply did not understand the problem with being "manipulated" by this story -- it is what a good storyteller is supposed to do! Williams managed to hit everything right on throughout and the CD matches the eclecticism required by the story line very well. From the minimalist sounds to the more "E.T."-like sections this score really illustrates a master at work. "Monica's Theme" (or it's song equivalent) will no doubt become a favorite concert piece. One of, if not the best scores of 2001.

Elliot Goldenthal seems to be condemned to strange projects. His music for the video game film FINAL FANTASY makes the effort bearable. There was evidently money to spare on the project to bring in the London Symphony Orchestra and they make this one of the best things from the film. Thank goodness for the great recording this score receives, probably the best to date for Goldenthal. There is some resemblance to SPHERE as well as other Goldenthal sci-fi scores. Perhaps if the producers push for some animation Academy nominations, they will consider including this score "for consideration."

Another over-anticipated film was PLANET OF THE APES. For me this was the great combination of one of my favorite childhood movie memories with one of my favorite director-composer teams. The opening titles stand up to Goldsmith's efforts by recalling that soundscape and then adding in Elfman's own style. I think it works pretty well in the film. The battle sequences included are interesting and the score grows on you the way the original does once you begin to understand its musical language. Elfman's score is not as intricate, nor is it as aleatoric as Goldsmith's. At times it even begins to hint at music from MEN IN BLACK, but again that is what also makes this score stand out. As a listening experience it is one of Elfman's more successful CDs to date.

While the film was instantly forgettable, David Arnold's score for THE MUSKETEER was a welcome return for fans of his epic adventure style. At times reminiscent of 1930s' swashbuckling scores, filled with great Arnold action cues, and wonderful themes, THE MUSKETEER really overshadows THE MUMMY'S RETURN on CD both in terms of its presentation and general musical interest. One wonders if this is what we would have heard in last year's THE PATRIOT.

John Williams' much anticipated score to HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE is perhaps going to become far more popular than the more interesting score for A.I. As it is, it is both a wonderful score and listening experience. As a fan of the composer, some friends would say a "fanatic," I know I will probably listen to HARRY POTTER a great deal. It has a combination of his excellent scores for HOOK and the HOME ALONE films. There is even a little E.T. in there too. No doubt pieces like "Hedwig's Theme" will go on to become an oft-performed concert classic. Even that smacks a bit of THE PHANTOM MENACE's underwater sequences.

SPY GAME was a complete surprise to me. It is a score filled with everything from ethnic instrumentation, unique vocals, electronica, and orchestra. It is a release that is well-shaped, providing a variety that is often missing from many action film scores. It is perhaps everything that HARRY POTTER is not. There are no sweeping themes, though there is an anchoring piano theme. There are no rich harmonies, though the ones that are used provide great interest. If anything, it stands more in the linear school of writing where each line is important in its own way, being layered together to form a composite whole. Within the film, the score works very well. Of particular interest is a Vietnam sequence where the music is intercut with helicopter sounds that is really a fascinating use of on screen sound effects with music.

Howard Shore has always done a great job of finding the right voice for a film. Most of his assignments have been a bit unusual and while the music always works great in the film, I rarely went out of my way to hear the music apart from the film which has perhaps been my loss. That is, until now. Shore's score for THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING has so many marvelous moments that work excellently in the film. The CD release manages to create a miniature traversal of the film and is filled with wonderful moments. Shore captured the ethos of this film in a way that may not have been possible by many others and in so doing has given the world one of the finest scores of the year!

 Best Vintage Soundtracks (Re-Release or Reconstruction)                                                                                        

  1. HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (Newman) - Film Score Monthly

  2. THE BEST OF EVERYTHING (Newman) - Film Score Monthly

  3. THE TOWERING INFERNO (Williams)  - Film Score Monthly

  4. UNTAMED (Waxman) - Film Score Monthly

  5. BENEATH THE 12-MILE REEF (Herrmann) - Film Score Monthly

  6. Suites & Themes (Vic Mizzy)  - Percepto

  7. THE OMEN Trilogy (Goldsmith) - 3 Varese Discs released separately

  8. THE SON OF KONG/THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (Steiner)  - Marco Polo

  9. THE THREE WORLDS OF GULLIVER (Herrmann) - Varese Sarabande

10. THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO/FIVE FINGERS (Herrmann) - Marco Polo

Film Score Monthly vowed to release two discs a month this year. Their vow turned out so many great releases that one ought to just run to the website and order what you missed. I had a best "5" even before the year was half over.

Why HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE? This is probably one of the most fun scores to listen to in a long time. From Newman's own "Street Scene" to the various Cyril Mockridge orchestrations and original cues, we are given a snapshot of Hollywood film technique in the 50s. Most fascinating are the many connections musically that one hears from the Gershwinesque "Street Scene" to the Leonard Bernstein-like New York scenes that recall ON THE TOWN. Top that off with another stellar Newman score, THE BEST OF EVERYTHING, which could justly summarize the hard work on recovering great film music. With lighter music the norm, wonderfully orchestrated, another fun listen that hints at the kind of scoring that would be taken up by the likes of Henry Mancini and transformed in the 1960s.

After wondering if it would ever be released, THE TOWERING INFERNO made it to CD. Wow! This is really one of Williams' finest scores and it boggles the mind that the master never got around to re-recording, or programming at least the opening titles music. If you did not pick it up, you are now out of luck as it is one of the first FSM CDs to sell out.

Waxman's UNTAMED is another excellent restoration that again shows off the work of this master. Coming as it did along with the Williams, one also sees the musical debt owed to the former composer.

Varese did Jerry Goldsmith fans a huge favor in their release of all three of the scores to THE OMEN trilogy. It was great to have these important scores in cleaner sound and in more complete presentations. The Oscar winning score that started it off never sounded better and if anything one is surprised at the amount of non-horror style music that Goldsmith wrote for this film. When it does appear its effect is overwhelming. The score he wrote for THE FINAL CONFLICT is strikingly different in some respects. It occupies a fine line with his score for STAR TREK- THE MOTION PICTURE and the music of John Williams. "The Second Coming" is perhaps one of his finest achievements along with "The Hunt." Even so the score stands as one of the master's finest and receives perhaps the best presentation it is likely to get.

I have to admit not being a tremendous Steiner fan. It always seems like I am hearing the same score no matter the film. However, this Marco Polo effort goes a long way to helping me reassess this Golden Age master. The chase music in THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME is an excellent antecedent to so much that was to come and THE SON OF KONG is an excellent companion to the awesome KING KONG. This really becomes a must for students of film music to check out and study. It is equally as impressive as their recording of Steiner's classic, TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE.

Herrmann's THREE WORLDS OF GULLIVER has some of his most "normal" music in that it tends to sound much like English art music. Herrmann here tries his hand at writing for film in a way that he aptly did for his concert works. Whether you appreciate this style of music will determine whether or not this makes your list. Compared to the last couple of years, Herrmann fans had little to get excited about until Marco Polo's Herrmann release!

If you had to buy only 1 film music re-recording, Marco Polo's THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO would be the one to get! Not since Joel McNeely's VERTIGO recording have I sat so completely enraptured by Herrmann's music performed by someone else. The case for this music is made so convincingly that you may be tempted to add these to your list of "Best Scores of the 1950s" the recording is that good. The Moscow Symphony Orchestra shames its American contemporaries who have yet to take a serious interest in film music in perhaps one of their finest recordings ever. Marco Polo has done a superb job all around and should work to garner a Grammy nod for this release. The music itself is a microcosm of all that Herrmann would explore in the films that would follow over the next ten years.

  Best Compilation Releases of 2001  

1. Alberto Iglesias Film Works 1990-2000 (2 discs) - JMB

2. Man of Galilee: The Essential Alfred Newman (2 discs) -  Silva Screen

3. Three Films by Francis Veber: The Closet/The Dinner Game/The Jaguar - DRG

4. The Film Music of Jerry Goldsmith  - Telarc

JMB is the equivalent of Varese Sarabande in Spain. Their amazing retrospective of Alberto Iglesias' film music should be a staple in anyone's film score library. Here you get a complete decade's sampling of a European film master for some at times strange premises. The only strange thing about this is that the album starts with the latest music and works backwards over its two-disc length. Listen to the scores in order of their appearance your first time through this music and you may just become an Iglesias fan. It remains to be seen if he will have a break out opportunity in America but he deserves it.

Say what you want about Silva's penchant for reusing material. Here they have put together an amazing collection that is every Newman lover's dream. At two hours one does not get enough and it is very rare when one says, "They should have recorded _______!" Music from AIRPORT is not included strangely enough, but what is there are many wonderful examples of Newman's craft. The "Man of Galilee" is not the most interesting concert piece, but its individual parts manage to show off Newman's famous religious scores. Only the most cynical would not enjoy this strong release.

One of the best things about reviewing music is that occasionally you receive a real treasure that you would have overlooked. Such is the case with the trio of scores by Vladimir Cosma for films by Francis Veber. The two comedy scores, for THE CLOSET (released this past year and worth checking out) and THE DINNER GAME, have many fine moments and travel a fine line between Nino Rota's Fellini scores and Mancini's scores for Blake Edwards comedies. Check out the films and you will see how Cosma is able to turn bitter satire against unlikely characters into sympathy and concern for them. It is the truly remarkable music for the adventure-film THE JAGUAR that will have you in ecstasy. It is easily one of the best scores of 1996 and its Barry-esque main title is something you will return to almost immediately at the cue's end. While a bit skimpy on time at just 52 minutes, DRG's presentation is admirably reproduced here. This is an excellent introduction to this French treasure.

It boggles the mind why Jerry Goldsmith compilations are practically non-existent. Telarc managed to piece together this excellently recorded release that is a great companion to Goldsmith's concerts. While the sound range is vastly improved over many recordings, you really have to increase the volume to pick up some of the more quiet passages. This is perhaps the best performance of this music you will ever hear apart from the film. The individual cues work best. There are some strange crescendos in the STAR TREK main title performed here. The "Motion Picture Medley" is an interesting mix of main themes from eight films that are spliced together without much pops-type transitional material to set up the next theme. The "Medley of Television Themes" works pretty well and is well-performed here. Overall this is a great release of music but it has been very difficult to find in stores.

  Best Record Labels and Outstanding Album Producers of 2001   

1. Lukas Kendall, Film Score Monthly

2. JMB

3. Decca

4. Robert Townsend, Varese Sarabande

5. Marco Polo

In what was likely a great personal risk, Lukas Kendall struck out this year to double the number of releases his print magazine would produce in limited copies. In one year, he managed to put together a very impressive list of releases that likely kept die-hard score fans working over time to support their habit. There is not a serious misstep in the bunch and the production values and attention paid to the packaging and information is top notch. All along each release proves that there is a heart for saving the music of Hollywood and it an important crusade worth supporting!

JMB is a Spanish label that is trying to introduce American film music fans to the finest composers of Spanish cinema. An initial set of releases earlier this year was filled with many hidden treasures, the most impressive being YOYES by Angel Illaremendi, and an Alberto Iglesias compilation set. Hopefully, they will be able to get the distribution they need. Their discs are sometimes hard to track down though they appear to be carried by several big on-line CD stores.

Sometimes it pays to have an in-house record company. Such was the case this past year with the Universal Studios and Decca relationship. In vastly superior sound than many scores receive, and with more music offered on CD for some scores than would have been possible perhaps on other labels devoted to film music, Decca managed to release almost all the "big" scores that Sony Classical missed.

With Decca seeming to corner new scores, Varese Sarabande wisely managed to dig into the vaults and begin re-releasing expanded editions of scores, and re-instituted their CD club. The Goldsmith OMEN TRILOGY would be worth a nomination here alone as it manages to mainstream the kind of informative booklets often only reserved for limited pressing releases or classical music. John Williams HEARTBEEPS proved to be a timely release that is worth comparing to his A.I. for some interesting similarities. The down side to the year was fewer re-recordings from Varese which is unfortunate because they are generally very well done and get much play on my own time.

Marco Polo continued to impress with releases in it's Steiner and Herrmann series and also in their European film music series with an impressive Auric release. Kudos to Marco Polo for helping create some potential crossover market for the depressed classical music industry where these discs often end up in bigger CD stores. Though the interesting thing is that in major stores like Tower Records they have begun to be placed prominently together with other film music releases. Their Herrmann SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO really deserves major accolades from the industry which I hope happens along with the kind of acknowledgement that John Morgan and Bob Stromberg deserve so very much.

 The Worst Soundtrack Releases      

1. THE MAN WHO CRIED (Golijov) - Sony

2. OCEAN'S ELEVEN (Holmes)  - Warner

Out of all the releases this year, two reached a new low. The single worse release was Sony's THE MAN WHO CRIED. An apt title for those who made the mistake of purchasing this CD that managed to have an eclectic mix of arias, gypsy music, and original music performed by the Kronos Quartet. A performance of "Dido's Lament" by a Roumanian folk ensemble reaches a new low of stupidity. The piece that "inspired" the choice of the film composer for the film appears in an arrangement by someone else and to top that off the composer's name appears in the smallest print of the whole CD outside of the copyright data.

Just as I thought a tie between THE MEXICAN (Silvestri) and THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE (Burwell) was inevitable, out came OCEAN'S ELEVEN (Holmes). Here was a release that just went from annoying to irritating to maddening. All the score cues include dialogue from the film. Other source songs often have dialogue or are cut. The "original" score consists of contemporary jazz minimalism of a kind that sounds like the bridges between stuff that has happened and something that will happen. It works in a film where a score is trying to do that, but when you say everything you have to say harmonically, melodically, and rhythmically in 30 seconds or less, it really makes no matter what you are setting out to do when you are creating a CD listening experience. Each score cue repeats its material ad nauseum and gets no better with each passing minute. Instantly wins the "Best CD to Listen to in Fast Forward Mode."

FILM MUSIC REVIEW.  All Rights Reserved, 2001.

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