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FILM MUSIC REVIEW - The Web Magazine
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CD Reviews - Soundtracks
Volume 6/ Number 2 (September - October 2004)
All reviewed soundtracks are listed alphabetically and written by Roger Hall or Steven Kennedy.
Some of them are given the designation of "CD of Special Merit" for their outstanding contibution to film music production.
Also, there is usually one soundtrack that is singled out as "Editor's Choice - Best of the Month."
If you have any comments or questions about any review, write to:
Please keep FMR up and running by ordering a copy of A Guide to Film Music or order something from Amazon.com (see Bookshelf Search below)
Scroll down this page to read all the CD reviews.
For the choices of best film composer, soundtracks, compilations, and record labels of the year, go to:
To find other web sites about film composers, magazines, soundtracks and record labels, go to:
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A Guide to Film Music - Songs and Scores (2nd revised edition, PineTree Press, 2002)
This expanded and updated guide was written by film music historian Roger Hall.
It has a wealth of information:
*A timeline of film music highlights from 1926 to 2001
*A chapter on suggestions for listening to film music
*A complete list of Academy Award film music from 1934 to 2000
*A complete list of the Sammy Movie Music Awards from 1988 to 2001
*Top100 Scores of the 20th Century
*Comments on Film Music (exclusive interviews with Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson; quotes from Bernard Herrmann, David Raksin, Dimitri Tiomkin, and others)
*An extensive bibliography and discography.
Throughout the guide are many illustrations of composer autographs, including Johnny Green, Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, Miklos Rozsa, Max Steiner , Dimitri Tiomkin, and others. There are also songwriter autographs as well, such as Harold Arlen, Sammy Cahn, Ira Gershwin, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer, and Jay Livingston.
The title page of the guide has a rare score page from the end credits of E.T., boldly signed by John Williams.
This film music guide is a limited edition and will be numbered and signed by the author.
If you order by 15 February 2004 you'll also receive a Free CDR titled: "Listener's Guide to Film Music."
Commendations:
* A Guide to Film Music was mentioned in the March/April 2002 issue of Film Score Monthly.
*In a letter to the author of the film music guide, the distinguished film composer Elmer Bernstein has written the following: "I do feel your book is done in a most interesting way. It affords a quick overview of what has not become a very, very broad field. Congratulations!"
To order your limited edition copy of A Guide to Film Music with accompanying CDR while supply lasts, go to:
Music Titles from PineTree Press
Carry A Tune Week
Jerry Goldsmith, Hopalong Cassidy, Ken Darby, and Victor Young
Yo-Yo Ma Plays Morricone
American Film Institute's Tribute to Movie Songs
Centennial Tributes
Film Music Lectures
Review Rundown::
All reviews are written by Roger Hall and Steven Kennedy.
The titles are chosen to cover a broad range of commercial, promotional and vintage soundtracks. No bootleg CDs are reviewed. Some CDs are designated for "Special Merit" and one is singled out for "Editor's Choice, Best of the Month"--chosen at any time during the month.
The comments and ratings are based on the whole CD package: recorded music, booklet notes and art design.
Ratings:
***** (Superlative - Highest Recommendation)
****1/2 (Outstanding - Highly Recommended)
**** (Exceptional - Especially Worthwhile)
***1/2 (Very Good - Better Than Average)
*** (Good - Okay)
**1/2 (Fair - Nothing Special)
** (Mediocre - Barely Passable)
* (Poor - Save Your Money)
Each month soundtracks are selected for Best of the Month and/or Recording of Special Merit. These soundtracks are chosen on the date of the review, and not necessarily at the end of the month, and are those felt worthy of exceptional merit.
Some selected soundtracks have these headings above them:
![[Image]](pict319.jpg){kind=small} Editor's Choice for Best of the Month |
![[Image]](pict327.jpg){kind=small} CD Release of Special
Merit |
Past FMR Reviews -
ATOMIC JOURNEYS & NUKES IN SPACE/ TRINITY AND BEYOND - William Stromberg and John Morgan [Editor's Choice]
BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA (La-La Land) - Richard Gibbs
BRANNIGAN (La-La Land) - Dominic Frontiere [Special Merit]
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT (La-La Land) - Michael Suby
THE CHASE (Sony/Columbia) - John Barry
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (Warner Bros) - John Williams [Special Merit]
THE LAST SAMURAI (Elektra) - Hans Zimmer [Editor's Choice for January]
LAWS OF ATTRACTION (La-La Land) - Edward Shearmur
LOGAN'S RUN (Film Score Monthly) - Laurence Rosenthal & others [Special Merit]
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST (Integrity/Sony) - John Debney
THE PUNISHER (La-La Land) - Carlo Siliotto
A SUMMER PLACE (BYU FMA) - Max Steiner [Editor's Choice for July]
THE TERMINAL (Decca/UMG) - John Williams [Editor's Choice for June]
TERROR TRACT (La-La Land) - Brian Tyler
TWO BROTHERS (Decca/UMG) - Stephen Warbeck
VAN HELSING (Decca) - Alan Silvestri
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (Marco Polo) - Erich Wolfgang Korngold [Editor's Choice for November]
BERNARD HERRMANN: THE CBS YEARS, Vol. 1: The Westerns (Prometheus) [Editor's Choice for October]
BERNARD HERRMANN: THE CBS YEARS, Vol. 2: American Gothic (Prometheus)
BIG FISH (Sony Music Soundtrax) - Danny Elfman [Special Merit]
THE BIG SKY (BYU/FMA) - Dimitri Tiomkin [Editor's Choice for August]
THE BUCCANEER (DRG) - Elmer Bernstein
CABIN FEVER (La-La Land) - Nathan Barr & Angelo Badalement
COLD MOUNTAIN (DMZ/Columbia/Sony) - Gabriel Yared & various songs
CREEPSHOW (La-La Land) - John Harrison
ELF (Varese Sarabande) - John Debney [Special Merit]
H.P. LOVECRAFT'S FROM BEYOND (La-La Land) - Richard Band
HULK (Decca) - Danny Elfman
JOHNNY ENGLISH (Decca/UMG) - Edward Shearmur
LOONEY TUNES: Back in Action (Varese Sarabande) - Jerry Goldsmith
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Reprise/WMG) - Howard Shore
MATCHSTICK MEN (Varese Sarabande) - Hans Zimmer
THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS (Warner Sunset) - Don Davis
McQ (Film Score Monthly) - Elmer Bernstein [Special Merit]
THE MISSING (Sony Classical) - James Horner
ON DANGEROUS GROUND (Film Score Monthly) - Bernard Herrmann [Editor's Choice for December]
PETER PAN (Varese Sarabande) - James Newton Howard
POINT OF ORIGIN (La-La Land) - John Ottman
RED RIVER (Marco Polo) - Dimitri Tiomkin [Special Merit]
SEABISCUIT (Decca) - Randy Newman [Editor's Choice for July]
TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES (Varese Sarabande) - Marco Beltrami [Special Merit]
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (La-La Land) - Steve Jablonsky
TIMELINE (Varese Sarabande) - Brian Tyler
Soundtrack Reviews (January - June 2003)
Soundtrack Reviews (July - December 2002)
Soundtrack Reviews (January-June 2002)
Archive of Soundtrack Reviews (1999-2001)
Note: Some of the CDs reviewed may be ordered from Amazon.com
To order them, go to Booksehlf Search below...
Bookshelf Search
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| CD Reviews - Soundtracks (September/October 2004) |
AMERIKA (Basil Poledouris) - ****
BORN FREE (John Barry) - ***** [Special Merit]
GERRY ANDERSON'S THUNDERBIRD 6 (Barry Gray) - ***1/2
GODZILLA - 50th Anniversary Edition (Akira Ifukube) - ***
HEADHUNTER & HEADHUNTER: REDEMPTION (Richard Jacques) - ****
HERO (Tan Dun) - ****1/2 [Special Merit]
JULIUS CAESAR (Miklos Rozsa) - ***** [ Editor's Choice for October]
SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (Edward Shearmur) - ****
SPIDER-MAN 2 (Danny Elfman) - ****
THUNDERBIRDS (Hans Zimmer) - ***
VANITY FAIR (Mychael Danna) - ***
THE VILLAGE (James Newton Howard) - ***** [Editor's Choice for September]
AMERIKA (1987)
25 tracks [75:39]
Music composed by Basil Poledouris. The Hollywood Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Basil Poledouris. Cello solos by Steven Erdody and Ron Leonard. Album produced by Ford A. Thaxton, Basil Poledouris and Chistopher Landry. Executive Producer for Prometheus Records: Luc Van de Ven. Orchestrated by Greg McRitchie, Jack Smalley and Scott Smalley. Music Editor: Tom Villano. Music Recording and Mixing Engineer: Danny Wallin. Digital Editing and Sequencing: Andre Knecht. Balance Engineer: Frederick Sarhagen. Digital Transfers and Prep Work: James Nelson. Mastering Engineer: Bernie Grundman. Liner Notes: Christopher Landry.
Prometheus PCR 519
Rating: ****
In his Introduction in the CD booklet, writer-director Donald Wrye wrote this about AMERIKA: "For a television network to undertake a long an expensive (15 1/2 hours, $45 million), highly controversial project--controversial not just because of the subject matter, but the evocative novelistic style--was in many ways a moment in time, not to be repeated." It is very unlikely that such a television series about the invasion and take-over of the US by the Soviet Union could be made today with the focus on world terrorism. I must confess to not having watched this series when it was shown in 1987, so my review will be of the soundtrack only.
The TV series is set in 1997, ten years after the take-over of the US by the Soviet Union. Thus the opening Main Title (2:18) sets the tone with a theme that is at first unsettling and then more comforting. In the CD notes, Basil Poledouris is quoted as saying: "the main theme. written for full orchestra, speaks of the land. It's nostalgic, with a sense of loss, but not too sentimental." His theme is used throughout the soundtrack and keeps the idea of "the land" as a constant reminder. The second track has more sympathetic music for the oldest daughter ("Alethea" 1:08) of a proud founding family in Nebraska. Her theme will again appear in the beautifully written cue: "Return to the Brothel/ Helmut & Alethea" (track 8, 2:12).
This soundtrack has many other marvelous cues. One of these is a grand theme for the occupying U.N.S.S.U (United Nations Special Secuirty Unit) (track 4,1:38). Naturally with such a somber story there are darker cues as well, such as the intensely moving cello solo in "Dieter's View" (track 16, 3:26), and in "Burial" (track 19, 3:47).
The various cues on the soundtrack follow the seven chapters of the TV series and are described in detail in the very good notes by Christopher Landry. A nice addition in the booklet is the list of all the musicians in the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra who performed on the AMERIKA soundtrack. This is something which should be done more often. The booklet design itself is attractive and easy to read.
The soundtrack itself sounds very clean and vivid.
Returning to the notes, Basil Poledouris says that in many ways he "used the music of Aaron Copland as a model...His music if ull of optimism, and I put a spin on that. It's 'Dark Copland,' if you will."
It may be 'Dark Copland,' but this AMERIKA soundtrack that should be added to any film music collection as an example of high quality writing for a television series by someone who was highly skilled in that area. But it's also a very listenable soundtrack too. In fact, this Poledouris soundtrack is much better than many of today's lackluster film scores.
Prometheus deserves high praise for continuing to release worthwhile soundtracks such as this one.
Poledouris fans will especially want to get this excellent CD.
--Roger Hall, 16 September 2004
Note: This soundtrack is a limited edition of 3,000 copies.
Also recommended is another CD with two scores composed and conducted by Basil Poledouris:
CHERRY 2000 & NO MAN'S LAND (Prometheus PCD 155)
For information how to order any of these CDs, go to:
or email your request to:
| CD Release
of Special
Merit |
BORN FREE (1966)
Music composed and conducted by John Barry.
Film Score Monthly Vol. 7, no. 10 (limited pressing)
12 Tracks [Total Time = 39:56]
Rating: *****
It should not take a lot of superlative writing to convince anyone to rush and order the latest Film Score Monthly release. John Barry’s classic 1966 score for BORN FREE is one of those pieces of music that raised awareness to the composer’s talent and features one of the most beautiful themes of all time. The score was up against some major competition for its Oscar (Mayuzumi’s THE BIBLE, Bernstein’s HAWAII, Goldmith’s THE SAND PEBBLES, and North’s WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLFF?) but one all the same, picking up an additional Oscar for the title theme song written with Don Black.
Film Score Monthly’s reduced price release is the MGM LP now on CD for the first time. It includes Matt Monro’s wonderful performance of the title song as well. While a re-recording surfaced a couple of years ago on Varese Sarabande, this release is a welcome addition for Barry fans who have played out their album. The music sounds better than ever. But far more impressive are the extensive booklet notes that detail the making of the film, the score, and the track-by-track information we have come to expect. For those who may not know, this recording is essentially a studio recording made at the time of the film because Barry was unhappy with portions of the score’s original recording. There is a lot of great music making in what is essentially a theme with variations carried out over the playing time of the disc.
--Steven A. Kennedy 7 August 2004
Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com
GERRY ANDERSON’S THUNDERBIRD 6 (1968)
11 Tracks [Total Time: 37:16]
Music composed by Barry Gray. Produced by Addison Liu. Music recorded at Olympic Studios, Barnes England by Keith Grant. Sequenced, edited, and mastered by Adam Hawk. CD Art direction by Mark Banning.
MGM 001
Rating: ***1/2
I was not aware that MGM still had a music division that released CDs. Some will be glad that what appears to be an inaugural reinstitution of their music division features music from Barry Gray’s work on the THUNDERBIRD series. Released to coincide no doubt with the Universal live-action film from this bizarre 1960s campy marionette drama. This music comes from what would be the final outing of the series (in any format) in a full-scale film. It comes twenty years after Gray’s death.
By 1968, Gray had worked on many of the Anderson’s projects. His use of large-scale orchestral backdrops helped to provide a larger-than-life feel to the quirkiness of many of these efforts in "supermarionation." THUNDERBIRD 6 features the redesign of the puppets to more realistic head sizes. Fans of Gray will enjoy the diverse musical ideas that are kind of a cross between Carl Stalling cartoon punctuations and the more typical film scoring techniques of the 1960s—though the lounge style tends to skew a bit earlier in its sound. As a fan of the Anderson’s later outing, SPACE: 1999, some of the musical ideas and style are fun to hear in there earlier guises. There is a lot of imaginative writing here that makes for a relaxed and fun listen. "Ballroom Jazz" will be a great addition to any lounge lizard’s music collection. There is also a fun set of variations on "The Star-Spangled Banner" as part of an edited track titled "Welcome Aboard/Breakfast Over N.Y./Brain Destroys Prototype #1." "Grand Canyon to Melbourne" has some great moments in it as well before it moves into the sinister music that often shows up whenever "The Brain" does his dastardly work. There is some international flavoring that appears in "Indian Street Music" with its sitar and oboe solos, and in a later cue we even get a little polka music. Overall, this is an enjoyable half-hour or so of music that Gray fans will love to have.
One odd thing is that the program notes in the booklet are un-credited even though they seem to be personal thoughts and reflections (they are even written in first person.) The booklet is a nice tribute to Gray and has great color photographs from the film. The sound is drawn from analog sources and mixed fairly well. The sound from the brass tends to be a bit dry which has more to do with how they were originally recorded.
--Steven A. Kennedy, 11 August 2004
Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com
GODZILLA (50th Anniversary Edition)(1954)
26 Tracks [Total Time = 46:28]
Music composed by Akira Ifukube. Album produced by Michael V. Gerhard. Executive Producer: Matt Verboys. Digitally mastered by James Nelson. CD Art Direction: Mark Banning. Notes by David Hirsch.
La-La Land LLLCD 1022
Rating: ***
I remember the incredible promotion given the release of GODZILLA. The ads said something like: "Watch out! Godzilla is coming!" Well, I fell for it and went to see it. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't too bad, even with a sadly miscast Raymond Burr being the only American actor in this Japanese monster epic. Now the film has been restored to its original length, without Raymond Burr, and about 40 minutes of extra footage. This soundtrack is being released to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film.
While the music by Ifukube left little impression on me when I saw the film, listening to this CD made me realize why. It isn't that good. Unfortunately, even though the CD has been made "from the best available Mono sources from the Toho music vaults" and digitally remastered, the sound isn't very good either.
In his notes, David Hirsch praises the Ifukube score, writing that "Ifukube's masterful score helped preserve the horror and pathos of Honda's original." I do think there are some effective cues in this soundtrack but I wouldn't go so far as call this a "masterful score." For one thing, the main title theme sounds uninspired and annoyingly repetitious. It is heard on several different tracks, including the film version with sound effects (track 23, 2:03). The fact that Ifukube wrote the score in only a few days perhaps explains why so much of it sounds repetitious. Apparently there wasn't enough time to be more creative.
Some of the dark and menacing cues that I thought were effectively done include: "Stormy Ootojima Island" (track 7, 1:53), "Godzilla Comes Asore" (track 11, 1:52), and especially "Godzilla Comes to Tokyo Bay" (track 14, 1:25) which is repeated in "Godzilla Leaving (Film Version)(track 26, 2;21).
There are also quieter cues, like "Prayer for Peace" (track 18, 2:48), which is marred by sound distortion. Another slow moving cue is also the longest one, ""Godzilla at the Ocean Floor" (track 20, 6:20). Unfortunately, this cue sounds like it is sinking to the bottom of the ocean floor with its extremely slow tempo and heavy use of strings and woodwinds.
The sound effects of "Godzilla Approaches" (track 1,0:49) and "Godzilla Leaving" (1:04) are fun to hear with that unique sound of the giant monster's voice blaring out.
Even with the Ifukube influence from Ainu chants and folk melodies, much of his score sounds like a weaker imitation of a European classical composer like Prokofiev, who wrote the classic Russian score for ALEXANDER NEVSKY. Ifukube was apparently influenced by Prokofiev's score since his GODZILLA soundtrack has some striking resemblance in the dark orchestration, especially the reliance on low brass instruments.
I would say this 1954 soundtrack in its original recording order is primarily for huge fans of the GODZILLA films, like Harry Knowles of "Ain't-It-Cool-News" fame, who wrote a gushy tribute in the CD booklet. Others may be find this CD not to their liking.
--Roger Hall, 15 September 2004
HEADHUNTER & HEADHUNTER: REDEMPTION (2004)
Disc One - HEADHUNTER: REDEMPTION - 26 Tracks [Total Time = 66:44]
Disc Two - HEADHUNTER - 22 Tracks [Total Time = 66:19]
Music composed by Richard Jacques. Album produced by Richard Jacques and Michael V. Gerhard. Performed by the London Session Orchestra conducted by Steve Lloyd ("Headhunter" score only). "Headhunter: Redemption" orchestrated and performed by Richard Jacques.
"Headhunter" score recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London. Music mixed by Richard Jacques. Engineered by Marco Streccioni. Digitally mastered by Adam Johnston. CD Art Direction by Mark Banning.
La-La Land Records 1023
Rating: ****
Soundtrack releases featuring the music for video games is becoming a growing marketplace for fans of this entertainment genre. Earlier in the year La-La Land released Michael Giacchino’s SECRET WEAPONS OVER NORMANDY, which I really enjoyed. Richard Jacques is fast becoming a well-respected name in the video game industry with his bar-raising work on HEADHUNTER for which he received the 2002 Game Audio Network Guild Recognition Award at the Game Developer’s Conference in March 2003. "Game Industry News" nominated HEADHUNTER for their 2002 Soundtrack of the Year. The score also was nominated for 2002 Music of the Year, 2002 Best Live Performance Recording, and 2002 Best Instrumental Song ("Jack’s Theme") by professionals in the music end of the game business. Now comes a two-disc collection of music from the HEADHUNTER video game series to coincide with the release of the new HEADHUNTER: REDEMPTION game.
I’ll start with the second disc which is devoted to music from the first HEADHUNTER (2002) outing. This score is noted for being one of the first to use a world class recording studio along with an orchestra more noted for its work in the film world. The score is for full orchestra and includes some additional sequenced electronic music. The music here is a delightful mix of action cues and wonderful lyrical reposes. "The Stern Legacy" is one of the more restrained of the cues with a great melodic line and little electronic punctuations that reminded me of music from THE ROCK. The music is highly crafted which one needs to not see as such a surprise in the highly competitive video game market. The music of "Jack’s Theme" is as good as Arnold’s contributions to the recent Bond scores. There are a lot of orchestral details to be heard in this track. It features a kind of pop Baroque orchestral sound, a little techno beat, some great string writing, and an extra flute line that floats above and around the music. The brass writing also stands nicely alongside anything being written for recent films. By nature, the music for video games needs to be composed of motivic ideas that can be cut and spliced into repetitive music. That is far more difficult than it sounds. And so it is great to have a chance to hear the music Jacques has composed played out in full and reproduced in such great sound. The variety that Jacques manages to use here will satisfy many fans of action scores. Jacques style is kin to some of Randy Edelman’s scores (DAYLIGHT comes most to mind) mixed in with a little of the Media Ventures electronic sound. Do not let the latter throw you, Jacques is an excellent composer able at melding those sounds into the orchestral fabric far better than most. Portions of this score were even recently performed in concert as have been other suites from Jacques’ work on the video game for STARSHIP TROOPERS.
The opening of HEADHUNTER: REDEMPTION features a brooding horn solo which recaps the primary thematic idea of the earlier score. The synthetic sound reproduction here is unbelievable and to the credit of the production a list of the samples used in the score are provided. Even though a "live" orchestra is not used, one would be hard pressed to figure that out on their own in many of the tracks. The music has more electronic additions than the previous score utilized in a way that is again well-integrated into the overall sound of the music. Too often, sampling becomes a layer of sound that gets added in over an orchestral recording. Jacques does not do that for the most part and thus stands in line behind the likes of Jerry Goldsmith and Richard Band who tend to use electronics in that same way. The familiarity of some of the rhythmic ideas or use of motives will remind you of Media Ventures scores, but this is far above that average sound tending to land closer to the way Harry Gregson-Williams used electronic samples in his score for SPY GAME (2001). Here Jacques continues to employ small motivic ostinato ideas set against longer thematic expressions, or washes of sound, that keep the music from becoming uninteresting. The build of tension in "Leeza’s First Mission" will stand up against any recent music for similar scenes in film scores. Perhaps the best thing about the score itself is that it draws you in to its sound world and keeps your interest. The emotional ride that one must be getting while playing the game is well-served by Jacques’ tense scoring and techno action cues. "MIG Encounter" has perhaps the most "game-ish" sound of the lot, but even this is written at a far superior level than much of the music for these soundtracks. Another standout track comes in "Libery" with its ethereal dissonant choir sounding adding its own unique sound.
Another sign perhaps of the reliance on sampled music and "performed" synthetic sounds is the clarity of the different layers of music. The style is not unlike what Jacques used in HEADHUNTER that was realized and recorded in a way that allows you to manipulate the full orchestra sound. In REDEMPTION, it is easier to hear these multiple ideas that each have their own interesting counterpoint to one another. Though HEADHUNTER: REDEMPTION is primarily an action score, the reflective moments offer a welcome respite from all the forward energy and tension. It would not be hard to lift this score up as well as one of the finest in the genre this year.
It is fascinating to hear some of these scores for video games. The outlet is a good one for the creativity and sheer amount of music that is beginning to be needed to keep these games more interesting. One can hope that Jacques will be picked to try his hand at a feature film in the future where he will be able to follow the muse he uses here. Highly recommended for fans of this sub genre of soundtrack music though sitting through both discs in one sitting may not be the best way to enjoy the merits of both equally.
Kudos to La-La Land for allowing this music a chance to be heard in its entirety. The disc can be ordered from a number of outlets including the label’s site www.lalalandrecords.com. You can learn more about the composer at his website www.richardjacques.co.uk.
--Steven A. Kennedy, 14 September 2004
Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com
| CD Release
of Special
Merit |
HERO (2002/2004)
16 Tracks [Total Time = 54:06]
Music composed and conducted by Tan Dun. Produced by Tan Dun and Grace Row. Violin solos by Itzhak Perlman. Additional violin solos by Tan Dun. KODO Drummers of Japan. Ancient Rao Ensemble of Changsha Museum. China Philharmomic Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Tan Dun. Guqin (ancient lute): Liu Li. Soprano: You Yan. Scoring and Mixing Engineer: Richard King. Music Recording Editor: Yuanlin Chen. Recorded in New York (Itzhak Perlman and Tan Dun), Japan (KODO Drummers), and Beijing (orchestra and chorusrecorded) in 2002. Art Direction: Detchapat Arttasan.
Sony Music Soundtrax SK 87726
Rating: ****1/2
For those who were impressed with Tan Dun's Oscar and Grammy-winning score to CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON [Editor's Choice, December 2000], this soundtrack should bring more listening enjoyment. In CROUCHING TIGER, there were cello solos by Yo-Yo Ma. For HERO, the major violin solos are performed by another world class classical musician, Itzhak Perlman. In addition there are fiddle solos by the composer, who conducts the China Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus. Tan Dun is a busy man on this soundtrack and it's certainly worth his effort!
HERO is a film about ancient China and stars Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leunig, and directed by Zhang Yimou. It has been called "the most lavish film ever made in China." The score is an ideal accompaniment to the richness of the martial arts epic.
The CD opens with "Hero Overture" (4:23), featuring violin solo and the KODO Drummers of Japan, plus brass emphasis, then the strings and wordless chorus join in. The overture is well crafted in its conversation between the violin solo and other instruments. It's an excellent opening track.
The next track, "For the World - Theme Music" (4:19), continues with the solo violin and you may notice the similarity of style with CROUCHING TIGER, especially in the string accompaniment. This is not a bad comparison! In fact, it's a high compliment. A dark-voiced chanting male chorus, along with accented drums are heard on several tracks, like the heavily accented rhythms in "Warriors," (track 3, 3:44) and the last track, "Yearning for the Peace (3:25).
There are also gentler moments, like "Love in Distance" (track 8, 4:55), with the Hero theme on violin and softer string accompaniment. It's a beautiful and subtle cue.
What makes this soundtrack so pleasant is the cues are not the usual one or two minutes but most are three or four minutes, which allows for more development of a thematic idea. Sure there is much repetition of the Hero theme, but that's fine when it's such a great theme.
The CD foldout has a colorful photo on the front and inside. Also all track titles and timings are listed on both the CD jewel case and foldout. That's not often the case with many soundtrack releases, such as those on Varese Sarabande and other record labels.
The question is this: why did it take two years to release this exceptional epic (nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film in 2002)? But thankfully it now has been made available, the film released by Miramax and the score by Sony.
This HERO soundtrack CD should have enormous appeal to those who enjoy a world music type of film score.
Like CROUCHING TIGER, this is yet another example of Tan Dun's excellent skill in crafting both Asian and classical musical elements into a well integrated score for an Asian film.
Highly recommended.
--Roger Hall, 16 September 2004
For more information, see:
| Editor's Choice for October
|
JULIUS CAESAR (1953)
Music composed and conducted by Miklos Rozsa.
Film Score Monthly Vol. 7, no. 9 (limited pressing of 3000 copies)
20 Tracks [Total Time = 68:05/ 11 tracks in sequence = 47:23; Bonus Material, 9 Tracks = 20:41]
Rating: *****
Editor's Comment:
After listening to this FSM release several times, I have to agree with what Steven Kennedy wrote in his review from a few months ago. So I've selected it for this month's Best of the Month designation. At a time when so many of today's are forgettable, this JULIUS CAESAR soundtrack CD is one to savor like a great meal or fine wine. If you value the music of Rozsa, one of the most accomplished composers ever to work in Hollywood, then I'd highly recommend this excellent CD from Film Score Monthly.
--Roger Hall, 25 October 2004
Review:
After a series of unusual Rozsa releases from mostly obscure films, Film Score Monthly released this Golden Age score. It is among my personal favorites of Rozsa’s historical epic scores. The score features a prominent march that is a worthy companion to those he wrote for BEN-HUR and EL CID. The release is primarily in mono with alternate takes available in stereo. This is due to MGM’s practice of transferring original score material from two track to a single track. Rozsa’s brass heavy score gave the MGM Orchestra a real workout which is evident in occasional tracks like "Caesar’s Procession." The music is nothing short of amazing and makes a worthy companion to a re-recording made with Bruce Broughton on Intrada a few years ago. That recording is working from reconstructed parts since MGM tossed the originals years ago. I would not want to be without either, but the original source material has a real rawness to it that is missing from the Intrada release. That sense of urgency which many soundtrack purists tend to raise against re-recordings has more to do with the better circumstances that exist under most contemporary recordings. The best takes make it to modern recordings, usually. As John Barry points out in his comments about FSM’s other August release BORN FREE, there were problems in his soundtrack recording that he was unable to fix and which led to his studio recording of that score.
Rozsa salvaged the procession and the overture for concert performances keeping this great music in the public fan’s ear. With this release, almost all of his epic scores are available in CD format but no doubt we will be reminded of more as FSM continues to release other surprises from Rozsa’s oeuvre. The booklet is up to the expected excellence and the transfer of the material is impeccable. This is an excellent production all around and worth adding to any serious Rozsa collection.
--Steven A. Kennedy 7 August 2004
Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com
For odering information on this and other limited soundtrack releases, go to:
SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (2004)
18 Tracks [Total Time = 57:52/ 17 score tracks = 53:57; 1 song track = 3:55]
Music composed and conducted by Edward Shearmur. Produced by Edward Shearmur, Teese Gohl, and Steve McLaughlin. Performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra. "Over the Rainbow" sung by Jane Monheit, arranged by Edward Shearmur. Music recorded at Abbey Road and Air Lyndhurst Studios, London. Score mixed at Hyperion Sound, Los Angeles. Music recorded and mixed by Steve McLaughlin. Album mastered by Vlado Meller at Sony Music Studios, New York.
Sony Classical SK 92932
Rating: ****
Ever since hearing his score for JAKOB THE LIAR (1999) and later K-PAX (2001) I have been growing my own collection of Shearmur’s scores. Last year his Bond-like score for JOHNNY ENGLISH was one of my personal favorites and earlier this year, his light-hearted outing in LAWS OF ATTRACTION made for a great relaxed listen. SKY CAPTAIN has all the marks of being either an overlooked masterpiece or a disaster. The trailers have featured intriguing excerpts that seem to recall the serial films of the 1930s and 1940s. The studio pulled the film from an earlier summer release to get out of the way of SPIDER-MAN 2, but the September release could be disastrous. Still the film seems to stand in line to be the next STAR WARS or RAIDERS, the latter being its closest possible relative. It is one of the films vying to be "first" to be entirely relying on CGI backdrops. Only time will tell. Sony’s release at any rate has the look and devotion they often lavish on higher profile composers, though they are shrewdly cross-promoting another album by Jane Monheit who performs the standard, "Over the Rainbow."
The CD opens with "The World of Tomorrow" which is a brief track that manages to sound like a John Williams main title and owes a bit to the sound of Horner’s THE ROCKETEER…another film that harkened back to earlier serials. As the disc progresses, Shearmur gives fans of great adventure scores one of the best additions to the repertoire in years. "Calling Sky Captain" has moments that reminded me of the scoring for RAIDERS and the battle sequences in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and also provides a thematic idea that will recur and to which we can hang our ears on in the score. Everything is taken very seriously and the music is there to rouse your emotions and pull you into the noir-ish story telling. It’s not all action music, but when "The Flying Wings Attack" begins we are transported to all those great moments in film where aerial sequences capture our imagination. The music is all there to drive and spur on the energy of the scene. It manages to pull in and out, building tension to great heights over the six-minute length of the cue, this is one great track. "The Aquatic Escape" manages to incorporate Sky Captain’s theme with a little romance, before returning to the hints of evil that is about to be faced—all of this in less than a couple of minutes. As the score plays out, one is astounded by the variety Shearmur uses and also by the compositional talent that is on display here. It may take some warming up to, but by the midpoint of the disc, there is not a bad cue in the bunch. The music is sequenced in such a way that allows for a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. The love theme that pulses through the score is a beautiful one and would have been nice to have in a more fleshed out version. Still, this easily becomes one of the best scores of the year and continues to be confirmation of Shearmur’s abilities and superb talent.
Sony’s sound is a very warm one that manages to take some of the edge off the music a bit. It in some respects has a similar sound to what Elfman received for his BATMAN score. It works very well and tends to provide a more classical orchestral sound to the rousing music Shearmur has written.
The inside cover bears the dedication, "In memory of Michael Kamen." Shearmur got his start as an orchestrator for Kamen on 1988’s THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHHAUSEN and continued to serve in that capacity through several of Kamen’s productions as late as the score for EVENT HORIZON (1997) after which Shearmur’s composing career began to accelerate. It is a bittersweet reminder of the losses the film music world has suffered over the past year.
--Steven A. Kennedy, 14 September 2004
Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com
SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004)
15 Tracks [Total Time = 48:03; 14 score tracks = 45:49]
Music composed and produced by Danny Elfman. The Hollywood Studio Symphony conducted by Pete Anthony. Score recorded at Sony Pictures Scoring Stage. Score mixed at Eastwood Scoring Stage, Warner Brothers. Music recorded and mixed by Dennis Sands. Album mastered by Patricia Sullivan Fourstar at Bernie Grundman Mastering. Art direction and design by David Coleman.
Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax CK 92842
Rating: ****
In SPIDER-MAN 2, fans got a chance to see a real arch-villain with a little more character than in many superhero features. Doc Ock, played by the incomparable Alfred Molina, was just the right choice for this sequel to the 2002 blockbuster. The film quickly slipped past the tangled webs of other storylines and turned out to be a runaway hit that is on its way to making more money than its predecessor (perhaps helped by higher ticket prices). Critics went crazy over this film placing it alongside SUPERMAN and BATMAN as one of the finest films of the genre.
Elfman’s score for the first outing was felt by some to be theme-less. But, if one spent some time listening to the score it was evident that our hero’s thematic idea wove its way in and out of the fabric of the music. It was the kind of intricate score everyone says they want, but which rewarded those willing to enter into its musical world. SPIDER-MAN 2 opens with a return of that same thematic material relentlessly spinning over one of the most engaging main title sequences of the year…taking a page from del Torro’s HELLBOY last Spring. The CD also opens with this main title which is among Elfman’s finest creations.
What SPIDER-MAN 2 may be for Elfman is that integral turning point in approach to material that allows him to take the best elements of his past endeavors and push them into new realms. There are all the fine touches one would expect. Driving ostinato patterns are filled out more in their orchestration in a way similar to his early score for DARKMAN, a personal favorite. Some of that style is heard in "Angry Arms/Rebuilding." "Doc Ock is Born" is a great music enhancing cue that raises the tension appropriately. The music here has just a touch of that rhythmic tension that Elfman used with wonderful visceral intensity in his score for PLANET OF THE APES. The lyrical bittersweet Elfman is heard in poignant tracks like "A Phone Call/The Wrong Kiss/Peter’s Birthday." There is a lot of emotional ground to communicate here and the score does a great job towards that end. The kind of out-of-control music that accompanies the bank scene is truly wonderful to hear and it makes an appearance in an appropriately named track.
SPIDER-MAN 2 as a score disk was well worth the wait and is easily one of Elfman’s prime efforts. In a rather irritating marketing ploy, the covers for the score CD and another disc full of songs not heard in the movie are somewhat similar. Be sure you look carefully before you buy. Finally, of great amusement is the inclusion of the B.J. Thomas classic "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," which is used in a great sequence in the film. Too bad the theme from the cartoon series that makes a more humorous appearance could not have been given a full orchestral treatment as an added bonus and to help bolster the rather short playing time. Overall though, this is one of the best listening experiences of a contemporary film score that I have had in some time.
--Steven A. Kennedy, 6 August 2004
Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com
THUNDERBIRDS (2004)
18 Tracks [Total Time = 50:27/ Score material, 15 tracks = 42:10]
Music composed by Hans Zimmer. Also includes "Thunderbirds are Go!" and "F.A.B." by Barry Gray as arranged by Zimmer, and in a performance from BUSTED. Conducted by Nick Glennie-Smith. Produced by Hans Zimmer and Ramin Djawadi. Score recorded at Air Studios, Lyndhurst Hall, London.. Music recorded by Geoff Foster. Mixed by Slamm Andrews. Album mastered at Heavy Entertainment. Art direction and design by www.linards.co.uk .
Decca B0003219-02
Rating: ***
I like Jonathan Frakes so I have to hope that at least his latest directorial outing will have a better life on video. Still, a live-action feature film of THUNDERBIRDS, that classy/campy marionette cartoon of the 1960s just did not look all that interesting. It may be that with films like SPY KIDS and its sequels that a film like this is starting to seem like a knock-off when it really could be the other way around. There may not be enough name recognition among the younger crowd to warrant all that much excitement, but perhaps a few nostalgic parents will endulge them. After all, there are not too many PG related films these days that sport no profanity and "mild violence."
Unlike the feature film LOST IN SPACE, the producers at least saw fit to utilize Barry Gray’s classic theme. Hans Zimmer has updated it a little bit but it still retains the flavor of the original. It makes for a boisterous opening to the disc. The following "International Rescue" is kind of a cross between Zimmer’s score for GLADIATOR and the music from David Newman’s GALAZY QUEST. It could be a lot worse though the rhythmic punctuations in "Buggy Chase" are exactly the same as those in GLADIATOR and are except for the electronica, virtually identical to that score’s orchestration. That is the kind of thing that Zimmer’s detractors will enjoy bashing, but they will still miss a fun score. Some may also hear a bit of "borrowing" from Howard Shore’s LORD OF THE RINGS music in the accompaniment for some of The Hood’s music.
Generally, this orchestral score is typical of Zimmer’s recent output and fans will not be disappointed by his efforts here. A nicely lyrical thematic idea for Lady Penelope allows for a welcome respite from some of the action music. Mostly Zimmer has integrated his techno beats and synthetic sounds so that they spend more time as part of the musical fabric and less as an over-layed idea. However, the mixing tends to bring up these electronic aspects in favor of the orchestral backdrop. The balance between the two ideas works well to provide some variety and for the younger music fans in the audience might just work. "Can’t Wait to be a Thunderbird" has a lot of Goldsmith’s style running through it which seems bittersweet. All that techno and electronic sound may have made Barry Gray proud since he too loved to tinker with electronics. One wonders what he would have accomplished with the technology being employed today. For the most part this score has a kind of David Arnold Bond feel in places. It works well in this score.
THUNDERBIRDS is one of those scores that is not going to garner a lot of immediate attention because of its fast fade in the theaters among unusually stiff late-summer competition. Fans of action genre scores will find much to admire here.
There are plenty of fun little moments that might just make it worth your effort. For those wondering how Zimmer got attached to this project, you might recall he wrote a cue ("Thunderbird") for a little movie called THELMA AND LOUISE. Isn’t life weird?!
--Steven A. Kennedy, 11 August 2004
Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com
VANITY FAIR (2004)
25 Tracks [Total Time = 46:26/ 23 score tracks = 40:24; 2 song tracks = 6:02]
Music composed by Mychael Danna. The Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Dodd. Featuring performances by Sissel, Custer LaRue, Hakim, and Shankar Mahadevan and Richa Sharma. Album produced by Mychael Danna. Music recorded at Henry Wood Hall, London. Score mixed at Sony Music Studios, New York. Music recorded and mixed by Brad Haehnel. Album mastered by Bill Dooley at Paramount Mastering, Hollywood. Art Direction/Design by Isabelle Wong.
Decca B0003076-02
Rating: ***
Mira Nair (MONSOON WEDDING (2001) and SALAAM BOMBAY! (1988)) is the director of this latest adaptation of the Thackeray novel VANITY FAIR that somehow manages to compress into a feature film where others have chosen the multiple mini-series format. This version features Gabriel Byrne and Reese Witherspoon and appeared at the Venice Film Festival before receiving a brief appearance at the box office in early September. There were a spattering of unusual trailers for the film on television that seemed to not know how to sell this PG-13 period drama. And of course, audiences are harder on dramas receiving a mixed review than for a comedy, science fiction, or horror film.
After the disappointing rejection of Danna’s score for last year’s THE HULK (probably one of the worst superhero films I actually paid to see), Danna worked on a couple of smaller scale pictures. This fall fans will hear two new scores from the composer who has scored the Istvan Szabo adaptaion of W. Somerset Maugham’s BEING JULIA which will receive a limited screening that is likely hoping for positive buzz before trying its hand at being Oscar bait in a wide release.
The first score track, "Exchange," begins with a quality that sounds like early 19th Century orchestral music. It soon moves into a statement of the song that opened the disc, "She Walks in Beauty," and then a busy classical string sound followed by a restrained wind response that ends all too soon before being picked up in the next track. Danna’s score has a real classical restraint to it that is reminiscent of Richard Robbins Merchant Ivory work. That is not meant as faint praise by any means. The sound of the score will be most appealing to all who enjoy those works and some of Doyle’s period scores. There are times when I had to remind myself that this was not a Doyle score. When the individual tracks are allowed to breathe beyond a couple of minutes they are quite engaging, the briefer tracks, like "I’ve Made Up My Mind," are decidedly brief even though Danna manages to give them a fine-tuned shape of their own. "Becky and Rawdon Kiss" is a really interesting melding together of Danna’s classical ideas with a wonderfully magical vibraphone sound that moves into a beautiful, all too brief musical scene. Abrupt finishes to tracks are a bit off putting at first but no doubt heighten their respective scenes. The longer tracks tend to be more satisfying musically. "The Virtue Betrayed" is one of these gorgeously wordless vocals that ends just as one is drawn in to its beauty, all appropriate to both its title and likely employment in the film. It is unfortunate that there could not have been a couple of concert versions of the music to help fill out the playing time of the disc.
This is a sumptuously recorded score excellently performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra which lends a warmer quality to the sound of the film while also adding a kind of classical poise and elegance. Danna also is featured as piano soloist in a delightfully classical "Andante" that has a sublime Mozartian sound that lasts but a minute and is matched in another brief "Adagio." It is odd why a Mozart piece was not chosen, but at any rate, these are both quite well accomplished and one has to give credit to someone for taking this route rather than just adding a pre-recorded classical number in its place. Danna has done a fine job of trying to create a sense of elegance and magic for a film which may very well not have captured it all entirely. His score is a reminder at how important composers are to a film when they bring such amazing gifts to a production.
In addition to the orchestral score material, Danna has provided two songs for the film that are included on the CD that come from texts by Lord Byron and Lord Tennyson. "She Walks in Beauty" based on Byron’s poem is performed by Sissel. It is a gorgeously scored song with a magical quality. Sissel’s sound is a cross between Renaissance singing and folk song which in itself is a wonder to hear. A performance by Custer LaRue of the traditional song "The Great Adventurer," adds yet another period feel to the disc. She is given a more difficult setting to sing in "Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal." It moves between a period setting with a more decided 20th century quality that moves the tonal center around. While a good parlor song, it pales to Danna’s other offering. Two additional songs by Amal El Taer and Hassan Esh Esh ("El Salaam") and Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Javed Akhtar ("Gori Re") also find their way to the CD. They seem rather out of place in the context of the other selections and the first one to appear, "El Salaam," is a little disconcerting after the more classical track that precedes it. "Gori Re" closes the disc and seems less out of place, though it is disconcertingly contemporary compared to the music from the rest of the score. Danna does not incorporate this ethnic material into his score at all which some may find fault with at first.
--Steven A. Kennedy, 14 September 2004
Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com
| Editor's Choice for September
|
THE VILLAGE (2004)
13 Tracks [Total Time = 42:31]
Music composed by James Newton Howard. Featuring violinist Hillary Hahn and the Hollywood Studio Symphony conducted by Pete Anthony. Electronic score produced by James T. Hill. Album produced by James Newton Howard. Score recorded and mixed by Shawn Murphy. Score recorded at Sony Scoring Stage. Score mixed at Todd Scoring Stage. Mastered by Dave Collins. Design by Enny Joo.
Hollywood Records 2061-62464-2
Rating: *****
I believe this soundtrack along with THE TERMINAL by John Williams are the most memorable ones released so far this year among new releases. Steve Kennedy tells more in his very good review below.
I agree with him that it's one of the best scores of the year. I feel the same way about M. Night Shyamalan's intriguing story, which may not have the surprises of THE SIXTH SENSE, but is still a well made film.
The solo violin, expertly played by Hillary Hahn, adds a mystical quality to the James Newton Howard score. This music is mostly of pastoral beauty and reminds me a bit of a classical piece, "The Lark Ascending," by R.V. Williams. Yes the soundtrack has less than an hour of music. But what's on the CD is well worth savoring, like fine wine or brew.
Raise a toast to a new film music masterwork!
Hopefully this superb soundtrack will get the respect it so richly deserves.
I give it my highest recommendation and select it as Best of the Month.
--Roger Hall, 15 September 2004
Another Review:
M. Night Shyamalan is one of the few directors these days that seems to revel in making movies. He spends meticulous time implanting clues to his stories all along the way and when they pay off the way the do in THE SIXTH SENSE or SIGNS one recalls the kind of movies that used to be in the Cineplex a lot. Though he has not yet reached the level of a Hitchcock, his often macabre subject matter makes it easy to lump him into the same thriller category. Hitchcock had his Herrmann, Shyamalan has found his musical spirit in the music of James Newton Howard. Howard’s score for THE SIXTH SENSE was probably one of his finest accomplishments that only continued to increase with other Shyamalan films, especially in UNBREAKABLE. THE VILLAGE is a period film in some respects and I will not go into any "spoilers" here.
Howard’s score for THE VILLAGE is one of the best scores of the year. Hillary Hahn’s addition makes for a kind of touch that brings the level of the music to new heights. There are more thematic ideas at play far more than in Howard’s other three scores for Shyamalan. The music is engaging so much that one almost forgets this is music for a film. There are bursts of horror music, and some American Indian sounding drumming, but none of these last long. Instead, we are treated to an amazing score that integrates Hahn’s beautiful playing. Each of the 13 tracks is excellently crafted and shaped. The score as it exists on this release is in fact so uncharacteristic of what one expects. But it works very well. There are times when the actual sound of the soundtrack is like that used by John Williams. This makes sense when one realizes that Shawn Murphy is at the helm here. This score is probably one of the finest Howard has produced. There are times when it delves a bit into territory explored by James Horner in his excellent score to IRIS. Fans of IRIS will definitely want to check out this endeavor.
--Steven A. Kennedy, 6 August 2004
Comments regarding this review can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com
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