August 29, 2007

• New Releases--Some General Comments

  There have been a lot of new score releases in the past few weeks after a relative drought this summer.  It's not uncommon to have a few blockbuster scores show up but it seems that the hype of these big films often did not live up to expectations. 

  MovieScore Media, from Sweden, usually releases download only special discs.  The scores are often already being lauded overseas before the music hits here.  Two scores though came out a few weeks ago that fall outside of that range.  The first of these is for a sleeper film festival thriller, Shadow in the Trees featuring music by Jeff Toyne.  It is an interesting score overall and Toyne is a composer worth watching.  MSM released a few hardcopies of the score for those os us not interested in making the leap to the digital music download challenge.  The other is for Skinwalkers by Andrew Lockington.  This time we have a major Hungarian orchestra and conductor being underutilized for a score that turns out to be overall a lot of fun to listen to with plenty of musical gestures that will make you pay attention to Lockington in the future.  Lockington has served as an orchestrator with Mychael Danna so his music feels like Danna's but a bit more mainstream--at least here.

  Now in his mid 50s(!), Mark Isham continues to impress me, and I'm not a big fan of ambient scores.  But Isham's sound has really evolved to combine those old New Age sounds with a variety of ideas.  It takes some guts to write against the expectations of a sports movie in Gracie, but that is just what he does.  This is a beautifully understated score that has a lot to offer on repeated listenings as you discover the various layers he has provided. 

  Just listened to Brian Tyler's War.  Is it me, or does it sound like Tyler is still trying to prove he is a great composer?  Maybe it's just that he actually does have a style that causes the problem in a period in Hollywood where composers seem to have to rewrite what is on a temp track because it's cheaper perhaps than just licensing the existing music.  War is an exciting blend of orchestra, techno, and HipHop sound.  The orchestral stuff is not prevalent, which is a shame because this is the London Symphony Orchestra.  Seems like an extravagant expense to be buried under drums and electronica.  The score sounds like an Arnold Bond score minus Barry/Norman's famous theme.  There is an interesting thematic idea that eventually grows out of the texture and helps center the score.  It's a lot of fun and a great way to wrap up the summer.  In a couple of places there are some ethnic ideas, something which Tyler somewhat exploded into the market with after his score to Children of Dune. 

  If you haven't picked up the new Masters and Commanders CD from Telarc featuring Erich Kunzel and the pops it's worth a listen.  There is a variety of music throughout in stellar sound heavy on music from the Pirates of the Caribbean series, and there are some repeated selections from a few past compilations (newly recorded), but the disc opens with a welcome recording of Alfred Newman's "Conquest" from Captains of Castille which is a personal favorite.  The booklet is a little bizarre with some screwed up editing in its final page suggesting that there were a few other pieces that might have been omitted from the release.  Still at 60 minutes it continues some of the orchestra's best performances and it is completely free of the speaker shattering sound effects.

  • 10:40 am
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