Search - Various Artists :: Screen Themes

Hard to find but worth it.

03/25/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Here is an excellent compilation of off-beat and somewhat contemporary film music.In the liner notes, Richard Kraft writes "I hate 'themes' albums. The mere mention of them brings to mind images of 'Gone with the Wind and Other Over-performed Classics' or '101 Strings Place Great Movie Themes Under Sedation'. So when I was given the opportunity to produce Varese Sarabande's first theme album I was determined to do it as I had always wished someone would do it.Since so many of these types of albums sound like bad high school marching band renditions, we decided to use only Original Soundtrack Recordings or top-flight symphonic re-recordings. To that end we enlisted the services of The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of John Scott Mr. Scott, the composer of 'Greystoke' and 'Shoot to Kill' proved to be an ideal conductor at handling the diverse program and styles".All the tracks on this cd are from movies made the same year, 1988. You might wonder why someone doesn't make such theme compilation cd's on a yearly basis. It's been tried before, but the fact is that, by chance, some years offer a bumper crop of good musical selections that manage to sell well enough, but other years... Judging by this cd, it seems to me that 1988 was indeed a bumper-crop year, but in any case, these cd's must compete on the sales rack with other more general soundtrack compilation cd's whose content can freely span years or decades.The main attributes to this cd are that many tracks would otherwise be unavailable and they all seem to have been chosen with their musical merit in mind (not just because the movie was popular, or simply because the it was the main title, or any other inane reasoning - its previously referred to 1988 category notwithstanding, of course).My favorites? I like Scott's own "Shoot to Kill". I also like Nile Rodgers' "King's Motorcade" from "Coming to America", a breif (1:30) but exciting blend of exotic African rhythms driving a majestic orchestral framework (the decription may make it seem awkward, but it really works!). Jerry Goldsmith drops by long enough to deliver the best track from an entirely elecronic score of "Criminal Law" ("The Garden Pavillion"). "The Milagro Beanfield War" by Dave Grusin is terrific and so is the gentle "The Way" from the movie "Betrayed". A suite from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" is also good and clocks in at a satisfying 11:18.All in all this is a worthwhile find, off the beaten path. Not only in its content, but alas, also in its availability...."