Search - Jerry Goldsmith, Lawrence Foster, Bruce Sledge :: The Sum of All Fears

The sum of a great soundtrack

Brandon Cutro | Tyler, Texas United States | 12/20/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With Basil Poledouris and James Horner that did previous Tom Clancy films, Jerry Goldsmith steps in and delivers a great score to the latest film, The Sum of All Fears. The soundtrack starts and ends with a song written by Goldsmith (he wrote the music, which becomes the theme) called "If We Could Remember" which is performed by Yolanda Adams. This song should be nominated for an Academy Award because of its outstanding music and lyrics. The second track "The Mission" includes "If We Could Remember", this time performed by Shana Blake Hill, with a 2 note middle eastern theme thrown in. Goldsmith uses a chorus throughout several of the tracks in a Russian like manner to convey the setting of the film. "The Bomb" is a great track which features chorus, low brass, percussion, and synths. "That Went Well" features the choir and brass playing that haunting Russian theme that I talked about earlier. Really the only 2 action cues are found in "Clear the Stadium" and "Real Time" which represent the suspense styles Goldsmith used in Air Force One and possibly U.S. Marshals with sixteenth note string passages. "The Same Air" concludes the score with the "If We Could Remember" theme and that 2 note middle eastern theme. "If We Could Get Through This" is a decent song thrown in the middle of the score that should have been at the very beginning or very end so it doesn't get in the way of the score. The same thing can be said about "Nessun Dorma" which is a great piece performed by Bruce Sledge in an opera like fashion. Concluding the soundtrack is a reprise of "If We Could Remember". To sum it all up, this is a great soundtrack that shows Goldsmith at his best. I wish the 2 themes were used much more often than they were, which is why a 5 star rating is lacking. But, a great soundtrack and a must have."

Absolutely the best...

Aaron Sapp | fl | 06/05/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can't really explain how moved I was with this score as well as amazed at his abilities, but Goldsmith has really done it with this movie. The operatic backgrounds in the beginnning and end of the movie almost left me in tears. (schindlers list takes the cake for that one) The russian horn themes were full and powerful, and emotional. I'm glad horner did NOT do the music for this Clancy installment, even though he's awesome as well. I'm very hard to impress with scores, but this really did hit the spot. I give it 11 out of 10 stars."

Great Score-One Vocal Too Many

G M. Stathis | cedar city, utah USA | 06/06/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Jerry Goldsmith's work is showcased in the soundtrack recording for "Sum of All Fears," both in terms of the orchestral score and vocal songs. It all works quite well, in the film and on the soundtrack, but with three tracks devoted to the same song, and another to a much less memorable addition, one might say enough. Actually, the main vocal is very good and is used in a different, quite sombre form (in Latin) to open the film (effectively, it should be noted), but it also appears as a "reprise" which might be one vocal too many...the other vocal is just that. As a dramatic score for a Tom Clancy thriller, Goldsmith seems very much at home and he produces one of his best main themes which appears in several forms (including two different renditions in the vocals). There are haunting uses of Middle Eastern idioms throughout the music on the album and they work. The opening music, "The Mission" is a masterful combination of dramatic score and the title song forming what could easily have been an oratorio for September 11, 2001, as the opening music for this film. One cannot fault Goldsmith for wanting to showcase a very good piece of music, but three versions of the same vocal is one too many. Overall, this is a very good effort with one absolute gem..."The Mission," which may become one of this great composer's more remembered achievements; for this cut alone, bravo, indeed!"