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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... no matter your affinity for the show, because Jeff Rona's music for the series is among the most elegantly relaxing underscore for any television concept in the digital era. Avoid it... if you prefer your scores to raise your blood pressure rather than vice versa, and a tasteful mix of sensitive solos over an ambient synthetic bed will only involuntarily put you to sleep. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
The ensemble for the recording is led by Rona's own keyboarding and woodwind performances. He utilizes the talents of nine soloists (outside of Isham's trumpet performances) to provide color on brass, cello, guitar, sax, and piano. The sound is understandably sparse compared to the music that Rona was assisting Zimmer with at the time, though for the atmosphere of this series, the distinctly clubby, modern environment provided by Rona is a perfect match. It is easy listening at almost every moment, relaxing and unobtrusive music that uses its solos as an accent to distinguish the varying situations. There is thematic continuity in some of these cues, but loyalty to theme in Chicago Hope isn't as important as the consistency in ambient sound design that Rona could maintain given his status as the show's only composer at the time. In the process of writing, performing, and arranging music that elegantly accompanies the show's sensitivity, Rona helps you forget the budget restrictions that can sometimes plague other shows. The mix is intentionally wet, allowing cymbals and other percussion to swish with fluid movement, and the echoing atmosphere compensates very well for the minimal number of running lines in the mix. The acoustic guitar especially benefits from the mix, yielding the sound of a live performance. The synthesized beats and other rhythm-setters are remarkably soft; they lack the sharp, jarring edge that makes many other television show scores an impossible listen. Whereas the cello and keyboarded cues for tension are the weakness of the scores, Rona excels when poignantly extending the emotions of singular scenes or episodes (which makes sense given that there are many tragic moments in a hospital setting). The cue "The Author's Last Words" contains some very powerful oboe and whistle solos, the latter rendered with extremely elegant respect by Rona himself. The arrangement of the album places the most harmonically rich pieces near the front, highlighted by the very attractive pair of "New Hope" and "Bonding." Overall, Rona's work for Chicago Hope is the kind of relaxing background experience perfect for studying students or others who need to chill out to a reliable soundtrack album. Interestingly, of all the reviews for television series or films at Filmtracks, Chicago Hope has easily eclipsed all others in cumulative album sales through the site. ****
The insert contains short notes from Rona and one of the show's actors about the music. Principal musicians:
Guitars: Peter Maunu Soprano Sax: Bob Shepard Oboe, English Horn: Marni Huffum, Leslie Reed Cello: David Low, John Walz, Martin Tillman Keyboards, flutes and whistles: Jeff Rona Piano solo on "New Hope": P.J. Hanke | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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