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Conducted by:
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David Snell
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Release Date:
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February 8th, 2000
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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The Closer You Get: (Rachel Portman) You've got to love the spunk that
Rachel Portman adds to these funky little romantic comedies... In this case, the
film The Closer You Get is an arthouse sidestep into the lives of a group
of small town Irish men who place an ad in an American newspaper inviting women
to come join them at their town's annual St. Martha's Day Dance, and this, of
course, stirs up the angst of the unmarried women in the town. At any rate, the
local expert on scoring such films, Rachel Portman, throws in her upbeat,
charming, and small-scale score to help the film along. With the popular and
critical success of The Cider House Rules recently under belt, this score
flips back away from her dramatic, string-dominated style and provides music
that jumps from the speakers with provincial personality.
The small budget of the film causes a small ensemble of players for this score.
Portman employs a handful of specialty artists, including a majority of
woodwinds (she sure does seem to love those woodwinds), a few guitars, and some
light band percussion. The music is exactly the type that only loyal Portman
fans would enjoy --not to the extent of, for instance, The Road to
Wellville, but along those lines. While her usual strings are absent, she
makes a lot of noise and rhythm with her woodwinds and guitars. Her two themes
are very repetitive, and could be annoyingly bouncy if you aren't used to her
comedies styles. For me, they roll along at a good clip and make me wiggle in my
seat. The ninth track, "Why Wouldn't They?," kicks the tempo into high gear and
features a hip electric guitar and bass woodwind rendition that I hope we hear
more of from Portman in the future...
The album is exactly what you'd expect for an arthouse film. The majority of
time is occupied by songs that we all know and enjoy --mostly rock songs about
relationships that herald back a few decades. Mixed in between these songs
(including one arranged and produced by Portman herself) are the score tracks,
and because these bits and pieces of score cues are so short, they get gobbled
up by the surrounding songs. Portman's music on the album only amounts to only
fifteen or so minutes, so to be interested in the album for its score contents,
you have to be a doubly big fan of her styles. What you get is still rewarding,
because her compositions are alive with energy and even some Irish flavor. The
songs aren't all that bad either. For the mass of film music fans, I would
recommend that you give it a shot if you find The Closer You Get in a
used or clearance bin (the latter would be more likely given such a small
release). ***
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. The Closer You Get (3:27)
• 2. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers (3:36)
• 3. The Morning After (1:24)
• 4. A New Look (0:44)
• 5. A Kiss to Build a Dream On - Louis Armstrong (3:03)
• 6. Hope Springs Eternal (1:34)
• 7. Tell Laura I Love Her - Ricky Valance (2:41)
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• 8. At The Dance - Various (3:32)
• 9. Why Wouldn't They? (1:12)
• 10. Sean & Ella (2:04)
• 11. There's a Suit (2:57)
• 12. Black is the Color - Mae McKenna/John Paricelli (2:38)
• 13. End Titles Suite (2:52)
• 14. I Get the Sweetest Feeling - Jackie Wilson (2:50)
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Insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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