Buy it... if you are a sucker for uniquely attractive Western movie themes that take traditional instrumentation and arrange them in a refreshing new rhythmic way.

Avoid it... if only five minutes of that theme, and relatively nothing else to get excited about in the score or album, is simply not worth the fuss.

Burwell

The Hi-Lo Country: (Carter Burwell) Legendary director Sam Peckinpah wanted to shoot a film based on Max Evans' 1961 novel for decades, but circumstances never allowed him to do so. Eventually, in 1998, Stephen Frears took The Hi-Lo Country and made it into his first career adventure in the genre of the wild West. The film's story is that of a spaghetti western with a classical romantic twist, placing one woman as the subject of the affections of two cowboys in the waning days of the traditional West. The formula isn't new, with the simple plot of the love triangle playing out against the vast scenery of 1940's New Mexico. The film, while it is a character-driven tale, does reveal several large vistas and a wide palate of yellow and orange colors. The unheralded project was the first Western for niche composer Carter Burwell, who was best known (and still is) for his collaboration with the Coen brothers on films like Fargo and Raising Arizona, as well as several dissonant scores for other dark thrillers. The musical requirements of the New Mexican location presented a new avenue on which Burwell could express his musical talents, and, to some degree, he took advantage of the opportunity. Even with the new genre at his side, Burwell continued his trend towards the composition of complicated and understated music rather than a more prominent thematic role for his contribution. His instrumentation for The Hi-Lo Country is perfect for the genre, including the usual trumpet, harmonica, accordion, and acoustic guitars that are expected for the region. The film is also rich with Hispanic flavor provided by several uses of songs, including a few Spanish language entries. The songs are typically of an older generation of Country-Western, and have little in common with Burwell's original score. That original score is short on the integration of Hispanic elements, but stays true to a more generalized, predictable, and Americanized Western style.

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Burwell's score for The Hi-Lo Country will pass by in a pleasant, undemanding twenty minutes of nearly continuous guitar performances by David Torn. The majority of cues are minimal in construct and volume, though a few of them have a moment of accent in which the entire orchestra swells up and quickly fades again. An orchestral presence with the traditional Western instruments is restricted in parts, allowing the solitary characters and scenery to speak for themselves. In fact, when Burwell does introduce the orchestra in full power, it isn't for the romantic effect that you would expect to hear in the genre. There is little emotional power applied to the themes of romance in the film. Instead, Burwell pulls out all of the stops for the scenes of cattle driving and fast-paced horse riding. The two statements of this primary theme (heard unmistakably in "The Cattle Drive" and "On to California") are easily the highlights of the album, and they are among the most dynamic thematic constructs of Burwell's career even today. The theme, dancing in a 7/8 meter and striding with a swing in its step, is an outstanding representation of Western landscapes from a refreshing stylistic approach. Compared to the majority of mundane underscore, these two statements of theme will change your opinion of Burwell's talent in an instant. On album, the score is problematic because it is provided in only a short suite of cues totaling about 25 minutes at the end of the product. In its favor is a resounding bass region that gives the score a strong sense of depth. The majority of time is conversely consumed by a rather odd gathering of the older generation Country Western and traditional Mexican songs. It's not the kind of song grouping that would help sell this album to the masses, but it follows the same non-traditional path as Burwell's score in accomplishing its purpose in the film. For score fans, the five or so minutes of Burwell's horseback theme are well worth a used-CD bin purchase, but don't expect too much inspiration from the rest of the score or album. ***   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

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For Carter Burwell reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.84 (in 19 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 2.76 (in 9,936 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.