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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
As fate would have it, however, the producers of Joe Versus the Volcano ended up removing a handful of Delerue's lengthier cues anyway, in favor of pop songs (cues removed: "Brain Cloud," "Shopping Spree," "Alone in New York," and "Fishing"). Much of the remaining score was undermixed in the film, deflating the impact that it had to parts of the love story. In fact, if you watch the film in one of its numerous television reruns, the fabulous end credits will be dubbed out and you wouldn't likely get the idea that a strong score for the film exists at all (unless you're a film score nut like me, and listen carefully to the music in every film you see on TV, just in case you can recognize the composer). The music for Joe Versus the Volcano follows the fairy tale genre of the story very well. Delerue begins with a music box theme that repeats a few times thoughout the score and eventually finishes it. The love story is treated with one of Delerue's many remarkable career-defining love themes, flourishing in rich strings and melodic key shifts. This one in particular is even more lofty than many of his others, though he --as always-- manipulates the theme into nearly every cue in some way or another, whether it be with a sax, full brass, or a chorus. The end credits piece, which had been a popular bootlegged representation of the entire score (likely yanked from the end titles of a VHS tape), presents the love theme in not only a suite of full strings, but also a lyrical song as well. In a sense of integration, the lyrical version of the theme melds with the surrounding score much like Jerry Goldsmith's accomplishment in his rejected fantasy score for Legend. For Delerue enthusiasts who collect his love themes on CD, there is plenty of it here, and because this theme didn't appear on his compilations, this new album of Joe Versus the Volcano will do more than well enough for you in thematic regards. Several other "specialty cues" highlight Joe Versus the Volcano. The sax that is interwoven with the love theme in the "Shopping Spree" track is a contemporary success, the accoustic light rock of the "Fishing" cue is a welcome change, and the guitar work on "Dinner with Dee Dee" finishes with flair of gusto. Ironically, the most notable use of music in the film itself is the humorous adaptation of "Hava Nagila" and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," arranged by Delerue himself, into the tribal chants of the "Waponis" that appear near the end of the film. Orchestrally, the most powerful, stand-out cue in the film is for its only major action scene: the typhoon sequence. As the storm ravages the ship off of which the main characters get marooned, Delerue explodes with a full brass statement of the film's secondary themes. The sheer size of this extended cue, and the mastery with which Delerue creates the perfect "storm at sea" music, elevates it beyond even the love theme on the album. Fitting as it is, however, that this cue was seemingly Delerue's favorite when scoring the film; the driving brass in the minor key build to one magnificent major key chord, after which the love theme is performed in full. This cue alone is worth the price of the album. The CD has been a project of the Varèse Sarabande label's Robert Townson for some time, as he was a close associate and friend of Delerue. Mounting requests from fans, along with the simple fact that Joe Versus the Volcano was the last of Delerue's great 1990's scores yet to be released on album, have led to this "Masters Film Music" release. How these "Masters Film Music" albums exactly differ from the CD Club albums (a series which has also recently resumed in the past year) isn't entirely clear, but the fact remains that Joe Versus the Volcano is also a limited pressing of 3,000 albums. For both Delerue fans and general film music fans alike, this album is long overdue, and will not disappoint you if you enjoy strongly thematic scores. Purchase it directly from the Varèse Sarabande site and save up to $5 over the specialty outlets.
2002 Album Release: ***** Overall: ****
The insert contains a lengthy note from album producer Robert Townson, for whom it is customary to include lengthy analysis of both the film and score in many CD-Club and Masters Film Music releases. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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