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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you are begging for a return to the glorious old days of Patrick Doyle's triumphant brass themes and adventurous spirit. Avoid it... if an emotionally sappy collection of swashbuckling Doyle themes doesn't interest you as much as the music from his heavier classical molds. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Doyle is proud of his work for Secondhand Lions because it is one of the more varied examples of his talents. He addresses the needs of the Texas location to some extent (with a banjo and slide guitar in only a few places), but his collection of bold and emotionally diverse themes range mostly from the Korngoldian era of swashbuckling adventure to the lyrical drums and vocals of the African jungle. At the core of the score are those many themes and motifs, and all of them exhibit the same rich harmony and emotional depth that fans of the composer have come to expect. There are snippets of Doyle's flowing romance from his Shakespearian scores, but for listeners who have heard Doyle provide these sounds before, the action and adventure are the truly enticing elements here. As for swashbuckling writing, we know from his early Shipwrecked music that he is capable of superb brass for the high seas. In Secondhand Lions, many great sea-faring and adventure ideas are introduced, but few of them last long enough to sustain that level of excitement. The same difficulty arises when enjoying the African cues. The performances of African percussion and Ola Onabue's vocals have the same boyish charm, and yet their appearances are scattered throughout the film and album as well. Thus, you finish with a collection of Doyle's typically strong ideas, but with perhaps a few too many loose ends to completely satisfy you. That said, Doyle's ability to compose with simple themes, often with triumphant brass in counterpoint, is what holds this effort together. Nowhere is this heroic spirit more evident than in the French horn performances of "Walter Comes Home," with perhaps even a slight thematic lift at the end from James Horner's Apollo 13. The sustained quality of thematic integration in Secondhand Lions causes the score to become what Quest for Camelot could have been if it had not been interrupted constantly by songs and slapstick cues. A particular highlight is the saddening, but beautiful performance by Doyle's son, Patrick Doyle Jr. (whose voice is outstanding), in the "She Was a Real Lion" cue. That performance is the culmination of the story's touching, sentimental side, reminding the listener that the storytellers who are offering these adventures from their youths are themselves at the twilight of their lives. Film critics, however, knocked Secondhand Lions for being too sappy and emotionally pure, and some of that overly-dramatic taste may very well have resulted from Doyle's contribution. On album, the score is presented in 45 minutes without interruption, ending in an elegant piano performance of the film's primary thematic ideas (it's not as rolling and intense as East-West or his other heavily dramatic piano work, but it's a softer variant). Although the album supposedly offers a fantastic collection of extra multimedia on its enhanced portion --and this time, unlike most albums with enhanced material only pertaining to the film itself, this one is actually relates to the construction of the score, its sheet music, and interviews about the music-- the features seem to be inaccessible on some Apple MacIntosh-platformed computers. Still, collectors of Doyle's work will not want to pass on this album; it presents Doyle at his most adventurous, and for his fans who have been frustrated with his primarily classical, arthouse scores of recent years, Secondhand Lions will be a welcome return to styles of times past. ****
The insert includes a note about Doyle and the film from director Tim McCanlies. The enhanced portion of the CD includes interviews with the director and Doyle, interactive sheet music, and a photo gallery from the recording sessions. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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