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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
To describe the score for The Shipping News as simply Celtic would be doing it a disservice. There is a stereotype in Hollywood about what Celtic music should sound like, and James Horner has been the biggest perpetuator of this myth. Horner's Americanized version of Celtic tradition causes nearly everyone to think Titanic (or Enya, for that matter) when the genre is mentioned. Chris Young's interpretation of the Celtic decent in the locale of The Shipping News is much more in tune with the traditional instrumentation that the genre was meant to use. Young's final product is rich in instrumentation that you don't hear too often in unison. With uilean pipes, a penny whistle, fiddle, harps, psalteries, and other instruments authentic to the Celtic tradition, Young doesn't water his music down with American accompaniment of voice or synthesizer. Contrary to word that has spread around the Internet during the first weeks of this film's opening, there are no vocals in the score for The Shipping News. Young compliments the soloists with the 80-piece Philharmonic Orchestra in London and a healthy percussion section. The highlights of the score combine all of these elements --the soloists, the orchestral ensemble, and the array of drums in his percussion section-- for strong and rugged setting of coastal Newfoundland, Canada. The opening and closing cues, along with the "Death Storm" cue near the end of the album, offer enjoyably strong rhythms and rousing Celtic pronunciations of theme that most undoubtedly gained the score the attention it needed for awards consideration. The remainder of the score is introverted and perhaps less substantiated to the American ear. The lengthier cues of pipes can be all too foreign for some, though the duets of harp and guitar are pleasant in every case. While the instrumentation may not be the same, the demeanor of The Shipping News is remarkably similar in personal touch to The Spitfire Grill. Where the scores differ, however, is in their complexity of theme. Chris Young's theme for The Shipping News is of a simple construct, and rather than building complexity of the story's characters through an intricate theme, he allows that function to be served by the plentiful variety of instrumentation. The simplicity of the title theme serves the score well when the full ensemble is in action, because it allows an easier appreciation of the instruments. During the underscore in between, though, the cues pass by without due notice. The extended fiddle cues offer less than most people could want, and might jeapordize the success of The Shipping News for some listeners on album. Most definitely an element in jeopardy already is the label of the CD. This score was touted as the glorious, first album ever to be released by Miramax Records, an offshoot of the studio that would use the marketing of the RED Ink company to sell the scores to its films. It wouldn't be surprising if the the album is already in red ink simply due to its disasterous method of release. Originally set for release in mid-January of 2002, the score was still unavailable a month later in much of the United States and all of the online outlets. Copies have surface outside of America, but with its ever-floating release date continuing to be pushed back, The Shipping News album has been nothing less than a headache for fans of Young's work (and, one would suspect, it won't help the score in its Academy Award quest either). After dumping the album project, the CD was taken by Milan Records around February of 2002. The unorganized mess of Miramax's handling of the album was an unfortunate detraction from Christopher Young, whose work is admirable if accessible, and functional if otherwise. His career continues to impress. ***
Insert includes a short note about Christopher Young's career, but no further information about this particular score. The slipcase contains the insert inside its front flap. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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