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November/December 2018
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12/31/18
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Dracula (John Williams)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you love the tragic and melodramatic portions of John Williams' scores from the early
1980's, for Dracula extends this morbidly heavy material to explosive proportions.
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| Avoid it... |
if you prefer your Williams scores to abound with extensive thematic subtleties, a trait not
as evident in this score by construct and in part because of lingering issues with muted sound
quality.
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12/23/18
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Georges Delerue: The London Sessions
(Compilations)
Updated Review, With Additional Albums
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| Buy it... |
if you have any remote curiosity about the career of Georges Delerue (or even if you already
own a few of his scores), because this set is a very strong survey of his works in fantastic
sound quality.
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| Avoid it... |
if you have no tolerance for flighty, whimsical romance themes and jazzy rhythms, a style that
largely defined Delerue's career.
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12/16/18
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Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (Jerry
Goldsmith)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you are comfortable with Jerry Goldsmith's distinct merging of electronics and orchestra
for the fantasy genre in the 1980's, because this dynamic score is a very symbolic
representation of that era for the composer.
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| Avoid it... |
if ten to fifteen minutes of explosive and resounding action material for percussion and low
brass is not enough to compensate for a score dominated by an overly cute and derivative
synthetic theme for the fuzzy family side of the story.
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12/8/18
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Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Alan
Silvestri)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you can't get enough of that old Warner Brothers, Looney Tunes style of frenetic,
enthusiastic orchestral slapstick music, Alan Silvestri mingling it with noir sentiment for
this rowdy venture.
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| Avoid it... |
on any album other than the 2018 Intrada set if you seek a satisfying presentation of music
from the film, assuming its dizzying personality doesn't make you want to strangle an animated
character.
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12/2/18
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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (James
Horner)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you're interested in hearing the roots of many of James Horner's great career motifs and
thematic styles in one of the best scores in the history of the "Star Trek" franchise and the
science fiction genre at large.
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| Avoid it... |
if an abrasive and harsh performance tone and somewhat archival recording quality, especially
on the 1991 album, gives you pause, or if Horner's broad, sea-faring style seems out of place
for you in this franchise.
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11/25/18
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Jerry
Goldsmith)
Updated Review, With Additional Album
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| Buy it... |
if you are unfamiliar with the feature Star Trek scores and seek Jerry Goldsmith's original
classic of romance, adventure, and suspense that influenced most of the subsequent music in
the franchise.
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| Avoid it... |
on any album prior to the 2012 3-CD set from La-La Land Records, the nearly comprehensive
presentation of the score and its early, rejected alternative by Goldsmith in the best sound
quality available.
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11/12/18
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The Incredible Hulk (TV) (Joe
Harnell)
Updated Review, With Additional Albums
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| Buy it... |
only if you still have a soft spot for the lonely piano theme that usually accompanied David
Banner on his quest for a cure to his maddening problem, its melody prevailing as the lasting
identity of the concept.
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| Avoid it... |
if you expect that solitary theme for the scientist, as well as the pretty theme for his love
interests, to be capable of carrying the otherwise badly dated action cues and disco music
from the series.
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11/3/18
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The Predator (Henry Jackman)
All New Review
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| Buy it... |
if you seek a competent extension of Alan Silvestri's original Predator themes and
sensibilities in a broadly expanded fantasy and action mode that offers a few notable
highlights.
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| Avoid it... |
if you demand a truly cohesive evolution of vintage and fresh ideas in this, a basically
satisfying but still somewhat perfunctory merging of styles that doesn't always make complete
sense as arranged.
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