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The Acme theme remains fairly static in its personality throughout Coyote vs. Acme, as one might expect. Its position of authority taunts lightly at the start of "We Wrote the Law" with metallic undertones before Price uses restrained, confident brass to threaten politely in "We Will Be Polite." That posturing continues against light strumming for Coyote throughout "You May Be Seated." Intriguingly, the idea is reharmonized and shifted upwards in the threatening first half of "What's Up Doc?" prior to shifting back to its usual form against the scheming motif. The theme then opens "That Looks Unspeakably Dangerous" with a sense of whimsy on strings and earns more force of chopping string resolve later with more brass confidence. It overtakes the scheming motif for a crescendo of suspense in "I Tawt I Taw," and the ascending variation provides importance to the start of "This Calls for a Flashback" and then offers creepy fantasy atmospheres alongside the regular Acme theme's base form. That identity overtakes all three of the other themes with force in "Bombs, Boulders and Pianos," punctuates the percussive-laden action in "Stop Stop Stop Stop Stop Stop Stop," and continues its reminders of undue influence in "He Wakes Up With Purpose." As it starts to die out in the narrative, the Acme theme dances with light humor throughout "Business is Complex" and shifts its harmonics for a more positive outcome in "A Little Pain for the Greater Good," an important moment of revelation with wordless choir. The other main theme of the score for Coyote vs. Acme belongs to Coyote himself and has to help the character emote since he doesn't speak vocally. The idea smartly starts as a straight adaptation of the Acme theme, extending it to six notes with the first half descending and final three notes remaining the same. Secondary phrasing is eventually added to give it more of a heart in the final cues. The idea's first three, descending notes are at times isolated for despair (or a return to the character's roots), especially on banjo. The theme debuts early in "Fastas Hellus vs. Hungrious Carnivorus" and guides the rest of the cue. Contemplative and battered on banjo and strings in "Thwarted Plans," the theme then uses snare, brass, and choir to denote defiance in the latter half of "Thwarted Plans," but Price keeps halting the identity's progress for effect. It is stunted in the cartoonish beginning to "The Sky is Not the Limit" before factoring throughout that cue.

The malleability of the Coyote theme increases significantly as Price allows for the character to mature. Tentative on keyboard against Acme material in the first half of "That Looks Unspeakably Dangerous," the theme defiantly struggles in the stuttering action of "We Were Having a Heart to Heart" against more "meep meep" taunting, at which point it's clear that those vocals are a mere tool of psychological horror for him. The idea is darker on woodwinds at the start of "Roadrunner Stew" and melodramatic with humor and the "meep meep" vocals later. It struggles against the victorious Acme material late in "This Calls for a Flashback," tries to succeed against the scheming motif in "Bombs, Boulders and Pianos" but loses, and is deconstructed early in "The Whole World Will Be Watching." Pensively somber on woodwinds at the beginning of "You Wanted a Drumstick" against haunting "meeps," the theme is boiled down to its basic banjo thoughtfulness in "Stop Stop Stop Stop Stop Stop Stop" before a resounding brass version emerges against the "meep meep" vocals. After finding some optimistic footing in "He Wakes Up With Purpose" and finally hinting at its secondary lines, the Coyote theme becomes more determined with brass in "Are You Coming Back," taking the confidence angle from Acme and further exploring its secondary lines late in the cue for wholesomeness. It is transformed completely with new harmonics and secondary lines in "They Trust You," the "meep meep" vocals this time factoring into the harmony rather than antagonizing. This cue represents a remarkable and excellent evolution of the theme. Finally, the descending three-note banjo rendition teases at the outset of "The Sky's the Limit" before the positive, major-key version of the melody is pleasantly concluded. Increasingly blended into the Coyote material as the score progresses is the friendship theme involving his bumbling attorney. This identity begins with distinctively alternating notes, making it easy to identify, and it is heard first at 1:26 into "Thwarted Plans" with a moment of realization for choir and the ensemble. It emerges in the swirling middle of "The Sky is Not the Limit" for some sense of hope and forms a soft duet against the scheming motif in "We Will Be Polite" and is nervous later. This theme dances out of the scheming one in the middle of "My Client is Innocent" on flutes and is softly contemporary during all of "It is Really Super Easy to Lose" before it cameos late "We Were Having a Heart to Heart" for a moment of comedy.

The friendship theme in Coyote vs. Acme experiences its own transformation in the narrative, plucky against snare rhythms and Acme power in "Bombs, Boulders and Pianos" but attempting to stir some resolve in its piano performance during "The Whole World Will Be Watching." It's very slight in "You Wanted a Drumstick" and the start of "Stop Stop Stop Stop Stop Stop Stop" while remaining tentative in "He Wakes Up With Purpose" but eventually gaining clarity. That mode continues in "A Little Pain for the Greater Good" before the theme finally turns upbeat with guitars and electric bass in "They Trust You." It becomes momentarily suspenseful near the beginning of "The Sky's the Limit" but eventually closes the cue with a sense of more success to come. Price's scheming motif is a sneaky identity, a cyclical device to suggest nefarious motives and represents multiple characters' bad intentions. Heard amongst a pair of themes at 0:31 into "The Sky is Not the Limit," this motif opens "We Will Be Polite" and plays against the friendship theme. It shifts to woodwinds and piano for a nicely elongated, sensitive moment in "My Client is Innocent," a remarkably likable transformation for the motif that then returns to its native form at the cue's middle. The idea toys with the Acme material in the middle of "What's Up Doc?," twinkles early in "I Tawt I Taw," and thumps with authority in "Bombs, Boulders and Pianos" before scaling back. At the climax, it overtakes the friendship theme in "He Wakes Up With Purpose" and stalks the Coyote and friendship themes in "A Little Pain for the Greater Good" before disappearing. Finally, while the Road Runner may not receive a motif outside of the "meep meep" vocals, it may potentially yield a glorious fanfare at the start of "Are You Coming Back" with those "meeps." Overall, this score is remarkably smart instrumentally, thematically, and technically. Its shift from typical cartoon conventions to thoughtful drama is extremely well handled, and the presence of the contemporary elements is withheld to a perfect degree, helping rather than harming in almost all circumstances. The 61-minute score-only album is adequate in its running time for this content, though the middle of the work does tend to drag even at that length. Listeners should prepare for some culling to excise lesser versions of the major ideas, mostly in the suspense realm. Still, Price's strategy for this score is very admirable, and it is a pleasure to hear such a well-reasoned and balanced approach to a potential Acme landmine of a narrative mash-up.   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

• Music as Written for the Film:  *****
• Music as Heard on Album:  ****
• Overall:  ****

Total Time: 60:54