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•	Back Lot Album

•	Intrada Album

The ensemble utilized for The Croods: A New Age is much the same, the jaunty orchestra joined by jungle-oriented specialty contributors and occasional blasts of a marching band. Mothersbaugh did seem to take note of these instrumental choices made by Silvestri, and he expands the comical tones far further. There are moments of massive choral and hard rock band performances layered together, the vocals sometimes extending to harsh abrasiveness by design. Thematically, Mothersbaugh sadly drops both of Silvestri's two wonderful themes for the previous film and instead fashions a new Croods family theme that seemingly intentionally takes some of the Silvestri equivalent's progressions, including the first three notes, and twists them into something new. Whatever the reason for this manipulation, it's truly unfortunate, because Mothersbaugh's alternative identity, while easier to identify in its malleable three-note phrases, isn't as touching. The idea is extensively developed from the outset of "Cave Diary" and is explored further at 0:35 into "Meet the Croods," 0:52 into "Welcome to Tomorrow," 0:17 into "House Tour" (only slightly), and at 0:09 into "Scars Joy Ride." It opens "Picture Book/Drunken Arrival" on acoustic guitar, figures in action fragments in "Working Together" and "Explosive Love," and supplies a big finale at 1:47 into "Travel Log/World's First Neighborhood," where the theme adopts some of the Betterman's slide guitar personality as its own. The melody becomes the basis for the "We're All Here Together" song performed in part by Jack Black, a truly hideous recording that will repel even a fair number of kids. The other theme in Mothersbaugh's score represents the yuppie-dignified Betterman family, and this idea is defined by its comparative sleaziness and scheming distrust, often using the slide guitar to that end. Only fragments of this theme exist in "Meet the Bettermans," better enunciation coming at 0:05 and 0:33 into "Bettermans Plan." The composer doesn't use the idea all that much in the latter half of the score, shades occurring in "Phil, Grug, Lazy River, " ominous cellos at 1:07 into "Caveman Mancave" and elegant but creepy on piano at 1:42 into that cue. Snippets follow throughout "Word for Word/Betterman the Tool Maker," but there's not much more to it. The action music in the second half of the score is borderline crazy, Mothersbaugh at his most manic. The "Thunder Sisters" choral motif is overblown and paced wildly in its appearances. Don't hold out any hope for the two non-Mothersbaugh songs near the end of the album, either, for they are insanity-inducing at best. Hats off to the composer for fighting through COVID-19 to complete this assignment, but the dizzying result will send you scurrying back to Silvestri's original.  **   @Amazon.com: CD or Download