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Mixed in between all of the source placements in Groundhog Day (which range from modern rock to classical piano) is a George Fenton score that typifies the composer's wide range of comedy techniques. He also contributed a pair of rock songs ("Weatherman," which accompanies the aerial shots that open the film, and the far smoother "Take Me Round Again") that are, all things considered, quite listenable. The score is a haphazard ride through the lead character's tortured journey, spanning the realms of light waltzes to stylish jazz, crime caper silliness, contemporary action, and light orchestral romance. There is a theme that inhabits the last of those genres, introduced in "You Like Boats But Not the Ocean" and reprised in the grim "Sometimes People Just Die" and redemptive "The Ice Sculpture." But this idea is as generic as you might expect for a score clearly taking a secondary role in the film. Although Fenton's application of each genre is competent, none of his cues really stands out and retains your attention. Perhaps "Drunks" is an exception to this observation, if only because its electric guitar intrusion into appropriately drunken jazz tones is so bizarre. A certain level of cheesiness is embodied best by "The Kidnap and the Quarry," which handles the chase scene with hokey mannerisms and an underpowered ensemble. The album, which combines most of the important source pieces in nine tracks (minus Ray Charles' performance of "You Don't Know Me") with nine of Fenton's rather short cues occupying the other half, is really nothing more than an adequate souvenir for enthusiasts of the film. Score fans will find nothing memorable, and the mainstream will likely seek the product for one or more specific source pieces. Some will be pleased to find both the film version and an additional performance of "Eighteenth Variation From Rapsodie on a Theme of Paganini," a romantic highlight of the story. The most likely attraction, strangely enough, is the "Pennsylvania Polka," which sounds really good in the film because of a wet mix (which transfers to the album, too) and is so infectiously obnoxious that you can't help but smirk at it. If you require a piece of exuberant accordion music with which to torture your roommates, in-laws, or co-workers, or to simply cause awkward situations for comedic purposes, the wild accordion-only, non-vocal interlude to "Pennsylvania Polka" is worth the price of this album alone. Give any bystander ten seconds of that track and anybody who has seen the film will be able to recall it from memory. That, ladies and gentlemen, is expert music employment in a movie, and whether or not you can tolerate this soundtrack, you have to appreciate what it provides to the film. By all means, watch the movie first.   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

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

Bias Check:

For George Fenton reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.64 (in 14 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.43 (in 16,898 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 44:24