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Review of Hollywood '95 (Compilation)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you are exploring compilations of modern film music for the first time, for this product remains among the best collections of re-recorded performances available.

Avoid it... only if you have no interest in the particular selections (or composers) that make up this presentation.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Hollywood '95: (Compilation) Through the years, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra has recorded hundreds of film music works, most of which commissioned for release by the Varèse Sarabande label. At the helm for most of their early recordings of the mid-1990's was conductor and composer Joel McNeely, considered at the time to be a promising pupil of (and possible successor for) film music legend John Williams. The collaboration between McNeely and the RSNO had proven moderately successful during a recording of the previous year's scores (provided on an album called, of course, "Hollywood '94"), and the enormous success of "Hollywood '95" led to one more similar collection of recordings the following year before the collaboration took a few years off. The RSNO would continue to re-record entire scores to be released by Varèse Sarabande and, like any performing group, they have their days when they excel and days when off-pitch notes miserably blurt out in nearly every cue. Such is the habit of any performing group, however, especially when tackling the works of a composer for the first time. To the benefit of all film music fans, though, "Hollywood '95" is an exhibit of the RSNO, McNeely, and Varèse all at their finest, with stunning recordings from beginning to end. Part of the success of the "Hollywood '95" compilation over those from the previous and following years is due simply to the vast quantity of good music produced by Hollywood composers during that year. Many soundtrack collectors remember 1995 more fondly than any other year during the Digital Age of film music. While most people will remember it as the year that James Horner dominated the charts, many other composers wrote high caliber music that often exceeded the quality of the films they were inspired by. Another major reason for the success of "Hollywood '95" is the pinpoint accuracy with which the RSNO nailed many, if not nearly all of the performances, capturing the spirit of the original compositions while taking some subtle, though impressive liberties with the material at hand.

Analyzing the album in order of its presentation, it is easy to report with great delight that McNeely and the RSNO worked directly with Elliot Goldenthal to assemble a suite from his summer blockbuster Batman Forever. Goldenthal was eager to arrange a selection of over ten minutes that could reflect his score in the best possible light, and after some tweaking of the orchestration by McNeely and his crew, Batman Forever has never sounded better. It is rare that a re-recording blows away an original performance, but McNeely manages to accomplish that here. The identical suite eventually appeared on a later all-Batman album by the same performing group and label, and while this 1995 performance of Batman Forever remains a favorite, the two Elfman scores on that album weren't as fortunate in the translation. James Horner's patriotic and noble Apollo 13 is represented by the lengthy, exciting "Launch" cue that unfolds all of the important themes in the film during one powerhouse scene. A light choir completes this extremely authentic performance, strikingly true to the original and, for those who don't own the promotional version of the original soundtrack, existing without sound effects or dialogue. For Judge Dredd, Alan Silvestri also worked with the label and McNeely to arrange a suite of the best action cues from his score. They are performed with great vigor, as is short trailer cue for the film (written by Jerry Goldsmith, who left the project due to scheduling conflicts). Horner's gorgeous lullaby from Casper is performed by choir, piano, and ensemble with haunting spirit. James Newton Howard's strong land-related theme from Waterworld is adapted from no particular cue specifically, but resembles the finale statement in that score. Two cues from Goldsmith's ambitious First Knight score are offered, followed by perhaps the most understated performance on the album, the "End Titles" from Horner's Braveheart. Due to the passing of Golden Age composing great Miklos Rozsa in 1995, Varèse and the RSNO decided to perform the pretty love theme from 1940's That Hamilton Woman as a tribute to close out the product. Overall, this is the best Varèse/RSNO collaboration of the era, and no collector of modern film music should be without it.  *****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 52:17

Batman Forever: (Elliot Goldenthal) • 1. Main Title (1:43) • 2. Chase Noir (1:54) • 3. Nygma Variations (2:38) • 4. Mouth to Mouth Nocturne (2:18) • 5. Victory (2:28) Apollo 13: (James Horner) • 6. The Launch (9:53) Judge Dredd • 7. Suite (4:57) (Alan Silvestri) • 8. Trailer (0:49) (Jerry Goldsmith)

Casper: (James Horner) • 9. Casper's Lullaby (5:52) Waterworld: (James Newton Howard) • 10. Main Titles (2:16) First Knight: (Jerry Goldsmith) • 11. Arthur's Fanfare (0:46) • 12. End Credits (4:12) Braveheart: (James Horner) • 13. End Title (7:42) That Hamilton Woman (Miklos Rozsa) • 14. Love Theme (4:25)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes extensive notes about the selected scores and films.

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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Hollywood '95 are Copyright © 1995, Varèse Sarabande and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 11/1/96 and last updated 8/29/08.