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Review of Mega Movies (Compilation)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you have enjoyed other modern (post-1993) compilations from this ensemble on Telarc and have a fond place in your heart for their usual array of sound effects.

Avoid it... if synthetic choral accompaniment and an occasional "pop" sound to some cues deters you as much as the often overwhelming sound effects that could conceivably blow out smaller speaker systems.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Mega Movies: (Compilation) After several years of producing compilations of film music that were aimed at specific genres in Hollywood, Erich Kunzel and The Cincinnati Pops began mirroring Varèse Sarabande's "Hollywood '9x" series by arranging their performances based on current spans of time. First, "The Big Picture" was released in 1997 and contained music mostly from 1995 and 1996, and subsequently "Mega Movies" was released in 2000 and contained themes from 1997 to 1999. While the Telarc label had been experimenting with the inclusion of sound effects on their albums for many years (on all but their very early compilations), these late-1990's products began to take more serious stabs at them. Sound quality of the recordings was always a significant consideration for Telarc, and in the early compilations, their superior quality of sound was often the selling point for their collections. A trend has been noticed through the years by many avid collectors of these Telarc albums, and that is changing style of The Cincinnati Pops under Erich Kunzel's direction. In their early days, they won awards for their classical recordings, and their recordings of film music were always faithfully symphonic in sound. In more recent years, however, the "pop" in The Cincinnati Pops has stepped forward far more often, with percussion sometimes too contemporary in sound for the performances at hand. This is a phenomenon that began with the group's recording of Disney musicals from 1989 to 1994 a few years later and manifested itself in several places in "The Big Picture" in 1997. Additionally, the ensemble began attempting more selections that had used a chorus in their original form, and instead of utilizing the services of a choral group, Kunzel seemed content using a synthesized chorus instead. In places, this decision works, but in others, it nearly ruins the performance.

For Kunzel's "Mega Movies" album of 2000, the recordings would drop the synthetic choir and contract a local high school chorus for the one cue that absolutely required a choral presence. The pop-like percussion is limited to just three or four scores usually falling under either the animation genre or the Hans Zimmer style of synthetic anthems. And the sound effects, sometimes the selling point of these compilations, are rather anonymous and less interesting on "Mega Movies." One of the ensemble's other main concerns is having fun, which cannot quickly be dismissed. The dynamic percussion section and the sound effects it helps insert directly into the performances have created several undeniably lovable recordings in the past, and one such highlight exists in the form of Randy Newman's A Bug's Life on this compilation. Easily the highlight of the album, The Cincinnati Pops lets rip in "The Time of Your Life" with outstanding enthusiasm and, in the absence of Newman's voice, utilizes various, wild percussive effects to lend character to the performance. Four other fantastic performances exist on "Mega Movies," and it would be impossible to blindly predict which ones they would be. A Bug's Life is joined at the top of the list by Jerry Goldsmith's "Badge of Honor" from L.A. Confidential, a piece that takes advantage of both the robust percussion section and the hearty jazz inherent in the ensemble's solo trumpet presentation. The "Windsong" cue from James Horner's Mighty Joe Young utilizes the voices of the aforementioned local school, and the resulting performance is stunningly entertaining. With accurate solo voices in the counterpoint role, this performance proves, at the very least, that a group of high schoolers can provide talent equal to a big budget film score. The suite from Horner's Titanic is always a tricky proposition given how insufferable the score has become in the years since its splashy debut. Kunzel barely makes an attempt to emulate Horner's electronics for this cue; instead, the low whistle and Uillean pipes provide more sincere character that you hear in many other performances.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of "Mega Movies" is the remarkably energetic and infectiously robust rendition of Stephen Warbeck's theme from Shakespeare in Love. The performance here is not only superior to the concurrent offering from Frederic Talgorn and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra on a previous Varèse Sarabande compilation, but it could give the original recording a definite run for its money as well. Much of the success of these highlights is owed to Kunzel's strong, often unique arrangements of each piece, though the end performance is usually the key. There are, as always, a few selections that The Cincinnati Pops simply can't provide with authenticity, including the ensemble's inability to imitate the masculine power of Media Ventures scores. The performance of Crimson Tide on "The Big Picture" was badly lacking the necessary depth in bass, and a similar problem persists here. Themes from The Rock, Prince of Egypt, Armageddon, and, for that matter, Mark Snow's The X-Files feature none of the resounding power that makes their originals popular. In other cases, orchestration and choral problems hinder the recordings. Goldsmith's The Mummy, without chorus here in "The Sand Volcano," and John Williams' Star Wars: The Phantom Menace are better interpreted by the RSNO and Talgorn. Horner's The Mask of Zorro, while arranged well, desperately lacks the flair of the original percussion and flute; it's extremely difficult for any ensemble to capture the spirit of Horner's two Zorro scores. The other selections not mentioned here are satisfying, though not memorable. On the whole, "Mega Movies" is very much a typical Kunzel album. They all make good additions to a film score collector's shelves because their enthusiasm and sound quality (rivaling any of the recordings of The City of Prague Philharmonic by Silva Screen) mirrors an impressive, live concert performance. The sound effects (by the same editor as those previously heard on Kunzel's albums) are not as intriguing this time around, though the Godzilla one is certainly adequate enough to cause your neighbors some consternation.  ****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 73:44

The Mummy (Jerry Goldsmith) • 1. The Sand Volcano (4:08) The Mask of Zorro (James Horner) • 2. Don't Mess with "Z" (0:15)* • 3. Main Title (4:18) Air Force One (Jerry Goldsmith) • 4. Main Title/The Parachutes (4:41) The Rock (Hans Zimmer) • 5. Chopper Flyby (0:14)* • 6. End Title (4:52) Contact (Alan Silvestri) • 7. End Credits (3:58) Mighty Joe Young (James Horner) • 8. Dedication/Windsong (5:29) Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (John Williams) • 9. Day at the Races (1:06)* • 10. Main Title/Flag Parade (4:50) L.A. Confidential (Jerry Goldsmith) • 11. Bade of Honor/L.A. Confidential (2:27)

The Prince of Egypt (Hans Zimmer) • 12. When You Believe (5:21) The X-Files: Fight the Future (Mark Snow) • 13. What's that Hum? (0:14)* • 14. Threnody in X (2:58) A Bug's Life (Randy Newman) • 15. Time of Your Life (4:06) Elizabeth (David Hirschfelder) • 16. Main Title (5:34) Godzilla (David Arnold) • 17. A Stroll in NYC (1:35)* • 18. Main Title (3:13) Shakespeare in Love (Stephen Warbeck) • 19. Main Title (3:23) Titanic (James Horner) • 20. Iceberg! (0:42)* • 21. Back to Titanic (4:23) Armageddon (Trevor Rabin) • 22. Main Title (3:34)