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The instrumental core of Luck relies heavily upon piano and woodwinds, with the string ensemble lending dramatic weight at appropriate times and the brass section mixed extremely well in its counterpoint and action duties. Occasional acoustic guitar is lovely, and electric base and contemporary percussion lend some hip moments along the way but never intrusively. Several conversational cues in the score rely upon piano, winds, and guitar over strings as they explore the melodic ideas with tender care and lesser volumes. The heart of these themes is Debney's idea for Sam herself, easily identifiable for film music enthusiasts due to its sharing of its first four notes with Horner's iconic theme on piano for The Rocketeer. The theme is summarized nicely in the "Samantha's Theme" suite, opening that cue on piano before the full idea is presented by others in the group, including clarinet, flute, and oboe at 0:40 and the string ensemble at 1:20 with brass counterpoint. Sam's theme is tender on piano at 0:09 into "Sam and Hazel," with brief woodwind secondary phrases, and shifts to oboe at 1:14 into "Good Luck All Day Long" with later fragments on piano yielding to acoustic guitar and cello optimism at the end of the cue. It continues with tentative charm at 0:14 into "Unlucky Day," becoming spirited throughout the cue, and is friendly on piano and guitar at 0:30 into "Bob the Cat" and as woodwinds pass fragments around to open "A Penny Lost." After a long absence, Sam's theme rediscovers itself on woodwinds at the start of "She Has You" and later in the cue, and it becomes an action motif at 3:14 into "Bad Luck is Good/Fixing the Randomizer" before closing that cue in earlier redemptive tones. During the finale, the theme returns to piano again at 2:36 into "A Forever Family" and then moves to full ensemble with heart. It continues to win you over on cello at 0:23 into "One Year Later," turns chipper on piano and guitar at 0:44, and closes out the cue and score with an even bigger full ensemble reprise from the theme's suite arrangement. Debney's handling of this theme's dramatic sensibility is outstanding even if he only marginally adapts it into an action motif during Sam's heroic moments. Much of that duty instead falls to the bevy of themes that represent the Land of Luck and various creatures and concepts associated with it. This set of themes dominates the middle third of the score and comes to its own satisfying conclusion as the universe is restored to balance.

Debney's buoyant theme for the Land of Luck will win the hearts of any enthusiast of the most engaging moments of his Elf score, the idea equally attractive and utilizing some of the same architecture without succumbing to any cheesiness. It is not fully revealed in Luck until 0:06 into "Land of Luck," where its exuberance cannot be contested. The theme persists in this airy demeanor at 0:42 into "Making Good Luck," several whimsical performances leading to a big, brass flourish at 1:37 that is a fantastic moment in the score. The Land of Luck theme returns in the middle of "Good Morning" on strings after a notably anticipatory Horner Star Trek homage on low strings, bubbles softly throughout "Randomizer" with hip electric bass percussion sequence in its midsection, and mingles with Samantha's theme in the middle of "She Has You." An outstanding adaptation of the theme to 1920's jazz on clarinet and piano in "Meet Rootie" is a highlight of the work, reminding of the perky vintage tones that James Newton Howard brought to the initial score in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them franchise. It reaches full victory mode at 3:33 into "Bad Luck is Good/Fixing the Randomizer" with a massive climax, and its heartfelt reconciliation is achieved at 0:27 and 1:35 into "A Forever Family" with a touch of additional flourish in the progressions. For listeners that find Sam's theme to be a bit too anonymous in structure, the Land of Luck theme is where you'll find redemption in this score, and it's performed frequently enough and with sufficient evolution to satisfy on its own. Debney seemingly opted to devise a separate motif for the concept of luck itself, and this one is more elusive. The luck motif is hinted brightly at the outset of "Unlucky Day," peaks through in the middle of "Hazmat Bunnies" in brief phrasing, congeals on piano at the start of "Anything is Possible" with lovely romanticism, and is fleeting in the middle of "Bad Luck is Good/Fixing the Randomizer." The idea explodes into a fuller variant with almost Western swing throughout the massively enthusiastic "Luck Theme" suite. A more subtle and wholesome variant of this theme exists as well, opening "Good Luck All Day Long" and adapted throughout the first minute of the cue. That same line of thought is teased again at the outset of "One Year Later" to complete the narrative connection. Few cues from Hollywood in this era are as hopeful as "Good Luck All Day Long" while employing such an economic instrumental palette.

Some listeners may gloss over the themes of adversity in Luck because they are never enunciated with absolute clarity in the score. They do, however, guide some of the most interesting stylistic deviations from Debney and are thus important. Bob is introduced with a slightly exotic high flute and metallic percussion at the outset of "Bob the Cat" and "Chasing a Cat," but these fragments develop into a wild, fuller motif over boisterous, Celtic-flavored ensemble chase rhythms in the latter cue. (The second half of "Bob the Cat" offers descending piano lines extremely reminiscent of 1990's Horner melodrama.) This material is defined further at the start of "Sam Meets Bob" while still elusive, stewing early in "Bad Luck, Bad Cat" and returning late on piano and flute. That character's theme largely dissolves thereafter, in part due to the dominance of the adversity theme that represents the bunnies and other magical characters of the Land of Luck. This material opens "Hazmat Bunnies" on brass and returns in lighter shades at the end of the cue, taking an openly humorous Mission: Impossible tilt in "Bunny Drone Activation." It influences the action of "A Lift in Between," arguably the score's most challenging cue, and its hints echo in early action of "Bad Luck in Between." After continued influences in "With These Two Stones," this material shifts to brass early in "Bad Luck is Good/Fixing the Randomizer" with solid results. The overall narrative arc of Luck is heavily concentrated upon the themes for Sam and the Land of Luck, and while the two ideas never really mingle in the score, one could argue that they were never meant to from the perspective of the story. The album presentation of the score, running 66 minutes outside of the brief song, offers both of these themes in truly satisfying development. Tacked onto the end are three tracks of varying quality, the "Luck Theme" a clear winner related to its motif in the score proper. Meanwhile, "Luck Teaser" is far more contemporary with a touch of soul and no relation to any score theme; it's more of a curiosity than anything else. Meanwhile, "The Penny Depot" is a source-like cue that offers wild Celtic dance personality with modern bass and percussion that also doesn't connect with the score's themes. On the whole, Luck enjoys near-perfect execution of the genre by Debney. While music like this typically earns a four-star rating, this score achieves a fifth star because of its vibrant and engaging mix. Each solo element is masterfully placed for the best emphasis, and the brass in particular truly shines when present. Listeners allergic to wholesome major-key goodness may find little of value, but Debney's handling of the concept is more than lucky from start to finish.  *****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For John Debney reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.33 (in 56 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.09 (in 49,879 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 67:18