The half of the soundtrack that deals with the funk, jazz, and blues is in tune with David Newman's Bowfinger from roughly the same time, but the connections to Lalo Schifrin are more blatant. In its short bursts over the course of ten or so brief cues centered in the middle of the score, these passages are too obnoxious to set a consistent mood. If you're not a fan of the Hammond organ, then start running. The first four and final five cues, however, are the exclusive domain of the orchestral material. Two themes tie the score together; first comes a longing lullaby for Gonzo himself, introduced in "Gonzo's Lament" and closing with a tearjerker of a choral statement in "Gonzo's Goodbye." Gregson-Williams' theme for Singer, the villain, is heard in three cues on album, and makes use of the sinister, low ranges of brass and strings. Both of these themes, along with the auxiliary symphonic material, run through a series of parodies that will amuse score collectors. The "Main Title" cue opens with a tribute to Bernard Herrmann, including an initial theremine effect and a quote from the opening of, strangely, Vertigo. At the 0:45 mark in that same cue, Sharifi pulls a choral subtheme directly from Basil Poledouris' The Hunt for Red October. In "The Ark," he moves into the domain of David Arnold's flourishing melodramatic action sound of the era. The Gonzo theme first heard in "Gonzo's Lament" is a page out of James Horner's children's scores of the 1990's, and by "Gonzo's Goodbye," it's clear that Casper was the inspiration. The theme for Singer moves with the same stout posture and menacing tones as Zimmer's theme for the Russians in The Peacemaker. Jumping to "The Ships Arrive," Sharifi uses two quotes from Alan Silvestri's The Abyss to flank a portion of the opening march for Danny Elfman's Mars Attacks!. The victorious "Moment of Glory" takes the Gonzo theme and gives it brass treatment typical to David Newman's Hoffa (or the closing of Bowfinger). The concluding "Boldly Gone" is saturated with Jerry Goldsmith's Star Trek: First Contact material. Overall, you can't fault these parodies, but while they're fun to identify, the mass of silly funk and jazz in the middle of the album makes it a mixed bag.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download