For those familiar with the film, the score for Philadelphia is surprisingly airy and carefree. The atmosphere is maintained by bubbly string and woodwind performances, occasionally accented by acoustic guitar, lightly struck percussion, contemporary keyboarded tones, and harp. The brass section is only employed in the more upbeat or redemptive sequences, led by a solo trumpet that struggles in its attempt to perform a unique identity for the score in "Senior Associate Andrew Beckett," "Birth," and "The Verdict." While appealing, the solo trumpet theme isn't enunciated clearly enough to compete with the songs' melodies. Shore does occasionally reference fragments of Young's "Philadelphia" progressions, especially in the latter half of "Senior Associate Andrew Beckett." Otherwise, the score meanders along without any crescendos of emotional significance, passing vague harmonic passages between the violins and various woodwinds for several non-descript cues. One notable exception is Shore's mild panic motif, which takes the form of a minor-key rhythm performed by a variety of light percussion (led by harp) in "Minor Catastrophe" and "The Missing Document." By the time fluttering woodwinds and quietly tense string rhythms join the harp's plucking, the atmosphere takes on a sense of urgency and consternation worthy of a Bernard Herrmann score. Another exception is a small dose of flair in the keyboard and tambourine contributions to the score's most positive cue, "Birth." On the whole, however, Shore's music is merely average in every respect, careful not to step on the toes of the noteworthy performances on screen. When you watch Philadelphia, don't be surprised if you cannot recall any of the score during or after the experience. The shots of the city during the opening credits and Springsteen's song are a beautiful snapshot of early 1990's life, and the sorrowful, sparse performance by Young over the montage of the Hanks character's childhood movies to close the film will bring tears to your eyes. These two songs, as well as the aria "La Momma Morta" (performed by Maria Callas), were included on Sony's primary song compilation album for Philadelphia. That product includes a decent compilation of performances and a short suite of music from Shore's score (including the subtle references to Young's melody) and is ironically a better recommendation as a representation of the film than the label's follow-up score album released a few weeks later in January of 1994. The latter presentation adds additional opera selections but has difficulty maintaining interest due to the conservative nature of the score. In this rare case, go with the song album. Even after a generation has passed since the debut of Philadelphia, its pair of original songs is as effectively gripping as the day it dominated the airwaves.   @Amazon.com: CD or Download