Lending his services to several bands in the 1990s, most notably Nine Inch Nails, Mansell began providing low-budget, electronic scores for B-films in 1998. While not a remarkable work in and of itself, Requiem for a Dream served as Mansell's initial calling card, though even that score could not prepare him for the expansive variety of sounds necessary for Sahara. Given those circumstances, the finished score for Sahara is not only a thrilling and effective score in the context of the film, but a guilty pleasure in the making on album. The score has all the same positives and negatives of Nathan Furst's Dust to Glory earlier in the year, with obvious influences in style calling for forgiveness simply because they're cool. Thus, if you're seeking something intellectual, go somewhere else. Mansell's work here ranges from straight-forward orchestral bombast to the reverse angle of ethnically rhythmic vocals and general world music. Depsite some influences when a sense of "coolness" is called upon, Mansell restrains the rock elements to subsidiary roles, never rocking the listener with guitars or overbearing electronics. But in the marriage between electronic and orchestral arrangements, definite similarities can be drawn between this and David Arnold's large-scale works, thanks to the work of common orchestrator Nicholas Dodd.

Given Dodd's talents of bringing pop and rock artists into the symphonic fold, scores like Sahara beg for the man to venture into composition for himself (though to do so might reveal some of the true talent behind Arnold). Choral use will recall Stargate in several places, especially in "A Clue." Cues such as "All Aboard!" will be just slightly too Bond-like in their wailing brass for some listeners, causing some curiosity about whether or not Goldfinger is poking around out there in the desert with them. In its favor, Sahara has all the structural traits of a satisfying modern adventure score, with a title theme for the quest and a two-note submotif for brass that pop up where appropriate. Extensive incorporation of Middle-Eastern and African vocals into several cues lends a third dimension to the score. Along with African percussion, two cues in the score will be downright foreign to the Western listener, sounding as though plucked from an East-African marketplace. Other cues, such as the "Celebration" finale, offer magnificent blends between the different cultural sounds and the symphony. On album, the mere existence of a score album is an unlikely, but pleasant surprise given the lack of widespread success for the film. Only a remix of the title theme at the end (which itself isn't as invasive as some of Arnold's Moby remixes for his scores) joins a solid 75 minutes of Mansell's score. Sahara's music may not be quite unique enough to inspire a lengthy search and expenditure, but it will be a great used-CD or bargain/clearance buy for any score collector.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download