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The Score
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Composed, Orchestrated, Conducted, and Co-Produced by:
Co-Produced by:
Suzana Peric
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LABEL & RELEASE DATE
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ALBUM AVAILABILITY
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Regular U.S. release.
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AWARDS
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None.
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ALSO SEE
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Buy it... if you desire a consistently propulsive background
listening experience in the form of light jazz rhythms, 1970's styles of
progression, and hints of noir tension.
Avoid it... if you expect this score to rise above its workmanlike
efficiency and offer a dynamic personality that can elevate it beyond
the potentially tedious levels of monotony heard in its highly
consistent tone.
BUY IT
 | | Shore |
The Score: (Howard Shore) Great casts can easily be
wasted with a substandard script, and Frank Oz's poorly paced The
Score, riddled with unnecessary plot twists at the end, does exactly
that. Both Robert De Niro and Edward Norton, playing characters at
opposite ends of their careers in high crime, sleepwalk through the
film. It also represented the end of the line for the legendary Marlon
Brando, whose ego, despite his close proximity to death, was still so
difficult to manage (especially with the man insisting on walking onto
sets with his penis hanging out, even after his abuse of his body had
long ago turned him grotesquely obese) that he refused to perform his
small role for The Score if the director was in the room. The
entire production revealed itself to be a disappointment, a potentially
incendiary caper gone sour. For composer Howard shore, The Score
also represented an end of a line, so to speak, because this was his
last mainstream work before he would stun the world with his music for
Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
later that year. Until that point, he had acquired the nickname of "cult
scorer" in some circles because of the kinds of films he had chosen to
score in the 1990's. Like Carter Burwell, in many ways, Shore's
assignments typically hinged on the outer borders of the mainstream and
were difficult to appreciate on album more often than not. His style of
writing lent itself to obscurity, for he wasn't the type to embrace
bombast or melodic theme. But his scores always had a gritty edge to
them, and The Score is a perfect example of that. While his music
for Lord of the Rings did finally bring Shore's career the
recognition many thought it had already deserved, there was hope that
The Score would actually be that popular vehicle. It didn't turn
out as such, but while many of Shore's scores aren't good listening
experiences when divorced from their films, The Score is an
exception. Because the veteran criminal portrayed by De Niro also
happens to own and run a jazz club in Montreal, Shore appropriately sets
the mood of the score to a fast paced, jazzy, urban atmosphere with a
hint of noir style. Seasoned film score collectors will find this music
to be an intriguing mix of Burwell's complicated structures (and
brooding tone in parts) and the flair of David Holmes' snazzy material
for the Oceans Eleven franchise.
Shore maintains a very light, but tensely exciting set
of rhythm movements in the percussion section for nearly every cue.
While there is no title theme with any grand sense of melody, Shore
offers a staggered, cascading six note sequence, often with the brass,
that permeates every corner of the score with a distinctly 1970's style
(best heard in "Bye Bye"). Some of the percussive underscore is high
strung and an obviously tense accompaniment for the sneaking around on
screen, though some of the cues, such as "Flashback," exhibit more of a
standard jazzy nightclub feeling, relying on bass, guitar, drums, and
vibes to carry the constant background rhythms. The mysticism about the
lifestyle of the master criminal is enhanced by a hint of electronic
programming used in a sort of awe-inspiring pseudo-choral effect during
many of the cues, also enhancing the often cold side of technology and
the big city. Shore's music does incorporate a moderately sized
orchestra, however the moments of orchestral involvement beyond the
routine emphasis on certain bass notes are often flat in tone. This
problem especially occurs during louder (almost hypnotic) repetitive
performances of the six-note theme, such as the conclusion of "Run
Late." Better in their adaptation to album, though, are the strictly
jazz movements, with a muted trumpet providing a sophisticated noir aura
to the complex criminal action. The nearly constant volume and rhythm,
which is more intense for a prolonged period than you may expect, makes
the album for The Score an extremely listenable one. The pace
goes largely uninterrupted, highlighted by such tracks as the relentless
"Files" and the stylish "Run Late," keeping the tapping foundation of
the music moving at all times. The downside of that same characteristic
of the music, though, is the fact that there is nothing overtly dynamic
about Shore's score outside of those rhythmic devices. This is an
example of an album that definitely did not need to be any longer, and
it could have even benefited from being trimmed down to a 25 to 30
minute presentation. At almost 40 minutes in length, it could easily
become monotonous for some listeners. If you don't pay too close
attention to it, though, it could be an energizing and motivating
background listening experience. There have been some complaints voiced
about certain source jazz and songs heard in the film that were omitted
from the Shore-only product. But it is an album that should appeal to
more than just Shore's close group of early collectors.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Howard Shore reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.56
(in 25 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.33
(in 101,302 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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Total Time: 38:37
• 1. Main Title (3:48)
• 2. Customs (1:29)
• 3. Flashback (4:10)
• 4. Recon (4:59)
• 5. Sapperstein (3:03)
• 6. Ironclad (1:50)
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• 7. Files (1:15)
• 8. The Score Begins (2:00)
• 9. Set Up (1:58)
• 10. Run Late (4:00)
• 11. Suspended (7:12)
• 12. Bye Bye (2:24)
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The insert includes a list of performers, but no extra information
about the score or film.
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