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Review of Hollywood Stars: Music from the Films of Kevin Costner (Compilation)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you seek a Silva Screen compilation that is a bit more unpredictable than their usual collections of film music collections.

Avoid it... if you have no interest in the selection of scores provided, and are tired of hearing Dances With Wolves and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Hollywood Stars: Music from the Films of Kevin Costner: (Compilation) By the late 1990's, Silva Screen had hit their stride in their production of large-scale symphonic re-recordings of film music featuring The City of Prague Philharmonic. As they had done before and would do again in the future, they released several actor-specific compilations in the summer of 1998. Under the common title of "Hollywood Stars," the three concurrent releases of the series were devoted to films starring Sean Connery, Kevin Costner, and Mel Gibson. The Costner album is by far the most positively varied of the three, and will keep you on the edge of your set more than the other two. Its most interesting characteristic is its inclusion of several scores that haven't received full releases in their original form. The symphonic selections have a distinct Western/Adventure theme, though the album also features an abundance of synthetic cues as well. The album opens and closes with two very good Western themes, Wyatt Earp and Silverado, the latter of which is performed with the same vigor as the original and is always a welcome inclusion on any compilation. The suite of themes from Dances With Wolves is more extensive than the usual Dances With Wolves concert performances. At almost ten minutes, it offers a variety of music from the score, including the choral-assisted "The Buffalo Hunt," and is a refreshing variation for film score fans who have tired of hearing the score's primary two themes through the years. Maurice Jarre's No Way Out is an awkward electronic score that sounds much like Christopher Franke music in parts, varying greatly in tone from drab atmospherics to unnerving rhythmic hits. The cue from The Untouchables is a tad bit unwelcome if you already have the Sean Connery collection (and vice versa), for the same track appears on both albums.

The following four tracks come from two scores you may be unfamiliar with. The selections of The Bodyguard by Alan Silvestri will be a welcome treat for fans of the composer unable to acquire the original score on the secondary bootleg market. The love theme is decent, though the more tense "On the Job" was probably unnecessary for the compilation. The two cues from Jack Nitzsche's Revenge are original recordings (owned by Silva) and are both surprisingly enjoyable. "Jeep Ride" is an odd variation on the electronic border style of Goldsmith's Extreme Prejudice, while "Miryea's Death" has a soothingly melodic keyboarded theme. The "Prelude" to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a tired piece. Its exuberant construct keeps it somewhat fresh, but with every marching band around the world performing the Kamen piece at some point or another, even the Prague performers have a difficult time elevating it beyond others. The four minutes from James Horner's Field of Dreams represent some of the best, most upbeat minutes of music from the score, and its performance here is remarkably similar to the original. The two tracks from John Williams' JFK are rather weak, especially in the brass solos. The stress and paranoia built in the strings of "Arlington" are well portrayed, though the prologue track from JFK would have been a more satisfying choice to appear here. The finale track to James Newton Howard's Waterworld is a necessary inclusion for any Kostner retrospect; the contributions of the Crouch End Festival Chorus make it a highlight of the album. For collectors who haven not been able to track down the promotional album for William Ross' promo for Tin Cup should note that the four-minute finale cue here is a good sampling of his score for the film. A fitting end to any album, of course, is Silverado. Most of these tracks were available on a "Music from the Films of Kevin Costner" compilation from Silva in 1995, rendering that album largely useless. Overall, this compilation is almost as enjoyable as the Connery one (albeit shorter), and is a full step above the Mel Gibson one. The tracks from Revenge, Waterworld, and Silverado will especially attract your attention.  ****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 59:18

Wyatt Earp (James Newton Howard) • 1. Main Title (4:49) Dances With Wolves (John Barry) • 2. The John Dunbar Theme (2:33) • 3. Two Socks Theme (1:44) • 4. The Buffalo Hunt (4:14) No Way Out (Maurice Jarre) • 5. Main Title (3:31) The Untouchables (Ennio Morricone) • 6. Main Theme (2:22) The Bodyguard (Alan Silvestri) • 7. On the Job (1:09) • 8. Love Theme (3:45) Revenge (Jack Nitzsche) • 9. Jeep Ride (1:29) • 10. Miryea's Death (5:20)

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Michael Kamen) • 11. Prelude (3:05) Field of Dreams (James Horner) • 12. Deciding to Build the Field (4:05) JFK (John Williams) • 13. Arlington (7:26) • 14. End Title (2:40) Waterworld (James Newton Howard) • 15. Main Theme (2:26) Tin Cup (William Ross) • 16. Master of the Game (4:29) Silverado (Bruce Broughton) • 17. Main Theme (4:06)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes detailed notes about the scores and films.

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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Hollywood Stars: Music from the Films of Kevin Costner are Copyright © 1998, Silva Screen Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 7/17/98 and last updated 7/23/06.