Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #288
Written 6/15/98, Revised 3/31/07
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Buy it... if you enjoyed the calypso and reggae flavor to the score
in the film, including the performance by Taj Mahal shown on stage.
Avoid it... if you value coherence and adherence to stylistic
boundaries in your scores, or if you've never been fond of Randy
Edelman's somewhat plastic action material in the past.
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| Edelman |
Six Days, Seven Nights: (Randy Edelman) Ivan
Reitman is one of the most unpredictable directors in recent times,
answering every film like Ghostbusters with something like Six
Days, Seven Nights. Most of the problems relating to the 1998
romantic adventure starring Harrison Ford and Anne Heche were related to
a derivative plot that steals ideas from practically every film or show
that's ever been made about city folk getting stranded in a tropical
paradise. The two stars play their predictable roles in a setting ripe
for one-liners, though the script never survives its odd choice to
insert pirate attacks into the equation. It's thematically all over the
place, never choosing whether or not to really take itself seriously.
Also added into the mix was the revelation by Heche halfway through
production that she personally preferred female sex partners rather than
male ones, an assertion that would immediately infuriate tough-guy Ford
and eventually turn out to be false in real life anyway. Almost as
predictably unpredictable is composer Randy Edelman's score for Six
Days, Seven Nights, wandering all over the map in terms of genre.
Several years before, Edelman had been responsible for the
underachieving sequel score for Reitman's Ghostbusters 2, one
that failed to make use of Elmer Bernstein's original themes and
generally fell short in its own right. While the Six Days, Seven
Nights score doesn't try to overtly borrow inspiration from the
plethora of similar films before it, Edelman does reach for every
predictable move in the book. His score features everything that defines
his career, and, for the spirit of fun, throws in some style from the
books of George S. Clinton for the ambience of the location. The overall
effect of the score is one that seems unsatisfying in the whole, but
keeps you interested enough during its running time to play the next
track. Thus, your reaction to Six Days, Seven Nights will depend
on just how enticing or annoying you find the stereotypical Randy
Edelman romance and action sounds you've heard in countless other works
by the composer.
You can divide the score for
Six Days, Seven
Nights into four distinct categories, and it's because of the
frequent shifts between them that the score sustains interest. The first
style is the broad dramatic theme presented immediately in "Into the
Mist." There is no reason why Edelman shouldn't have paid royalties to
John Barry for this theme, utilizing both the broad brass strokes under
strings and trademark elongated chord progressions that Barry made a
living off of in the 1980's. This theme would tie into several larger
panoramic shots in the film, and qualifies as 100% shameless in the
ripoff department. Conversely, the second style in
Six Days, Seven
Nights is pure Edelman, and that involves the piano-led romance
theme highlighted by "Robin." It's a lightweight, as his romance themes
typically are, but the pleasant orchestral backing to the piano
performances is easy on the ears. The third style in the score is the
collection of action sequences, for which Edelman's synthetically aided
sound, especially with the bed of percussion employed for cues like
"Pirates," is cheap and underdeveloped (raising the same frustrations as
parts of
Dragonheart). The fourth style in the film is perhaps
the most intriguing, and that's the calypso, mambo, and reggae-laced
percussive tracks that often hide the larger themes from the score in
their performances. In "Maketea," the band is joined by the full
ensemble for a remarkable thematic combo performance. Towards the end of
the album, several filler cues expose the weaker moments in Edelman's
work. The final track is a source song heard performed on screen;
reggae's Taj Mahal appeared himself in the film and the inclusion of the
lengthy song on the album is welcomed and strangely complimentary of
Edelman's score. The album features some outstanding recording
qualities. With so many ensembles in play, including Edelman's own
samples, the score is vibrant at every moment and places each starring
instrument in a readily enjoyable position. Overall,
Six Days, Seven
Nights is a collection of derivative sounds from both Edelman's
previous works as well as those of others, but there's enough spirit in
the performances to float the album.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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Bias Check:
For Randy Edelman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.05
(in 20 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.16
(in 29,260 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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