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Review of Six Days, Seven Nights (Randy Edelman)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

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.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

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.  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 47:00

• 1. Into the Mist (1:56) • 2. Maketea (2:12) • 3. Pink Kawala (1:03) • 4. Crashdance (2:41) • 5. Floating Pontoons (2:30) • 6. Fixing the Old Beaver (2:58) • 7. Robin (2:38) • 8. A Ray of Hope (2:11) • 9. Quinn's Brilliant Idea (1:30) • 10. Saying Goodbye (1:19)

• 11. Panorama (2:08) • 12. Discovery (1:33) • 13. Lunching with Peacocks (1:52) • 14. Subways and Skyscrapers (3:24) • 15. Pirates (2:51) • 16. Just a Small Snake (2:03) • 17. End of a Journey (1:05) • 18. Flying Injured (1:10) • 19. On the Edge (1:24) • 20. Six Days and Seven Nights (1:52) • 21. The Calypsonians --peformed by Taj Mahal (6:29)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert notes contain extensive credits, but no information about the music itself.

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