:
(Compilation) Serving as an excellent sampling of Mark Snow's different
composition styles for various media, this Sonic Images compilation
features some of the best music written by Snow throughout the 1990's.
With a career reaching back to the mid-1970s, Snow had created themes or
full scores for over 100 television shows and films at the time of the
1999 compilation, as well as the addition of several notable video game
and feature film scores in the few years just prior to the album's
release. Snow is best known for his long-time affiliation with the
television series
, and although many of his best
works are fall into the category of dark and mysterious, he has also
provided surprisingly effective and lyrical music for a variety of other
genres. For the purpose of examining these different aspects of his
career, "The Snow Files" is divided into these distinct genres. As such,
the album is the best form of a promotional release that Snow has ever
received, though through licensing efforts most of the performances on
the album are the original recordings. Leading off the album is an
extended performance of the
television series
theme, arranged by John Beal, perhaps the most capable imitation artist
working in the trailer music industry at the time. The track features a
"club mix" of Snow's theme, giving it a extra dose of sensuous and
exotic energy, and it is accentuated by alluring female voice-overs and
various crime-oriented sound effects. While the performance may drag on
a tad too long, it certainly has strong appeal. The following four
selections are categorized under the title "Darkness and Desire," and
reflect many fans' favorite Mark Snow style. All four tracks feature an
abundance of Snow's trademark minor-key themes, as well as a chilling
and eerie effectiveness of melody.
The love theme from
Conundrum consists of only a
small ensemble, but the piano, electric bass, percussion, and female
voice combine for a haunting and yet uplifting result (and a highlight
of the album).
Seduced and Betrayed turns to the orchestra, and
fans of sultry film music will recognize and appreciate the sinking
string and woodwind effect reminiscent of
Basic Instinct.
Returning to his electronics, Snow builds to a dramatic climax two
minutes into his choral track for
A Woman Scorned with a theme
that vaguely reminds of James Horner's
Name of the Rose.
Caroline at Midnight finishes this album section with a lonely
film noir theme performed by a muted trumpet. The "Love and Hope"
section shifts towards Snow's more traditional orchestral work, though
many of the cues continue to utilize some accompaniment by his array of
synthesizers.
The Substitute Wife features a folk harmonica and
Oldest Living Confederate Widow includes varied string
performances; both selections have a more personal and intimate touch,
which is something that people might not expect from Snow given the fame
of his ambient atmospherics. The score for the 1996 television film
Smoke Jumpers, although desperately in need of a larger
orchestral ensemble for the performance, provides a glimpse of heroic,
mightily thematic music from Snow, with the ambition of a typical 1990's
David Arnold action effort. Finishing the album's section on "Love and
Hope" is a short preview of music from the 1997 Michael Caine version of
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea shown on ABC. If you don't already
own the full Prometheus release of this score, you'll be in search of it
after hearing the "Arctic Night Walk" selection here. The score is
heavily influenced by John Barry's sweeping, melodic style, and with
this melodramatic, expansive scope combined with Snow's rich
electronics, orchestra, and choral effects, the score is a truly
rewarding listening experience. In the subsequent ten years since its
release,
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea remains one of the best
television scores in existence.
Upon arriving at the section of the album titled "The
Music is Out There," the compilation provides the music that most people
will already be familiar with in Snow's career. Unfortunately, when
compared to the diversity of the previous music on the album, it's
difficult to enjoy the music that Snow creates for simply atmospheric
ambience. The massive contrast between this style of music and Snow's
more melodic efforts isn't any clearer than in
Disturbing
Behavior, a feature film score with few appealing moments to choose
from (though the best the score has to offer is included here). The
thirty-plus minutes of music from
The X-Files is arranged and
performed by John Beal, and the selections that can be heard here are
generally those that were also on the "Truth and the Light" album
released previously (without the dialogue, of course). Beal's
commendable performance, aided by some direction by Snow himself, shows
the time he took to accurately arrange and re-create the cult show's
music. While
The X-Files music tends to be very effective in the
show itself, it never tended to be listenable outside of its context
until later seasons. Only the hardcore fans of the show will use this
thirty-minute suite as the main attraction of this product, and even
these listeners may have preferred to have the suite broken into smaller
tracks as to enjoy only the more favorable parts. Finishing the album
are a few bonus tracks that feature Snow's more playful electronic side.
They aren't particularly enjoyable to dwell upon, but they once again
exhibit another distinct style from Snow. The
Pee-Wee Playhouse
track is so bizarre that it borders on perversion (much like Danny
Elfman's equivalent). For most listeners, the highlights of "The Snow
Files" are presented in the thirty minutes of music in the "Darkness and
Desire" and "Love and Hope" sections of the product. For those sections
alone, the album is worth the price, and it's a shame that a follow-up
compilation of Snow's efforts of the 2000's hasn't been forthcoming in
the years since.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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