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Review of The Snow Files (Compilation)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you've heard only snippets of Mark Snow's diverse,
non-X-Files related talents through the years and seek a very
competent and enjoyable presentation of his better efforts of the
1990's.
Avoid it... if you strictly prefer the original performances of Snow's more ambient, atmospheric styles.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
The Snow Files: The Film Music of Mark Snow:
(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 The X-Files, 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 La Femme Nikita 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. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 70:43
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert notes contain information written by Randall Larson about each track,
including the following excerpt:
"Mark Snow has had a long but rewarding journey over the last two dozen years. Both he and his music have weathered the years well, each benefited from their experiences. "As I look back on my career, there's one thing that stands out as one of the great experiences, although at the time it was a real negative. I was working for Aaron Spelling doing a lot of episodic TV music, but I was basically doing the same thing each week. Then a new producer came in and said 'This is terrible! That guy - I want him out!' So, bang, I'm out. But that made me think - there's got to be more than one way to approach scoring a show. That really started opening my mind to all the different ways one could score a movie or a TV show. It made me experiment with a lot of different approaches, and it made me comfortable with whatever sense of style that I have now." As evidenced by the versatile examples collected on this CD, Snow's varied approaches have served him - and the many films he's scored - very well."
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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 The Snow Files are Copyright © 1999, Sonic Images Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 4/30/99 and last updated 10/28/07. |
