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To say that Horner's contribution to Swing Kids is overshadowed by the jazz is an understatement. When discussing the actual 23 minutes of original score available on the commercial album, a disclaimer must be made right at the start that Horner seems to have bowed to the jazz music in the sense that he doesn't really attempt write anything that augments it or competes with it. Fully orchestral, the score rumbles in the depths of heavily mixed bass strings, with melodramatic classical chord progressions ominously churning the background as an adult choir (as opposed to his usual children's or strictly women's choirs) sometimes conveys vocals with the same style as in the opening and closing of Red Heat. A sense of urgency in his deliberate snare and cymbal-tapping is defied by the often excruciatingly slow tempo of his cues. Perhaps this is just an illusion due to the score being surrounded by such quick jazz pieces, but compared to other applicable war material by Horner, including Enemy at the Gates in a most related sense, only the tolling of chimes really distinguishes this music over the composer's similar assignments. As the film has difficulty pinpointing the exact personalities of the kids and their reasons for doing what they do, Horner stays away from the murky waters of such personalities. In fact, he provides no thematic material throughout the film whatsoever, further allowing his result to slip away very quickly from memory. The classic Horner four-note motif of evil is transferred to thunderous bass expressions in "Arvid Beaten," however. The jazz, on the other hand, was obviously the main intent for making the film, and even down to its louder mixing on album, the producers had this music first and foremost on their minds. The selections are very good in most cases, with a strong collection from the era applied to the film. The combined album is an extreme disappointment, though. Viewers of the film will want a compilation of the jazz heard in its length, and Horner collectors will likely have less than a 50/50 chance of being even remotely interested in that jazz. Unfortunately, the album mingles the two elements, interspersing score tracks in between jazz (both vintage and re-recorded) and causing both to suffer. The album was badly in need of separation of these two halves of music, because Horner's score does little more than cast a troubling shadow over Benny Goodman. As for the composer's part, the slight inspiration of individuality in the final cue cannot compensate for the extremely drab nature of the score's entirety.  **   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For James Horner reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.15 (in 108 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.23 (in 203,383 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 53:08