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PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Where the River Runs Black (James Horner)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... only if you seek a more cerebral variation on the
synthetic environment of James Horner's score for Vibes, the
panpipes and electronic choir providing pretty ambience for this score
but not much more.
Avoid it... if you require more engagement from your listening experiences than a purely atmospheric collection of soft, jungle-inspired rhythms and free-floating, vaguely Latin melodies.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Where the River Runs Black: (James Horner) The 1986
fantasy drama Where the River Runs Black was a tremendous flop
for MGM, failing to gross even a million dollars during its brief
theatrical run. It was shot with great care by director Christopher Cain
on location in Brazil, using the jungle landscape as an element central
to the other-worldly environment of the story. That plot involves the
half-human and half-dolphin people that inhabit the rivers deep in the
jungle, their lore carried by local tribes, and the complications that
arise when a young hybrid boy is separated from that habitat when
gold-diggers exploit the area for riches. When the boy is taken into
custody in the city by a priest, the youth identifies the killer of his
hybrid mother as a local politician, and in his haste to seek revenge,
is forced to flee back to his habitat for protection amongst his kind. A
fairly predictable plot (outside of the dolphin/human aspect, which
needs to be accepted at face value) was a detriment compensated for by
the lovely scenery. Tailoring the music of Where the River Runs
Black to the fantastic visuals was composer James Horner, whose
career had transcended into the mainstream in 1986 with major awards
recognition. Horner had collaborated with the director for The Stone
Boy two years prior, and their careers were headed in opposite
directions by the time the low budget Where the River Runs Black
came along. The ensemble that Horner employed for the assignment,
amongst an early all-digital sound mix for the entire film, will be
familiar to collectors with the composer's later work for Vibes
already in their collections. In fact, nearly everything about Where
the River Runs Black will remind listeners of Vibes, the
jungle settings and hint of fantasy very consistent across the two
scores. Built from keyboarded synthesizers up, these scores both rely
upon electronic vocal effects, panpipes, exotic flute, select plucked
accents, and a variety of dynamic percussion that balances the organic
tones with the synthetic execution. It's a limited set of instruments,
but Horner manages to use them effectively enough to accentuate the
setting and provide a basic layer of intrigue, mystery, and dread to
many scenes that have nothing else in the soundscape. Creativity outside
of these elements is sadly missing; unlike Jerry Goldsmith's handling of
jungle atmospheres, Horner never used his synthetics (outside of
metallic mechanisms to resemble the blowing of wind through trees in
subsequent works) to actually imitate the sounds of water droplets or
similar sounds of the forest.
Horner's use of pan pipes in the 1980's often led to compelling recordings, and the instrument's quiet, contemplative meandering in Where the River Runs Black yields the score's highlights. When there are times of more active rhythmic intensity to accompany these performances, never does Horner whip them into a frenzy as he would in Vibes. Nor is the memorable lyricism as evident here, either. The melodies of Where the River Runs Black are very subtle, often strained over lengthy periods in their full constructs. The pipes are joined by electronic choral tones that are synthetic enough to openly suggest a fantasy atmosphere. Deeply resonating keyboarding sometimes offers a much-needed bass layer to the music; too much of Where the River Runs Black floats about in the treble region for it to be anything more than an atmospheric work. Cues like "Underwater Ballet" and "Magic Kitchen" provide a much needed respite from the contemplation, breathing life with Horner's folksy percussive and acoustic rhythms that eventually produce an opening to "End Title" that will be reminiscent for some listeners of the celebratory finale music in Willow. Such optimism is rare in Where the River Runs Black, however; the majority of the score is so reserved and minimally rendered that it could be, with the exception of about 10 minutes, a really disheartening experience. The minimal outright suspense and horror moments, such as "Sierra Pelada," explore tones as challenging in pulsating low keyboarding as anything in Vibes, with some dissonant chime effects carrying over from Gorky Park. The biggest difficulty that Where the River Runs Black presents in sum is its general lack of direction or maturity of ideas. Horner basically handles familial and alienation scenes in consistent fashion from start to end, leaving listeners grasping at the tone of the music rather than any particular construct. There is no theme by which to recall this listening experience. Instead, the score will give you barely an impression, likely one of pleasantly understated ambience. Only "The Orphanage" leaves an echo of beauty in your mind. With so many promising ingredients, it's surprising that Horner was unable to collect these ideas into a more cohesive whole. The original album release for Where the River Runs Black was a rare Varèse Sarabande product that demanded prices completely unjust for the quality of the music, and the label re-issued the same contents as a Club CD in 2015. It may be more interesting, per se, that The Name of the Rose, but the identical components form a more memorable whole in Vibes. If you like zoning out to your film scores, then this will be a three-star album. **
TRACK LISTINGS:
All Albums:
Total Time: 45:13
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert of the 1986 album includes no extra information about the score or film. That of the
2015 album features analysis of both.
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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 Where the River Runs Black are Copyright © 1986, 2015, Varèse Sarabande, Varèse Sarabande and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 8/28/09 and last updated 4/13/16. |
