Synchrotones' Soundtrack Reviews
New URL – www.synchrotones.com
Composer's Specials
2018, Georges Delerue, Laurent Eyquem, Mark McKenzie, Max & Me, Meliam Music, Nostalgia, Review, Roque Banos, Score, Sony Classical, Soundtrack, The Complete London Sessions, The Miracle Season, Varese Sarabande
Cluster Reviews #02
In this digitally printed episode of Cluster Reviews I'd like to focus on a few scores that one might describe as 'beautiful'. The spotlight is on Mark McKenzie's Max & Me, Roque Banos' The Miracle Season, Laurent Eyquem's Nostalgia and a re-release of the compilation The Complete London Sessions by Georges Delerue. So sit back, relax, close your eyes and … open your eyes to read the reviews.
Max & Me is not the long-awaited sequel to Mac and Me, as I had initially hoped, but rather an animated film that tells about a priest who sacrificed his life to save another from the Nazi death camps. That sounds like heavy stuff and makes my joke at the start of this paragraph seem rather crass. The original score is by Mark McKenzie, who is an extremely talented composer; yet a-status has yet, somehow, eluded him. Max & Me is incredibly easy to like, as it's easy to listen to, which means it's also easy to get carried away by its prettiness. However, it's also fairly easy to criticise, which I won't shy away from.
Without going into huge amounts of detail, the score features a handful of themes. All very beautiful, hitting the right notes at the right times, accompanied by the right chords. You've got to admit, it is rather predictable. After just a few notes you know exactly how a certain piece is going to unfold; and so it does. Sometimes that's exactly what you want from a piece of music — and this is one of those times. It's orchestrated for silky smooth strings, solo violin, the odd piano, choir and some solo vocals and a bit of brass (the latter being the only part that doesn't sound quite right to me, but it's hard to work out why). The score is dramatic, melancholic, romantic and towards the end downright euphoric. It's melodic from start to end. As said, you can't not like this work. But it is predictable, at times repetitive, and it relies heavily on its pretty themes so that most of the time I find myself wishing that it was a little more complex in its harmonies and counterpoint writing. On a personal note, some of the music reminds me a lot of something I wrote myself a few years ago; and it totally freaks me out! Anyway, it may be easy-listening, but it's incredibly beautiful listening. I don't think it's quite the masterpiece some of my peers think it is, but you can't go far wrong with this one. (22 tracks, 57m, Sony Classical 2018. 4/5)
Another beauty is The Miracle Season by Roque Banos. The film's synopsis reads: "After the tragic death of star volleyball player Caroline Found, a team of dispirited high school girls must band together under the guidance of their tough-love coach in hopes of winning the state championship." Call me a cynic, but I think that tells you everything you need to know. The credits for director Sean McNamara reveal loads of TV-films, but also the motion picture Field of Lost Shoes, which features a very pleasant score by Frederik Wiedmann. What these two scores and Max and Me have in common is their easy-going if predictable nature.
There have been many great, beautiful and inspirational 'sports' scores; and Banos seems to be aware of most of them. I mean, he may not be, I don't know, but his score presses all the right buttons at all the right times. Marching band percussion? Check! Melancholy strings? Check. Heroic brass? Check! Stupid comments from stupid soundtrack critic? Check… hey wait a minute! The Miracle Season is an expertly written score; another one that is very easy to like; and one that very clearly tells a story, as it very obviously moves through all the emotions that accompany this kind of film. From feeling good, to feeling down, to battling onwards to the inevitable victory. The thing is… every other note reminds me of Horner or Silvestri or Isham; and I can't quite work out whether that bothers me or not. It shouldn't and it usually doesn't; but the generic nature of this score bothers me more than that of Max & Me. Maybe it's because I'm not a huge fan of the overtly obvious optimism that exists in this type of score. (15 tracks, 49m, Meliam Music 2018. 3,5/5)
Varese Sarabande have re-released The Complete London Sessions, a wonderful 2-disc compilation of music by Georges Delerue. It was previously released in 2001 as Great Composers: Georges Delerue. The French composer died in 1992 and, for me, it's weird to think that some of my readers will have been born after that, and may not even remotely be familiar with his work. If you are familiar with Delerue, then you're likely familiar with this compilation and you may even own a copy of the original release. You'll know how fabulous it is. If you have the original, I don't really see a reason to obtain this new release as it appears to be exactly the same (bar the cover image). So, this one is really for those film-music fans who have a bit of catching up to do, or who wish to explore something 'new'. This compilation offers 19 suites, recorded in 1989 with Delerue himself at the helm. The recording is absolutely spotless and sounds like it was only just recorded yesterday. Delerue's music is lush, melodic, romantic, dramatic and memorable. If I were to carefully compare him to a modern-day working composer, I'd probably compare him to Patrick Doyle, as I believe they share a sense of joy, drama and beauty. If it helps, consider Delerue a slightly more old-fashioned and French version of Doyle. All 19 cues here are career highlights (though many are missing… the guy did score over 300 films and television productions). For me personally, the real stand-outs are Rich and Famous, with its rich melody. I don't want to keep coming back to the word 'lush', but that is exactly what this is. The melody, performed by strings, flows so naturally that inevitably your entire body will gently rock from side to side in time with the music. Platoon is an exquisite work that matches the melancholy in Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, which features prominently in that film, yet is unmistakably from the hand of Delerue. The way the composer plays with tension and release is fantastic. It's such a shame that most (if not all) of the score went unused, as director Oliver Stone ultimately favoured Barber's Adagio.
If you like long-lined melodies than the Steel Magnolias suite should be right up your alley. It has a thematic line that just seems to carry on forever… risking it becoming too much to remember, but it's really lovely nonetheless, with a nice Americana touch. Cues like Beaches, Exposed and The Escape Artist sound deliciously European with their summery melodies, jazzy characteristics and orchestrations for strings, accordion, flute, marimba and bass. Arguable the darkest and most menacing suite is the one for Something Wicked This Way Comes, a score that was ultimately rejected in favour of one from James Horner. I think Delerue's vision and Horner's are pretty similar, as both offer an idyllic main theme and plenty of gothic dark material. But Delerue is Delerue and Horner is Horner… both have very strong identifiable styles; and I guess that Delerue's score might have sounded just a little too European or too classical, where Horner was able to produce a more typically 'Hollywood' score. A Little Sex offers a lively melody that travels from flute to oboe to accordion. It's a virtuous theme that dances between instruments like a butterfly between flowers. What's evident in every single one of these pieces is Delerue's incredible gift for melody. Each of them a little gift from wonderful composer. (19 tracks, 2CD, 1h 57m, Varese Sarabande 2018. 5/5)
Sticking with French composers, Laurent Eyquem has penned a lovely score for Nostalgia. A mosaic of stories about love and loss, Nostalgia explores our relationships to the objects, artifacts, and memories that shape our lives. Eyquem's scores revolves primarily around the piano and cello. There's a small string section present; and even a single trumpet at one point. The result is a very intimate score. It's quite melancholy and sombre, as you might expect from the title, and it relies on silence between the notes as much as it does on the notes itself. You'll often hear strings fade in and out with a slight rest before resurging again; and on a few occasions the music almost dissolves with just a few sparse piano notes remaining. This restraint is deliberate; and very powerful.
The director wanted a natural sound where you can hear the mechanics of the piano as well as any noises from the strings. This 'unpolished' sound is quite popular nowadays, partly due to artists like Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds, Dustin O'Halloran, etcetera. Eyquem was also encouraged to explore the tragedies in his own life to find inspiration for the music. As such, it has become a very personal work. There is a beautiful sadness to this music. It's always melodic and harmonic with heartfelt performances on said piano, cello and trumpet. (11 tracks, 30m, Varese Sarabande 2018. 4/5)
Reviews by Pete Simons (c) 2018 Synchrotones.
From → Film Soundtracks, Georges Delerue, Laurent Eyquem, Mark McKenzie, Meliam Music, Roque Banos, Sony Classical, Varese Sarabande
« The Classics: James Horner
Cluster Reviews #01 »
Categories Select Category Admin (121) Article (18) Luke Bunting's Reviews (2) Microtones (45) News (39) Synchrotones' Soundtrack Awards (30) 2013 Winner (5) 2014 Winner (9) 2015 Winner (7) Uncategorized (6) Album Reviews (276) Concept Album (5) Concert Works (6) Documentary (20) Film Soundtracks (223) Television Soundtrack (33) Trailer Music (4) Video Game Music (5) Composers (299) 65daysofstatic (1) A R Rahman (1) Aaron Zigman (1) Abel Korzeniowski (9) Acoustic Labs (1) Adam Robl (1) Adam Taylor (1) Ade Fenton (1) Adrian Konarski (1) Al Hope (1) Alan Menken (1) Alan Silvestri (16) Alberto Iglesias (1) Alex Wurman (1) Alexander Cimini (2) Alexandre Desplat (7) Alfonso de Vilallonga (1) Amelia Warner (2) Andre Matthias (1) Andrew Dost (1) Andrew Lockington (1) Andy Hull (1) Angelo Badalamenti (1) Anne Dudley (1) Anton Sanko (1) Arnau Bataller (3) Atticus Ross (1) Audiomachine (3) Austin Wintory (3) Ólafur Arnalds (5) Bartosz Chajdecki (1) Bear McCreary (6) Ben Foster (5) Ben Salisbury (2) Benjamin Gibbard (1) Benjamin Wallfisch (13) Benji Merrison (1) Blake Neely (4) Bobby Johnston (1) Brian Byrne (1) Brian Reitzell (1) Brian Satterwhite (1) Brian Tyler (11) Buck Sanders (1) Carlos Jose Alvarez (2) Carlos Rafael Rivera (1) Carter Burwell (3) Ceiri Torjussen (2) Chad Cannon (1) Charlie Clouser (1) Charlie Mole (2) Chris Bacon (1) Chris Hajian (1) Chris Ridenhour (1) Chris Roe (1) Christian Henson (2) Christian Jacob (1) Christobal Tapia de Veer (1) Christophe Beck (2) Christopher Cano (1) Christopher Young (4) Cliff Martinez (4) Clint Eastwood (2) Clint Mansell (4) Clinton Shorter (1) Clyde Lawrence (1) Cody Fitzgerald (1) Cody Westheimer (1) Craig Armstrong (5) Craig Safan (2) Cyrille Aufort (1) Daniel Belardinelli (1) Daniel Hart (2) Daniel Pemberton (2) Danny Bensi (2) Danny Elfman (5) Dario Marianelli (7) Darren Fung (2) David Buckley (1) David Fleming (1) David Flemming (1) David Shire (1) David Wingo (1) Dominic Lewis (4) Edmund Butt (1) Edward Shearmur (1) Elia Cmiral (1) Elliot Goldenthal (1) Elmer Bernstein (1) Fernando Velazquez (7) Francois Jolin (1) Frank Ilfman (4) Frans Bak (2) Frederico Jusid (3) Frederik Wiedmann (7) Full Tilt (3) Gabriel Yared (2) Gareth Coker (2) Gary Numan (1) Gary Schyman (1) Gary Yershon (2) Gaute Storaas (2) Geoff Barrow (2) Geoff Knorr (2) Geoff Zanelli (1) George Fenton (4) Georges Delerue (1) Grant Kirkhope (2) Gregory James Jenkins (1) Griffin Cohen (2) Guy Farley (2) Guy van Nueten (1) H. Scott Salinas (2) Halli Cauthery (1) Hans Zimmer (17) Harald Kloser (1) Harold Budd (1) Harry Escott (1) Harry Gregson-Williams (7) Heather McIntosh (1) Henrik Skram (3) Henry Jackman (3) Hildur Guðnadóttir (2) Howard Ashman (1) Howard Shore (6) Iain Kelso (1) Ian Honeyman (4) Ian Hultquist (2) Ilan Eshkeri (9) Jackson Greenberg (1) Jacob Shea (3) Jake Monaco (1) James Horner (9) James Newton Howard (7) James Orr (1) Jasha Klebe (2) Javier Navarette (2) Jay Vincent (1) Jed Kurzel (2) Jeff Beal (1) Jeff Danna (1) Jeff Herriott (1) Jeff Rona (3) Jeff Russo (1) Jeff van Dyck (1) Jeff Walton (1) Joe Clark (1) Joe Kraemer (2) Joel J Richard (2) Joel McNeely (2) Joel P West (1) Johan Hoogewijs (1) Johan Johannsson (6) John Altman (1) John Debney (8) John Frizzel (1) John Lunn (2) John Murphy (3) John Ottman (1) John Paesano (4) John Powell (6) John Swihart (2) John Williams (5) Johnny Klimek (1) Jon Ekstrand (2) Jonsi and Alex (1) Joseph Bishara (2) Joseph LoDuca (1) Joshua Johnson (1) Junkie XL (6) Kaveh Cohen (2) Keith Power (1) Kerry Muzzy (1) Klaus Badelt (1) Kristian Sensini (1) Kyle Dixon (1) Laura Karpman (1) Laurent Eyquem (5) Lennie Niehaus (1) Lisa Gerrard (3) Lorne Balfe (3) Ludwig Goransson (2) Mac Quayle (2) Marc Shaiman (2) Marc Streitenfeld (2) Marc Timón Barceló (3) Marcelo de Francisci (1) Marcelo Zarvos (3) Marco Beltrami (16) Mark Adler (1) Mark Isham (4) Mark Kilian (7) Mark Leggett (1) Mark Mancina (5) Mark McKenzie (2) Mark Mothersbaugh (3) Martin O'Donnell (2) Mateo Messina (1) Mathijs Kieboom (1) Matthew Llewellyn (3) Matthew Margeson (2) Maurizio Malagnini (6) Max Richter (3) Michael Brook (2) Michael Curran (2) Michael Giacchino (6) Michael Kramer (1) Michael Nielsen (2) Michael Price (1) Michael Salvatori (2) Michael Stein (1) Michael Yezerski (1) Miguel D'Oliveira (5) Mikolai Stroinski (1) Moises Daniel (1) Mychael Danna (3) Nathan Barr (1) Nathan Halpern (1) Neal Acree (1) Nicholas Britell (3) Nick Foster (1) Nick Urata (3) Nicklas Schmidt (1) Nigel Westlake (1) Nima Fakhrara (1) Nitin Sawhney (1) Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum (1) Owen Pallett (1) Panu Aaltio (2) Paolo Buonvino (1) Patrick Cassidy (1) Patrick Doyle (4) Patrick Jonsson (1) Patrick Watson (1) Paul Cantelon (1) Paul Dalio (1) Paul Englishby (1) Paul Grabowski (1) Paul Hartnoll (1) Paul Haslinger (2) Paul Hepker (2) Paul Intson (1) Paul Leonard-Morgan (1) Pedro Bromfman (1) Penka Kouneva (1) Philip Glass (2) Pinar Toprak (2) Rachel Portman (3) Rael Jones (1) Rahman Altin (1) Ramin Djawadi (4) Ramin Kousha (1) Randy Miller (1) Reza Safinia (1) Richard Stone (1) Rikard Borggard (1) Rob Simonsen (9) Robert Gulya (1) Robert J Kral (1) Robert Lydecker (1) Robert McDowell (1) Robin Coudert (1) Robin Foster (1) Robin Guthrie (1) Rolfe Kent (2) Roque Banos (3) Rupert Gregson-Williams (5) Ryan Amon (2) S Craig Zahler (1) Sarah Class (1) Saunder Jurriaans (2) Scott Glasgow (2) Sergio Moure De Oteyza (1) Shawn Sutta (1) Shigeru Umebayashi (1) Solomon Grey (2) Stanislas Syrewicz (1) Stephen Endelman (1) Stephen Rennicks (1) Steve London (1) Steven Price (8) Stuart Hancock (3) The Newton Brothers (1) Theodore Shapiro (4) Theodore Shapiro (1) Thomas Newman (7) Thomas Wander (1) Timothy Williams (7) Tom Holkenborg (4) Tom Raybould (1) Tom Tykwer (1) Tomandandy (1) Tony Morales (1) Tree Adams (1) Trent Reznor (1) Trevor Morris (1) Trevor Rabin (1) Trond Bjerknes (1) Tuomas Kantelinen (4) Tyler Bates (3) Ulas Pakkan (1) Uno Helmersson (1) Victor Reyes (1) Vincent Gillioz (2) Wendy Wang (1) West Dylan Thordson (1) Will Bates (1) William Butler (1) Winifred Phillips (1) Ye Xiaogang (1) Yuri Poteyenko (2) Zaalen Tallis (1) Zacarías M. de la Riva (4) Zoe Keating (1) Genre (229) Action (60) Adventure (52) Animation (16) Biography (18) Comedy (14) Crime (18) Documentary (25) Drama (92) Family (20) Fantasy (30) Game (4) Historical (13) Horror (21) Religious (1) Romance (12) Science Fiction (38) Television (30) Thriller (29) War (12) Western (3) Interviews (10) Label (275) ABC Music (1) Abkco (1) Astralwerks (1) Audiomachine (1) Back Lot Music (6) Bolli Records (1) Bonnier Music (1) Caldera (10) Columbia (2) Cosmos Studios Music (4) Cow on the Wall (1) Decca (3) Deutsche Grammaphon (2) Disney (6) EA (1) Earthsonix Records (1) Erased Tapes Records (1) Filmtrax (1) Glassnote Entertainment Group (2) Hollywood Records (4) Howe Records (3) Howlin' Wolf Records (2) HSI Records (1) Intrada (2) Invada Records (1) Keep Moving Records (4) Kronos Records (2) La-La Land Records (8) Lace Records (1) Lakeshore Records (46) Lionsgate Records (3) Madison Gate Records (3) Marvel Music (2) Meliam Music (1) Mercury Classics (3) Metropolis Movie Music (1) Microsoft Studios Music (2) Milan Records (11) MovieScore Media (35) Music Box Records (2) Nettwerk (1) Nonesuch Records (1) Note for Note Music (2) Ondine (1) Paramount Music (1) PlantSounds (1) Plaza Mayor Company Ltd (1) Polydor (1) Private (2) Quartet Records (3) RCA Records (1) Red Bull Media House (1) Relativity Music (4) Riva Media Records (1) ScreamWorks Records (5) Screen Gems (1) Silva Screen Records (21) Sony Classical (24) Sony Music (13) Sparks & Shadows (4) Taped Noise (2) Terwilliger Productions (1) The Astronauts (1) Varese Sarabande (50) Walt Disney (7) Warner (3) WaterTower Music (14) Rating (243) 1.5/5 (2) 1/5 (2) 2.5/5 (23) 2/5 (11) 3.5/5 (52) 3/5 (41) 4.5/5 (29) 4/5 (76) 5/5 (10)
Connect with @Synchrotones on Twitter
and on Facebook.com/synchrotones
2019 Synchrotones' Soundtrack Awards
Hiatus (Synchrotones)
Revisited: The Synchrotones Soundtrack Awards 2015-2018
First to the Moon (Alexander Bornstein)
Interview with Mary Shelley-composer Amelia Warner
[5/5] Excellent
[4,5/5] Fantastic
[4/5] Great
[3,5/5] Very good
[3/5] Good
[2,5/5] Alright
[2/5] Below average
[1,5/5] Poor
[1/5] Bad
[0,5/5] Very bad
[0/5] Abysmal
Follow @Synchrotones on Twitter
IFMCA
Synchrotones is a member of the IFMCA
Follow Synchrotones via Email
Enter your email address to follow Synchrotones and receive notifications of new posts by email.