CD Reviews: The Four Feathers and The Tuxedo
The Four Feathers ***
JAMES HORNER
Sony Classical ASK 89744
13 tracks - 79:14
If Shekhar Kapur wanted a James Horner score for The Four Feathers
(and we can presume he did), then that's certainly what he got. The
Four Feathers is typical of Horner's current sensibility. It's a distinct
fusion of four main elements: a sweeping, inspirational motif from Horner's
bag-of-tricks; a love theme with vague pop overtones; an elegiac military
theme; and (to quote the press release) a "dazzling array of ethnic musicians."
It's this last category that really gives the score a distinctive voice
-- specifically, it's the voice of Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, whose impassioned
Middle-Eastern wailings make up a good chunk of the album. This might not
work for everyone, but I was raised in a Byzantine church, so I appreciated
the fusion of Eastern and Western styles.
The rest of the score is less distinguished. The military theme is close
in spirit to Glory and Apollo 13. Actually, while this works
fairly well on the CD, it made for a strange experience in the theater.
The music leaves a strong impression of Aaron Copland americana, which
wasn't the sound I was expecting for a film about the mid-19th century
British Empire.
The love theme is pretty enough, but again, I found it distracting in
the film. The Four Feathers does not have a pop-ballad over the
end credits, thank goodness, but listening to this theme makes me wonder
if one was originally intended. The theme is romantic, but in a more modern
sense. There's a moment early in the film where the leads share a dance.
Production audio dies away, and we hear a piano version of the love theme
(track 2 on the album). I kept waiting for Celine Dion or Charlotte Church
to break in -- but nothing.
Kapur makes Horner a major player in the film, frequently muting sound
effects and giving the music more prominence. This works, for the most
part -- but when you strip away the grand visuals and all the on-screen
action, what you're left with is mostly big, sonic wallpaper. Textured,
complex writing that moves, but doesn't go anywhere. That might not bother
some of you, but I found myself bored through long stretches of this CD,
which is almost 80 minutes long. There's simply not enough coherent development
to carry a soundtrack album of this length. In the future, I will probably
only revisit two cues. One is "Ghost Of Serenity," a six-minute exposition
on the score's Eastern ideas -- mainly vocals, led by Kahn. The other is
the disc's final track, "A Coward No Longer." This one's a whopping, 13-minute
suite that contains all of the score's major ideas (and still manages to
repeat most of them).
Bottom-line, this score is recommended for Horner fans, and recommended
with reservations to those who are receptive to the "Horner sound" and
might enjoy the Middle Eastern flavor. -- John Takis
The Tuxedo ***
JOHN DEBNEY AND CHRISTOPHE BECK
Varèse Sarabande 302 066 414 2
19 tracks - 36:54
The Tuxedo continues the '90s trend of scoring spy flicks the
David Arnold way -- in other words, techno/electronica music combined with
large orchestra -- as opposed to the earlier Barry-established jazz and
big band Bond scores of the '60s. The main theme does get a Barryesque
string arrangement in the opening "Jimmy's Tux," albeit over a techno rhythm.
Both Debney and Beck share credit on the main theme, so it's unclear
who actually wrote it. Either way, it sounds like Debney's take on Jerry
Goldsmith, and in fact, a number of the tracks (like "Jimmy Saves Blaine")
feature said theme in Goldsmithian brass arrangements. There are also a
few Flint-styled lounge moments in the score (as in "Banning Opens
The Pods" -- I hope they're not alien pods!) and more than a few Barryesque
guitar licks, despite the preponderance of hip-hop.
There are also at least half-a-dozen exciting action pieces. This music
acts as the straight man during the film, supporting Jackie Chan's onscreen
hijinks rather than mickey-mousing his stunts with more funny music.
Debney and Beck both get roughly equal playing time on the disc, which
at a little over half an hour doesn't wear out its welcome. The album ends
with James Brown's "Get Up (I Feel Like A Sex Machine)," a cool coda to
the rest of the score. Nothing earth-shattering, but an enjoyable listen.
-- Darren MacDonald
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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