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Posted: |
Dec 2, 2011 - 7:48 PM
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By: |
MerM
(Member)
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First of all, a very gracious thanks to Advise and Consent for the contest, and upping the amount of prizes at the last minute (pretty sure I was number five out of five). So this release has a bit 'o controversy, yeah? Is any of it founded?
Well... I definitely understand Maleficio's irritation; I'd have been pretty annoyed if someone released Stay Tuned (a holy grail of mine for many years, without even a boot to turn to) as an abridged presentation, and if it had mediocre sound quality when a better source was clearly available. But let's play Devil's Advocate for a moment, at least for the first charge. I really do like having a 30-45-ish-minute assembly of good music, without having to worry that there's filler or disjointed tracks to be had. And as it is on the... ahem... that thing, SWTWC is not the most fluid of listening experiences. Short tracks, a bunch of source music, the whole deal. So I'm open to hearing an arranged version of this score, and as far as I know 30-ish minutes is standard for Delerue albums.
But what about the music, you say? Well, regardless of incompleteness or sound quality, of course I'm going to give it a positive review. It's GEORGES DELERUE, the man who couldn't make an ugly piece of music if he tried! And the music on this CD is far from ugly, even in its darker second half. But I'm getting ahead of myself...
I must confess that I'm completely unfamiliar with Regarding Henry as a film (all I know is J.J. Abrams wrote it, so I'm guessing there's a zillion plot holes or something?), so I have to take the music on its own terms - and on those terms, this is a very enjoyable 34 minutes. Even in its melancholy moments, this is something I could easily put on when I want to relax. Much as I want to say "in particular, I adore the track [such-and-such] and [you-get-the-idea]", I'd probably end up naming the entire 10-track presentation. However, there are definite highlights: "Finding Love" and "A New Birth" are extraordinary, and the source track "Sentimental Calliope" is delightful. I generally don't put source music on my iPod, but I can't imagine leaving it off, which is high praise indeed. One thing that took me by surprise is the "End Credits" - it's surprisingly weighty given the relative lightness of the previously material. It probably makes more sense with a better handle on the film, and it's no dealbreaker, but definitely an unexpected way to conclude the "album", as it were.
Now, then... Something Wicked. This film I am familiar with, as well as the Horner score that's currently in it. Although I'm tempted to say his score probably fits the film better than Delerue's might, I must concede that Delerue has the edge when it comes to the boys' theme. What else can I say? It's fantastic - joie de vivre in musical form. It's a shame it's not used more often, though I suppose that's due to the version of the film he scored - that wonderful montage at the beginning was created after Delerue's dismissal, but I've no doubt he would have done wonders with it.
The presentation here's an interesting one, starting out with some of that source music I mentioned earlier. I have to admit, I like how it started - a calliope tune that gets perverted very quickly, eventually introducing Mr. Dark's theme. It's a pretty good theme, and I could imagine Jonathan Pryce strutting around to it. "Something Wicked..." and "...This Way Comes" provide an excellent one-two punch to start the album off with. The presentation is weighted more towards diegetic music than I expected, but not to its detriment; rather, it keeps things fresh, balancing out the more sombre material with some fun (albeit creepy) circus material. Highlights include "The Edge of Death" (you can hear seeds of Agnes of God in here) and of course, "Finale".
The packaging is pretty good, and the liner notes aren't in-depth (we're spoiled in this age of track-by-track, bar-by-bar breakdowns) but they do the job well enough. Regarding Henry sounds great; Something Wicked sounds fine, regardless of what we know about better elements being available. It's hardly unlistenable, with the exception of that jump cut in Mirror Maze; it literally made me jump when I heard it, and not in a good way. I hope Universal Jazz does something about that, because frankly, it's a grotesque blotch on this otherwise finely constructed album.
Overall, I am for the most part pleased as punch about this CD. The sound quality and incompleteness don't bother me much, though that jump cut is a genuinely boneheaded move. But that's the extent of my vitriol toward this CD; I recommend this to anyone who wants a well-assembled 65-minute (or two well-assembled 30-odd-minute) listening experience, or anyone who likes Delerue in general.
POSTSCRIPT: I was intrigued to find Lukas' name in there. Lukas, if you read this far past my bloated writings, what was your involvement in this?
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That's a great review my friend. In depth, fair, balanced.
There is not one superfluous word on that page with the exception of your effusive praise for moi. 
I'll be giving it another spin tonight, but this time armed with your musings.
Thank you for your kind words Miles.
Enjoy!
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Posted: |
Dec 2, 2011 - 8:29 PM
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By: |
MerM
(Member)
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That's a great review my friend. In depth, fair, balanced.
There is not one superfluous word on that page with the exception of your effusive praise for moi.
I'll be giving it another spin tonight, but this time armed with your musings. I also hope Lukas gives us a bit of background on his involvement, although I believe there may have been a tripartite solution to the production of this CD.
Thank you for your kind words Miles.
Enjoy!
Oh, hardly! These contests of yours can't be cheap, least I could do is make clear that I appreciate what you're doing.  Yeah, I always enjoy it when someone puts up a reasonably detailed review of (good) music, and the music presented here definitely warranted 800+ of them. I hope the others who got their sets chime in, additional perspectives are never a bad thing.
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I was very tangentially involved with the research for Regarding Henry on the Paramount side.
Lukas
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I got this mainly for Regarding Henry. I'm still holding out hope that Intrada can do Something Wicked justice.
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