The Varese album is really short (30 min), but really effective too. I'm a big fan of the movie, so I can tell you it has plenty of unreleased music, and cool stuff ! This is easily the best score Joel McNeely has ever written, with many great themes : -Will's father's theme : a very tender theme that becomes a 4 notes motif (called Will's tune in the movie) that Will whistles troughout the movie to launch his dogs sled that is incorporated inside the score with such intelligence and talent. -Will's theme : a very sweeping, long and innocent americana theme, that cleverly begins with the 2 first notes from the 4 notes motif and ends with the 2 last notes. -The rousing race theme that musically demonstrates the epicness and the danger of the race, and that also is embraced by the 4 notes motif (2 notes opening the theme and 2 notes closing it, same as Will's theme) -The heroic theme that embodies the myth of Iron Will as the hero emerges, that will inspire later the theme for Dash Rendar in Shadows of the Empire.
All the tremendous adventure/action music (orchestrated by Bruce Broughton's usual partner David Slonaker) is some of the best americana/adventure music I've ever heard, and the amerindian flavor is a critical touch of serenity and tenderness (just like in Squanto, recently released by Intrada). Each track of the score has something to say, something to build, until the final "crossing the line" cue, where everything blends with the 4 notes motif becoming more musical and triumphant than ever. Splendid work of art.
|