Hans Zimmer - "The Ring 2" I'm a big fan of Hans Zimmer because he is a composer that no matter what genre, he never lets me down. The Ring 2, is no exception. This darkly crafted score is just as well constructed and articulate as even his most celebrated work such as Gladiator. Even some of the best composers tend to score a horror movie with less seriousness. It always is a bad reflection of their actual abilities. Zimmer uses haunting melodies, textural subtlety with a nice deep backdrop that gives the listener a more intense sense of dred than overt screeching and sound effects. I would highly recommend this one to your Zimmer collection.

Angelo Badalamenti - "A Very Long Engagement" Those of you familiar with Mr. Badalamenti's work on David Lynch films and other less celebrated projects, will appreciate the fact that this soundtrack has the same dark mysterious feeling common to his compositions. This particular soundtrack is considerably more articulate than those former works. While he is still something of a master in the minor key, these pieces weave gracefully in and out with ease and with much more melodic content than is usually associated with his body of work. I am grateful that this more sophisticated effort maintains the composers mysterious and haunting style.

Trevor Rabin - "National Treasure" This complex and high energy work from Trevor Rabin is a refreshing diversion for an action picture soundtrack. Always interesting, Rabin keeps a potentially repetitive score alive with some interesting syncopation and the use of each instrument as a percussion tool. This is the first really interesting soundtrack of the season. I highly recommend it.

Jan A P Kaczmarek - "Finding Neverland" This light and vibrant score may actually be a nice soundtrack for the holidays. Mr. Kaczmarek reaches at times for some greater depth in this score, but sadly, inevitably turns back to the traditional changes and classical endings to each phrase. The result is pretty, light, but a little thin.

Mychael Danna - "Vanity Fair" When you look at classical music as a genre, you have to buy into the classical formula of writing. They had a pretty strict set of theoretical rules, but what made the music great, was the ability of the composer to create something beautiful, unique or even amazing within those rules. This soundtracks follows the rules, but that's about it. If you are someone who loves this genre so much that you don't require any real substance, by all means, buy it. It's orchestrated well and like I say, follows the rules. Otherwise, I'd forget it.

Hans Zimmer - "King Arthur" This CD is a great example of what I really like about Hans Zimmer. He is able to convey his musical message tastefully yet simply. Zimmer's scores are never overcomplicated or obscure. In this unique style, the listener just allows the music to come to them, rather than searching for it through all the noise. This soundtrack is a bit of a reflection of his Gladiator soundtrack but unfortunately without as much passion. Still, it is worth a listen just to hear an artist who has really come into his own in terms of writing the definitive epic score.

James Newton Howard - "The Village" While I have come to expect soundtracks from Mr. Howard that are powerful and extroverted, I was pleasantly surprised to hear this one. This is the softer side of James Newton Howard and it is not only refreshing but quite beautiful. This is a primarily "strings" oriented soundtrack with some nice solo work by Hilary Hahn. Howard has layered strings much as he did on the production of Rickie Lee Jones', "The Magazine".  While I really like the writing and playing on this CD, I have to question the production. Ms. Hahn's solo work might be more true without all the reverb and a sort of scratchiness of tone. Otherwise, this is a welcome turn for the composer.

John Williams - "The Terminal" Mr. Williams once again scores Spielberg's new film, and in this case with astounding freshness. There was a time there when all John Williams scores started to sound alike. But he has certainly evolved as a composer of late. The most impressive thing about this soundtrack is that it is subdued and subtle. Even in the most animated sections, there is a softness that marks a new confidence in Mr. Williams approach. This is a score in which you can really hear his roots in American contemporary classical music. Particularly the influence of Copeland. While not a masterpiece, I still highly recommend this soundtrack.

Mark Isham - "The Cooler" I really like this soundtrack. This is a smart mix of classic tunes and Mark Ishams always interesting and meditative works. The director talks about how he thought of Ishams music while working on the film so it is no wonder that this is a match made in heaven. Isham's credits include "A River Runs Through It", "Romeo is Bleeding" and "Quiz Show". Many of you may remember that he was one of Windham Hill's featured artists in the old days. While I liked him then, I like him even better now. Go buy this one.

Iva Davies, Christopher Gordon, Richard Tognetti - "Master and Commander" That's right. Three composers and that's not even counting the music on this CD by Mozart, Corelli, Bach and Vaughn Williams. This is part of the problem. There are some great classic works on this CD but the original music doesn't take that into account. There is no effort by the composers here to meld these very different styles together. Maybe this is a case of too many cooks, but aside from very slick and even graceful transitions, the original music left me bored. Still, by virtue of hearing Yo Yo Ma perform solo on this CD, you might want to buy it anyway.

Edward Shearmur - "Johnny English" I think this is a really fun soundtrack. Mr. Shearmur took that 60's James Bond spy format but added some nice updated spark. There are some other songs on this record (Abba, Moloko) but the score itself is the real bargain here.

Randy Newman - "Seabiscuit" I have been a fan of Randy Newman for a long time as a songwriter and over the last few years as a film score composer. So it is with some regret that I was disappointed in this soundtrack. Not that it's particularly objectionable, it's just rather flat. It has a mild theme which runs throughout, but just nothing special. If you need to own it to add it to your Randy Newman collection, ok, but otherwise, skip it.

Danny Elfman - "The Hulk" While the movie itself seems somewhat of a disappointment at the box office, this latest Elfman score is exciting and powerful. Clearly dark in content, Elfman has a way of moving gracefully from one event to another and I find this score intense and dramatic.

Thomas Newman - "Finding Nemo" Animated, bright, colorful and inspirational! That's what some have said about this new movie from Pixar and that is exactly what you get in this excellent soundtrack from Thomas Newman. Newman's colorful use of his orchestra recreates a feeling of life under the sea. Every measure in this work seems finely crafted and carefully composed, and the melodies are clear and woven throughout. I believe this to be Newmans best work to date.

Terence Blanchard - "People I Know" This soundtrack is an interesting blend. Though fully orchestrated, it remains jazzy, cool and dark and made me feel as if I was listening to a small jazz group in a dark nightclub. My only problem with this particular work is that most songs are in the same key. This may not be much of a problem for the film, but as you listen to each cut, there is very little variation which for me creates some boredom. While there is nothing outstanding or new to listen to here, it's still very good night music, and hey, it's cool.

For past reviews......click here....SOUNDTRACKS

Totally off the subject, because this probably wouldn't qualify as "art" but where else do I put this link? Anyway, if you get an hour to basically waste, listen to these guys on public radio...Car Talk

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