Ten Tracks Today – 2nd June 2011
Posted by Alan Rogers on June 15, 2011
01 – “The Return” – Scarecrows – Terry Plumeri
Nice pizzicato and sliding strings start off a track that’s mostly a tense ostinato track. Plumeri is a composer whose work (that I’ve heard) doesn’t disappoint. Intrada’s artwork for this is good.
02 – “Robbinsville (Reprise)” – Nell – Mark Isham
I really like this theme. Nice and jaunty with a hint of ethnicity with the choice of instruments, it’s a track that’s always cheery-sounding. The track quietens down in the middle with a nice flute/strings interlude to catch the breath before restating the theme.
03 – “Vampire’s Ceremony” – Body Double – Pino Donaggio
A definite Herrmann influence with this track, particularly in the brass early on. The electronic embellishments are borderline annoying though.
04 – “La Lettre Perdue” – Chouans! – Georges Delerue
I don’t usually reach for this track when I listen to this score as I tend to go for the tracks that contain bolder statements of the theme. But the theme does appear, though in a bit more restrained form than elsewhere, towards the end of the track. I think that this must be my favourite Delerue theme.
05 – “Murder In The First” – Murder In The First – Christopher Young
I’m on a roll now with great themes! Young’s heartbreaking theme for this is one of his best compositions. Knowing what’s coming in this track, and the way that the composer builds and builds towards the theme is aching. Though not heard here, I am usually torn between the vocal version and the orchestral version of the theme deciding a favourite of the two.
06 – “Theme” – Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em – Ronnie Hazlehurst
What? Who? I hear the majority of people. But, for a certain generation, this theme is instantly recognisable. The regular 30-second theme bookends variations of the theme that (for the majority of full versions of TV themes) can be annoying.
07 – “Morning In Flatland” – Flatland – Kazimir Boyle
This track reminds me of the quieter, staccato passages from Jablonsky’s Steamboy. I’ve no idea about the movie this is from but the staccato feel of this synth score and the lightness appeals a lot.
08 – “Ten Million Or Death” – Black Sea Raid – Terry Plumeri
A tense track that builds to a dramatic crescendo. Snare drums add a martial feel to the cue (along with the brass).
09 – “Sous Un Faux Nom” – Le Prix du Désir – Ludovico Einaudi
Not much to this track but the echoing piano line sitting over string chord progressions are hypnotic.
10 – “Le Duc d’Orléans” – La Commanderie - François Staal
A 1-minute track that’s not too important but there’s an ostinato in the strings that I like – and that’s enough to get a track into my “favourites” playlist.
