CD Reviews: The Last of the Mohicans (Re-recording) and Ottman's Cruel
Intentions
The Last of the Mohicans ****
TREVOR JONES, RANDY EDELMAN
Varèse Sarabande 302 066 161 2
14 tracks - 45:26
Why Varèse Sarabande decided to re-record The Last of the
Mohicans is anybody's guess. Morgan Creek's original album had a decent
helping of the work of both composers. With the original album still available,
however, the door is opened for an exciting alternative to the performance
of the score that does not have to slavishly match the original.
The differences of Joel McNeely's interpretation is immediately obvious
in the "Main Title"; the percussion leading up to the first statement of
the main theme is more supenseful, giving its appearance a greater epic
quality. Additionally, cues such as "The Glade" feature a different emphasis,
bringing to light aspects of the music not immediately apparent before.
The greater dynamics available to this 20-bit recording also give the finale
of "Top of the World" a thunderous exit.
Some cues do suffer a bit in comparison to the original recording. The
"Fort Battle" and the appearances of Dougie MacLean's "The Gael" lack the
immediacy of the original soundtrack.
Randy Edelman's work appears here retitled and scattered across the
album to preserve the chronological placement of the tracks. This actually
has something of a positive effect on his contribution to score. The original
album had Jones' tracks first, followed by Edelman's. This meant that Edelman's
more introspective pieces came up after Jones' score had climaxed with
"Top of the World," casting an unfortunate shadow over the rest of the
score. Furthermore, the performance here is a bit more vivacious, with
tracks such as "The Courier" taking on new life.
Furthermore, the Edelman sessions on the original album (the product
of a different producer and engineering team) sound quite different from
Jones' contribution, giving Morgan Creek's record an uneven quality. While
Varèse's album has a very spacious sound, it is clear and consistent,
and works well for this score.
Whether this album was released as a chance to prey upon the ignorance
of the unsuspecting casual buyer of soundtracks or not, the simple fact
is that McNeely's performance is very different from the original recording,
giving collectors a chance to hear a valid re-interpretation. Varèse's
album is not better than Morgan Creek's, just different. -- Josh
Gizelt
Cruel Intentions: Suites and Themes from
the Scores of John Ottman *** 1/2
JOHN OTTMAN
Varèse Sarabande 302 066 200 2
19 tracks, 64:34
The liner notes for Ottman's rejected Cruel Intentions label
the score "strikingly unique" and "emotionally deep." It certainly starts
off well enough. A dark and haunting piece called "Pussy" opens the album,
summing up the musical vocabulary of Cruel Intentions. Haunting
textures are created by the combination of a violin, cello, bass and solo
voice along with a battery of electronic effects. Classical elements mix
with more modern idioms, including minor trip-hop and jazz elements. Oftimes
the music will break out with a rock rhythm, only to be taken over by an
expressive violin solo.
Unfortunately, as the album progresses, one hears more and more influences,
the most obvious being the kinky sound associated with Thomas Newman; this
casts a shadow over the whole affair. Sharp-eared listeners will also notice
a motif reminiscent of Basil Poledouris' Cherry 2000 appearing from
time to time. Cruel Intentions doesn't have much in the way of variety,
either, with the main theme appearing in pretty much all tracks, separated
by little alternative material. This may easily have worked in the film,
where most of the score cues would have no doubt been broken up within
the body of the film. On the album it makes for a tedious listen.
The sound Ottman created for Cruel Intentions is too interesting
not to at least give a listen, and it's not hard to see the likely reason
why it was rejected. It's probably a little too introspective for a film
of this genre. The most prevalent instrument in the score is the violin,
which no doubt had the filmmakers worrying about a "stodgy" sound.
The rest of the album is taken up with a collection of suites and themes
from various other Ottman projects, some of which have been released commercially,
some which haven't. A peppy seven-minute suite from "Fantasy Island," the
same Elfmanesque piece from the song album for The Cable Guy, without
the Jim Carrey voice-over, and three tracks from the Herrmannesque "Incognito"
are included (promos are also available). Themes from Halloween H20
(featuring a pretty good orchestral version of John Carpenter's [in]famous
theme), Snow White: A Tale of Terror, Apt Pupil and Lake Placid
round out the collection with previously released tracks.
As a cross-section of Ottman's work, the album effectively shows how
the composer handles a small ensemble as well as larger orchestral forces.
Cruel Intentions is a little too repetitive, and the programming on the
second half makes for a disjointed listen. Overall, the album is a diverting
work, but it lacks sufficient unity. -- Josh Gizelt
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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