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I don’t blame folks for being tired of Elfmanisms, but as someone who doesn’t seek out every single score by him, I don’t mind when it’s in an appealing package. This is a nice little three star work, worthy of some listens come December. Really, trying to listen to every single work by any composer rarely bodes well.
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Posted: |
Nov 9, 2018 - 11:30 AM
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By: |
sajrocks
(Member)
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elfman doing earnest christmas music is always discombobulating, but some really fun stuff here: thrilled to hear "welcome christmas" from the 1966 film referenced in the opening bars and throughout (fah who foraze, indeed!)… some of elfman's brightest, airiest orchestrations in years (can really hear between the sections with some great woodwind clarity)… loving the kooky faux rock/jazzy riffs al la 'the incredibles' in "walking toward destiny", "grinch's wild ride" and especially "mailing the letter"… well hello reedy organ, theremin and i think elfman's first use of full bell choir ever… some terrific stallingesque writing reminiscent of his work on "meet the robinsons" and obvs "nightmare before christmas"… knocks the choir/brass big christmas sound out of the park, and keeps the tchaikovsky pizzicato string + glockenspiel holiday cliche ALIVE… standout tracks: "the big opening", "christmas in whoville", "lost lonely boy", "loudest snow", "taking the bait" and showstoppers "grinch's wild ride" and "stealing christmas"… 30 min highlight suite for the grinch on the go: https://open.spotify.com/user/124591654/playlist/6MxdrrU44ixdW6W18JjYun?si=EJTtihkaQcqW5IyGor3wgQ
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Now if only Danny himself got to sing You’re a Mean One..
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Now if only Danny himself got to sing You’re a Mean One.. Yeah, that seemed like a no-brainer!
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There's still hope he'll sing Pink Elephants for the upcoming Dumbo score!
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Nevermind, hope gone, all is lost. (In seriousness, looking forward to that score!)
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24 tracks/46 minutes indeed felt pretty bitty, so this highlight suite’s ideal!
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...it was nice the makers let Elfman have the end credits to himself. Sure, if only they give him the same courtesy with a stand-alone CD, I believe the 66 millions box office justify that.
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As for Elfman's The Grinch score I was looking forward to it until Back Lot Music decided to release the score album as a digital only. They've released pressed CDs (e.g. Elfman's Fifty Shades sequels) before so why couldn't they do it for The Grinch (let alone another Elfman score) too. Have to imagine they know a lot better than we do how those Fifty Shades albums sold. I see this is all up on Apple Music. The song album has two Elfman cues, but only one of those is explicitly on the score album. Is "A Wonderful Awful Idea" on the score album under one or more other names? It's a unique cue that for some reason isn't on the score album, though it shares some thematic material with "Lost Lonely Boy". It's easy enough to edit it into a Spotify/Apple playlist, but this would drive me nuts if I'd purchased a CD.
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This might be the most fun I've had with an Elfman score in a long time! The short length helps its case. I guess good ol' Danny just really excels at Christmassy music even today!
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