 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Mar 22, 2015 - 10:00 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
bobbengan
(Member)
|
This came in the mail yesterday and I've been spinning it ever since. God it's gorgeous. I just love this darkly melodic, lyrical, tragically-hewn darkness, baroque flourishes and all. In spirit it reminds me of not only Lewis' own THEATRE OF BLOOD he did for the same director, but also Trevor Jones' THE SENDER and Robert Folk's THE SLAYER. It never gets as dissonant and either of those do, but the thematic writing has the same kind of melancholy, arcane, classically-rich beauty. The main theme is a terrific piece of sinewy long-lined macabre writing, but for me the biggest sell here is the breathtakingly beautiful theme first heard in "Fiddler on the Moore" and then expanded to immensely lyrical heights for the finale/end titles. My God this man is talented. That theme is utterly transportive in its beauty and lyricism.
Only two drawbacks here: The action music is, as I feared, just recycled from earlier scores as is the norm for Lewis (again, that adrenal rhythm setter from The Medusa Touch, used in basically every score of his hence, seems to be his catch-all for action/pursuit/suspense) and the mastering ain't stellar, sounding a bit over processed in the same way La La Land's RE-ANIMATOR sounded a decade or so ago - If not quite that bad.
The ensemble here isn't as large as the one he used for that rerecorded suite on his 2-disc promo, but the often chamber-like sound actually works well for the type of music written here. Strings are nice and lush and reverb-y, just as I like 'em.
I think I now own every available note of music Lew has out there. Here's hoping someone gets around to his JULIUS CAESAR before too long, if the tapes still exist!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The lack of popularity for Michael J. Lewis is puzzling.
OK, he didn't write hundreds of scores, but his scores are consistently described as wonderful, with the most tremendous themes and textures.
That his stuff ends up in bargain price sales is incomprehensible.
I feel sorry for him. He's by far the most talented composer who never took off commercially.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
