1 |
Titanic
(1997)/ My Heart Will Go On (5:06) |
2 |
Troy
(2004)/ Remember (6:06) |
3 |
Braveheart
(1995)/ Braveheart End Titles (7:06) |
4 |
Legends
of the Fall (1994)/ Legends of the Fall (7:17) |
5 |
Star
Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)/ Star Trek II: The
Wrath of Khan End Titles (5:51) |
6 |
Cocoon
(1985)/ Cocoon (7:24) |
| 7 |
Apollo
13 (1995)/ Apollo 13 (3:04) |
8 |
The
Mask of Zorro (1998)/ The Mask of Zorro (6:11) |
9 |
Deep
Impact (1989)/ Wedding (4:20) |
10 |
Willow
(1988)/ Willow (Theme) (3:53) |
REVIEW
In 1997, director James Cameron became “The King of
the World” with a certain movie about a sinking ship
called the Titanic. Not only did millions of movie-goers flock
to the theatres to cry buckets of tears, millions of music
lovers embraced the soundtrack composed by James Horner.
How
apt it is then, to open this compilation album with the theme
song from that movie. The composer was also awarded two Oscars
for Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Original Song for
his work.
This
56-minute album features 10 of Horner’s celebrated compositions,
ranging from his first major Hollywood composition in Nicholas
Meyer’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), to Wolfgang
Peterson’s epic drama Troy (2004).
In
fact, Horner’s score for Troy was composed in less than
a month because the movie studio rejected composer Gabriel
Yared’s work, stating the reason that it felt too old-fashioned.
You’d
be amazed at Horner’s ability to compose such an affecting
and alluring score with such short notice by just listening
to Troy’s theme on this album.
Listeners
would also be able to identify Horner’s constant use
of choral voices and French horns in his works. The two elements
blend beautifully and create a harmoniously dramatic feel
throughout the album, which all 10 tracks are performed by
The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. In fact, we’d
think this style would work nicely in his score for Mel Gibson’s
upcoming action drama Apocalytpo.
If
you are not a soundtrack score fan, some of the less familiar
themes from Ron Howard’s Cocoon (1985) and Willow (1988)
may not arouse your interest. But give the album a few spins
and you’d understand how Horner earned his own place
in the world of movie score composing over the years.
SOUNDTRACK
RATING:
 
Review
by John Li
|
