Following are reviews of several recent movie soundtrack releases:
RANDY NEWMAN; "Toy Story" (Walt Disney Records) * * * 1/2
Randy Newman's songs - "You've Got a Friend in Me," "Strange Things" and "I Will Go Sailing No More" - are delightful, of course, but his instrumental music for the "Toy Story" soundtrack is also great fun.
The songs are heard on the first three cuts, followed by 12 orchestrations, and wrapped up by Newman's duet with Lyle Lovett for a reprise of "You've Got a Friend." And those 12 pieces in-between the vocals have a lot to offer, a mix of themes that are comic and exciting, evocative of everything from a cinematic vision of the Old West to sci-fi-oriented thrills.
In all, a nice aural explanation of Newman's popularity, and why he is nominated for both a song ("You've Got a Friend") and the film's overall score in this year's Oscar race.
PATRICK DOYLE; "Sense and Sensibility" * * * 1/2
Patrick Doyle's Oscar-nominated score for "Sense and Sensibility" (which includes two solos by budding opera soprano Jane Eaglen) is most enjoyable, with themes that are alternately bouncy and lushly romantic. It's a perfect complement to the film, which is also filled with comedy and romanticism.
And while Doyle's music maintains a sense of dignity, it is also highly entertaining - most enjoyable for background listening or more reflective moods.
PAUL BUCKMASTER; "Twelve Monkeys" (MCA Soundtracks) * * *
Fittingly as offbeat as the movie it represents, Paul Buckmaster's music for Terry Gilliam's wild sci-fi fantasy "Twelve Monkeys" begins with a jaunty semi-comical tune (taken from "Suite Punta Del Este" by Astor Piazzolla). That's followed by a lovely violin solo, tense orchestrations that bring to mind Ennio Morricone's score for "The Thing" and pieces by Charles Olins, B.J. Cole and Link Wray and the Wraymen, as well as Fats Domino's "Blueberry Hill," Tom Waits' "Earth Died Screaming," and the ever-present (at least since it caught fire in "Good Morning, Vietnam") "What a Wonderful World" as sung by Louis Armstrong. Can we put that one on movie-moratorium for awhile? Nicely produced for thematic yet varied listening.
HANS ZIMMER; "Broken Arrow" (Milan) * * * 1/2
Hans Zimmer does Ennio Morricone for this soundtrack from the hit thriller "Broken Arrow," with terrific results.
Zimmer's variations are very much in the manner of Mor-ri-cone's '60s spaghetti Western themes (think "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "For a Few Dollars More"), though he does manage to maintain his own recognizable, albeit versatile, edge (Zimmer has scored such diverse films as "Driving Miss Daisy," "The Lion King" and "Rain Man").
A most enjoyable and listenable album, every cut is charged with energy - but it reaches unexpected heights when Zimmer employs distinctive guitarist Duane Eddy for the theme that accompanies the film's chief villain (played by John Travolta).
MIKE FIGGIS; "Leaving Las Vegas" (Pangaea) * * *
British filmmaker Mike Figgis, who wrote and directed "Leaving Las Vegas," shows off his moody musical talent in this soundtrack for the Oscar-nominated movie, with bluesy piano and saxophone themes, bolstered by classic songs given a soulful twist by Sting ("Angel Eyes," "My One and Only Love" and "It's a Lonesome Old Town"), and Don Henley ("Come Rain or Come Shine"). The result is most enjoyable, though I could have done without the insipid movie dialogue that crops up between cuts (an annoying technique that has proliferated since the success of Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction" soundtracks - but I didn't like it on those albums, either).
RATINGS: four stars (* * * * ), excellent; three stars (* * * ), good; two stars (* * ), fair; one star (* ), poor, with 1/2 representing a higher, intermediate grade.