1 |
Mandala |
2 |
Whidbey
Island |
3 |
Under
the Bed |
4 |
Cuddle |
5 |
Beach |
6 |
Scribbles |
| 7 |
Blackout |
8 |
Palm
Readings |
9 |
I Love the World |
10 |
Help!
|
11 |
I
Have to Look |
12 |
Can
I Talk? |
13 |
Eyes |
14 |
Tears |
15 |
Through the Looking Glass |
16 |
Hello
(I Love You) – Roger Waters |
SOUNDTRACK REVIEW:
Mention Howard Shore’s name to any movie music enthusiast
and you’d be told: He’s the Oscar-winning composer
for The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) . So how would he fare scoring
the music for a kiddy movie like this?
Quite
well, we’d say (definitely better than how the movie
fared with the critics).
Shore
signatures this 50-minute album with his flair for gentleness.
Whether it’s the rich clarinets and strings in “The
Mandala”, the majestic horns and chirpy flutes in “Whidbey
Island”, or the ever-pleasant bassoon and oboe in “Scribbles”,
you can almost hear the hobbit-ness in his compositions.
But
what marks this work from the regal score from LOTR is its
kiddy charm which works well in an otherwise bland picture.
You can feel the delightfulness of the score and the youth
and adolescence which all of us once had.
As the album progresses, there is an escalating sense of urgency
which marks the perils of the protagonists in the movie. By
the time you hear “Help!”, the disc would have
taken another direction into a mini-adventure score where
heavier rhythms and pressing melodies are heard. In “I
Have to Look”, the strings take over and dominate the
score’s original gentle course.
A curious
contribution by Pink Floyd icon Roger Waters’ “Hello
(I Love You)” concludes the album. Let’s just
say we didn’t expect the classic progressive rock band
member to be part of this kiddy project.
This
choice deserves points just for its interesting innovation.
ALBUM RATING:
 
Recommended Track: (11) I Have to Look
Review
by John Li
|
