Marco Beltrami: Film Music Selections (Compilation)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Marco Beltrami has already scored his fair share of movies, earning him also the chance to present them on a compilation of sorts. Unreleased but available on a CDR format is his prime time Film Music Selections and the chance to hear various unreleased or in the end even rejected outings. It presents for instance some 10 minutes of Angel Eyes, the Jennifer Lopez and Jim Caviezel drama which in the end comes of sounding lovely yet not special. 'Main Title' has an attractive theme and a solo voice, lending it some emotion while 'Montage' presents that main theme on piano and 'Orch' uses that main theme as a brief growing finisher of a drama score. While not being directly memorable, it is lovely to hear parts of this score and I think great, no giant Beltrami fans will see the beauty of it for sure. Its a different thing of course coming from Beltrami. The same can be said of I Am Dina, but with the difference that its score was released by Decca in a 60 minute format, with it a stunning addition of French sensation Jorane. Without most of Jorane's inclusions, the parts of I Am Dina are not special but again show the difference with a more classical inspired entry, most tracks are also placed on the commercial release if not all, some of them are here just differently named and so cause for some slight misinformation. But do not worry, everything is here except most of Jorane and her stunning voice and cello work in 'Dina's Lullaby' is a true breeze, presenting the one and only track also in stunning sound quality. In the end the best Beltrami tracks are those that cover some life into the proceedings, for instance the brief electric guitar and classical inspired strings and brass outings in 'Dumping Jacob' and 'Organ Grinder' and 'We Are Dina' with their lovely string emotion growing louder then usual. Altogether, it doesn't come of being one of Beltrami's finest efforts (the commercial CD proves this) but it again shows non horror music and while its the only thing being released or even noticed in the end by the fans, I guess the difference of I Am Dina comes with better notes.

The brief tracks from Studio 54 are somewhat a small surprise, both in the inclusion of them but also because of the sound, 'Opening' has a beat overlapping with soft choir, giving a nice feel and 'Trash Man' is covering guitar and piano, stating the theme and a solo vocal over the beat of the first track. Again, its in a way somewhat similar to Angel Eyes but then again, its non horror music and therefore a welcome inclusion to hear some of it. But the real thing that attracted me to this CDR was Texas Rangers and its rejected score selections. I know how Trevor Rabin's accepted score sounds like (heard it in the film) and while in the same vein of American Outlaws (having a good main theme meaning), I was anxious of hearing Beltrami going on Morricone tour. Sadly, this score comes off sounding cheap or in the end miss fitting because of the added synthesized tone, considering that this score was rejected before it was recorded. In the end, I can understand the reason of rejection because the parts sound non thrilling or even amusing, but an orchestral voice can change a lot and therefore, reservations have to be made. Nonetheless, the most anticipated parts come off sounding the weakest. 'Ride Thru Town' shows the synthesized element good but still acceptable because of its fanfare. However, 'CPO Wipes' is synthesized action tension music and doesn't please at all, even stating various horror ideas. Luckily, the more softer stuff in 'Behind the Sun' is more then pleasing with a solo violin crossing into a fanfare of the first track and 'Heat' presents solo trumpet and guitar with action scoring and the fanfare of the first track, still more pleasing then the rest. Of course, a more orchestral recording can do miracles and I guess we will never know. Marco Beltrami: Film Music Selections presents music almost non released and is therefore I think a must for true Beltrami fans. While not presenting true classic highlights, it is non horror music and therefore different from what we hear most of Marco. And I think hearing him doing something else is all what compilations are about in the first place.

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Tracks

Single Disc

Angel Eyes

1. Main Title (3.08)

2. Montage (2.13)

3. Sad And Lonely (0.53)

4. Blood From A Stone (2.11)

5. Orch (1.16)

I Am Dina

6. I Am Dina (2.14)

7. Noises In The Attic (1.50)

8. Dumping Jacob (4.18)

9. Dina Delivers (1.31)

10. Dina's Etude (2.07)

11. Dina's Lullaby * (3.14) Excellent Track

12. Who Invited The Midget (1.50)

13. Firklover Strings (1.19)

14. Organ Grinder (1.58)

15. Original Wedding (1.51)

16. We Are Dina (2.10)

Studio 54

17. Opening (1.19)

18. Leaving Home (0.50)

19. Trash Man (1.57)

Texas Rangers

20. Ride Thru Town (1.41)

21. Heat (1.33)

22. Behind The Sun (2.55)

23. CPO Wipes (4.34)

24. O' Freude Joyeux (3.03)

* Written by Marco Beltrami and Jorane, featuring Jorane

Total Length: 52.55

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: Marco Beltrami ===