American Anthem (Bootleg)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

To tell you that Alan Silvestri's career began early with high prosperity is an understatement, since Romancing the Stone and Back to the Future already catapulted him ski high. With American Anthem came a rather obscure title, though in demand by Silvestri fans for release since the light adventure is a testament Silvestri already had developed then his voice. What the movie is about I really can't say, I never heard of the title before the disc here went into the CD player but I guess its kinda adventurous in a way, or so I hope since the music at times covers some light action or adventure in cases. And it starts early in 'Victory', already then the voice of Silvestri starts to mingle throughout the heroic main theme, nothing fancy yet quite entertaining. Sadly the sound as with most recordings is kinda weak though approachable. Sadly however, unlike Back to the Future, the sound is kinda soft too, so cranking up the volume will only heighten the hiss more, so a more energetic feeling is not experienced enough when the moments arrive. Like in 'The Family / The Motorcycle Chase', its typical action music ala Back to the Future and Predator, with the known Silvestri touch and not containing the pound of power of Predator, but still fun after a while. The main theme heroically heard in the first 2 long tracks reappears on piano in 'Find Yourself' and grows a bit near the end before the more bouncy moments appear. While not bouncy but heroically 'Kirk on the Horizontal Bar' its the bouncy attitude from Flight of the Navigator (the same year) in 'The Kiss' and doesn't sound outdated, even now. The main theme on piano returns in 'Becky on the Uneven Bars' and shows again the lighter structure of the score, these moments aren't bothered much by the uneven quality of the sound.

While perhaps not noticeable at first, the theme again appears in 'The Championships' while surprisingly or not, mood swings ala The Abyss are heard in 'Under the Rain', I can't explain how it sounds but you'll hear it when its heard. The more playful moments return in 'Tracy's Floor Exercise' while some choir grows in 'Training'. Horn solo's of the theme in 'Father and Son' and the theme receives some late airtime in 'Main Theme - Part 1' and directly on horns in 'Main Theme - Part 2' and signal the end of the score. American Anthem is rather easy to like and listen to, its got the Silvestri touch as his sound and its rather easy to approach the first time, sadly the sound kinda makes it not for multiple listens and this because it also takes the quality of the energy away, something for instance Predator grew enormously on when the proper commercial release was brought out. Considerations perhaps for a proper release are interesting but then more noteworthy Silvestri efforts should receive first time attention, like the aforementioned Back to the Future. Still, fans of the composer will easily take American Anthem as a good early effort from the master and discover lots of techniques as ideas he would expand upon in the years to come. For 39 minutes and with altogether takeable sound quality, American Anthem is a bootleg for the fans of the composer, because its not super special but not a waste of time as well. Some good moments show interesting ideas and make of the bootleg an affair the fans will surely appreciate, hopefully one day commercially available to show it in better circumstances to the entire world.

\ตตต/

Tracks

Single Disc

1. Victory (6.07)

2. The Family / The Motorcycle Chase (5.48)

3. Find Yourself (1.57)

4. Kirk On The Horizontal Bar (1.41)

5. The Kiss (2.56)

6. Steve's Accident (0.49)

7. Becky On The Uneven Bars (1.47)

8. The Championships (2.46)

9. Under The Rain (3.37)

10. Julie's Big Moment (1.06)

11. Tracy's Floor Exercise (0.14)

12. Training (3.53)

13. Father And Son (2.14)

14. Main Theme - Part 1 (3.17)

15. Main Theme - Part 2 (0.54)

Total Length: 39.14

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

=== Link to Composer Site: Alan Silvestri ===