Anastasia

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Animated features are a way of life, both in the community of film making and in the end when the prices are given for their extraordinary performance in the art of drawing, and in the song and score performances of course. Animated movies that had the biggest success in history are Bambi, Dumbo, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and The Prince of Egypt, not including in the list the likes of Anastasia. The successful scores remain Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Prince of Egypt and Mulan, and among others I would include surely in this list Anastasia, because what David Newman realizes in this short but superb score effort is not something I can ignore that easily. For its orchestral and choral delight, Anastasia offers emotion and the usual David Newman brilliance on its occasions. And not to forget that it got one of the successful Newman composers his first Oscar consideration, not bad for someone that scored better scores then the movies probably received otherwise. As so many soundtrack albums of animations today, we find three different categories. First the two most important ones including the sing a long songs and next the commercial attractions, those that have to make sure that people should perhaps buy this soundtrack. But I feel in situations like these score collectors have reason to admit that they might buy the score if there was more score then first discovered. 6 tracks of a nominated score isn't horrible but surely things could have looked better. One of the best selling albums is still The Lion King, and while Elton John surely took the greatest admiration for that, it still offered us too less of Zimmer's Oscar winning score.

So, people like me had to search for other outlets, it took me a lot of time but I found the expanded The Lion King bootleg and I'm sure glad I got the promo of Mulan in my hands before others could grab it. Today I haven't found expanded material of Anastasia, meaning I will remain to give this short release the credit it surely deserves. Of the songs the commercial pop and hit singles steal the show more then the sing inclusions found on this album. To forget are 'A Rumor in St. Petersburg', 'Learn to do It' and 'Paris Holds the Key (to your Heart)'. To remember are 'Journey to the Past' for its charming sound, 'In the Dark of the Night' because as many villain songs there is something devious about its tone and 'At the Beginning' because it finally gives us a bit of spirit and festivity. And for the grieving fans of Aaliyah, a nice song performance of 'Journey to the Past' is still one of the better moments on the disc. Of score definitely worth remembering are 'Prologue' with its thundering choral accompaniment, 'Kidnap and Reunion' with some spectacular moments of Newman's score and the two final and heavenly moments 'Reminiscing with Grandma' and 'Finale' with some of the best emotional choral pieces I have ever heard.

David Newman may be still a lighter name then Thomas or Randy but I feel efforts such as these may not keep him there forever. I have to admit that this score will please more the fans of David Newman then the regular listeners, it is also clear to say for its 6 tracks it delivers more then I ever dreamed about. Anastasia is surely more rewarding then some of Alan Menken's efforts and I'm glad that top notch Hollywood composers such as Goldsmith, Zimmer and Horner have found the light of day and brought more spine tingling magic to the animation screen, and as long as efforts as those continue to be heard it is obvious we will continue to buy them. Surprisingly but true, for the material found on a lot of efforts of soundtrack albums, they nonetheless stole a heart of the Academy board, proving that lesser amount of material doesn't mean lesser amount of quality. People should consider the fact that still some of the best material is found in some of today's animation movies.

Score: ****
Songs: ***

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. A Rumor In St. Petersburg (3.22)

2. Journey To The Past (2.53)

3. Once Upon A December (2.46)

4. In The Dark Of The Night (3.18)

5. Learn To Do It (2.34)

6. Learn To Do It (Waltz Reprise) (1.42)

7. Paris Holds The Key (To Your Heart) (3.01)

8. At The Beginning: Richard Max & Donna Lewis (3.39) Excellent Track

9. Journey To The Past: Aaliyah (4.03)

10. Once Upon A December: Deana Carter (3.32)

11. Prologue * (6.21) Excellent Track

12. Speaking Of Sophie * (2.34)

13. The Nightmare * (3.02)

14. Kidnap And Reunion * (4.26)

15. Reminiscing With Grandma * (3.13) Excellent Track

16. Finale * (2.56) Excellent Track

* Soundtrack composed by David Newman

Total Length: 54.05

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

=== Link to Composer Site: David Newman ===