Gross Anatomy (Bootleg)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

There was a time that David Newman was handling all the same concepts he scores today, yet with a complete different approach. Even though they were referred to as fluffy comedies or silly buddy movies, stuff like Bill & Ted and Gross Anatomy would receive something different in tone then the Scooby Doo or The Nutty Professor of today. Gross Anatomy especially because of that difference is a lovely little score. Whether the sound quality isn't crystal clear and doesn't let major emotion come to the fore, the short supply of material is pleasant enough to really recommend it to die hard Newman fans. The overall population will enjoy it but would find either the sound or the short running time a detraction from their impression. But let that be the lesson when you approach a bootleg of this day and age. Especially Newman is a heavy dealer in bootleg scores (with of course his approval in a certain kind of way) but even when the sound does make the hiss noticeable on high volumes (like The Cowboy Way), it is still the overall score that makes the impression happen, and when Newman writes a piano and solo trumpet laden effort, then even with tacky sound quality it is a joy to hear. The score has a lovely, say very lovely theme and it kinda reminds me of a Thomas Newman theme in his early days, it nonetheless opens the score in 'Track 1' and it are the dancing strings and the solo appearance of this trumpet which makes all the effort, later the piano appears, stating the 3 most obvious instruments in the music early.

Whether Newman was in his early career or not, the music is skillfully written and pleasantly amusing if not for the lack of a true clarity in the tone. The piano performance of the main theme in 'Track 2' doesn't go down because of this hiss but its always noticeable. A lovely playful piano performance in 'Track 3' does give the main theme more pleasure and beautiful solos of the piano are heard in the following tracks. A cool synthesizer beat ala Bill & Ted opens 'Track 7' while the few moments of non sprightly music are heard at the end in 'Track 10'. Sadly a playful upbeat version of the main theme is not found at the end and lets the score finish on a somewhat unhappy ending. But don't let Gross Anatomy fool you because of its downfalls, it is still one of the few times I heard Newman compose something so sprightly and beautiful all in once. The way he lets the piano perform either the emotional or comedic cues are a blast for any Newman fan and just a nice presentation of this score could sell some copies whatsoever. The main theme by the way is a typical "college" like school tune and reminds me a bit of the attitude in Scent of a Woman. Whether this is a reference I don't know, but Gross Anatomy is still lovely on the ears. It captures 25 minutes of hiss but also 25 minutes of early good David Newman music and therefore a short to the point jaunty listen is all what some people require of Newman these days. Especially for the fans a nice addition if accepting the flaws that run Gross Anatomy.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Track 1 (2.22)

2. Track 2 (1.46)

3. Track 3 (2.50)

4. Track 4 (2.40)

5. Track 5 (1.44)

6. Track 6 (3.18)

7. Track 7 (1.17)

8. Track 8 (3.14)

9. Track 9 (0.45)

10. Track 10 (2.04)

11. Track 11 (2.35)

Total Length: 25.03

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

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