The Mighty Ducks (Bootleg)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

I have been a huge fan of the mighty ducks, and with that I mean the films about the junior hockey team with coach Emilio Estevez leading them to victory and glory. One of the reasons was its cast, being both playful as serious when it was needed. Yet another reason was the music. The main theme is one of the better non blockbuster themes and it had to come out on every good moment in all the three films. This theme is of course penned by a great master of theme writing, meaning David Newman and its rather blazing heroic and winning attitude that it carries is just perfect for these little rascals. On disc however it is a sad story with the scores for these kids. The second and third didn't cover much music. However the third album at least offered us 15 minutes of excellent written music (even with short signs of choir), mostly written by J.A.C. Redford. The second was penned by again Redford but got to work extensively with Newman since he basically copied a lot of the original music of the first film. This is now obvious when you listen to The Mighty Ducks, unfortunately it has to be heard on a bootleg since that is the only way. Redford indeed wrote exactly the same at times in D2: The Mighty Ducks but that is not an insult to Redford at all, and even makes the second and definitely third score a better buy if they simply carried enough material on disc. The first score is a lot of fun but misses some clarity, mainly due to the power that is lightly lacking of the sound. First of all to begin with, the opening 'Opening Credits / The Shot' is capturing a serious influence from Grand Canyon's opening track, with the building score as its use of vocals. But the big and obvious temp result is John Williams' Home Alone famous airport music, 'The Running Pranksters' captures the same wit, orchestral rush and comedic feel with a short sign of the main theme in it.

Its mostly funny music in the begin, with the 'Chilly Con Doggy' kinda funky sounding and the jazzy but amusing 'Limousine Invasion'. And besides, this all changes for the better near the end. After the comedy moments arrive the emotional lightweight tracks, 'Hans' Sportshop' and the lovely piano music in 'Learn Them to Fly'. Even the lovely main fanfare so elegantly and mysterious in 'A Nightly Skate' is so accustomed to the genre of the Mighty Ducks that you expect it in any score and movie from now on. The first real sign of heroic growing Mighty Duck music is for 'Fulton Shoots' and works really well for even a minute. And also the main theme is there for the first time really heroic, which grows in 'Becoming the Mighty Ducks', again a cool track. From then on, the score grows larger and serious with real sports music and whirling strings, brass fanfares and drums like in 'First Win'. The romance of course is never far away, with an enchanting lullaby of sweet tones almost ala Edward Scissorhands in 'Ice Sculptures Kiss' before the real work begins. 'Winning Streak' is the terrific suite of victories where the theme truly shines in heroic order, variations and in album order coming in 2nd place, its too soon. Here in the film order, it makes all the more fuzz. By the way, the theme never sounded better here with the brass versions. Aside from the percussion led 'Pre Match Face/Off' which really works in scene, the game is on after that again, with 'The Game Starts', and sadly this track is not complete. In the film some of the best heroic action music (if you could call it that for the hockey game) is heard and listens superb. Here its missing and could have made the score even more sublime. Also, watch out for the Patton fanfare hehe!

But all aside, the last 10 to 15 minutes are terrific to listen to, with first 'Banks Injured / Getting Back in the Game' using the theme growing in most splendid order, and do not forget the whirling strings which returns in the latter scores. 'Flying V' is the next in line to dazzle, because it not only possesses some terrific skate music for the battle on ice but also the happy conclusion of the ducks flying on the ice, where the theme soars each and every time. And in 'Ducks Win' the ever praising finale is heard with the theme blowing everything out of proportions, like it should do it each and every time. Truth is, in 38 minutes it captures lots of enthralling moments, and the final tracks are one for all keepers, and shows David Newman is truly a great composer, he crafted here for the Ducks saga a terrific fanfare main theme and above all he made the legacy of J.A.C. Redford a lot more interesting to hear. Overall the bootleg of The Mighty Ducks has its tiny downfalls but more has great points to show for, since it captures a lot more music then the two following scores combined, has some great examples of the main theme in its heroic pride and overall presents a respectable amount of music (especially not containing a lot of the comedy silly cues) and in overall good sound quality. Again it could have been better but the hiss is acceptable even at high volumes. And that volume needs to be raised when you hear that theme in the best possible version. I equally recommend D3: The Mighty Ducks with this bootleg, since they both cover the music fans want to hear. For ducks of all sizes, The Mighty Ducks quacks like it should do.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Opening Credits / The Shot (3.38)

2. Winning Streak (2.16) Excellent Track

3. Bonding (1.19)

4. Fulton Shoots (1.04)

5. Learn Them to Fly (1.35)

6. A Nightly Skate (1.55)

7. Chilly Con Doggy (2.01)

8. Ice Sculptures Kiss (1.14)

9. Limousine Invasion (1.38)

10. Hans' Sportshop (1.06)

11. The Running Pranksters (0.45)

12. Becoming The Mighty Ducks (1.03)

13. Sticking With The Team (1.08)

14. Pre Match Face/Off (1.12)

15. First Win (1.35)

16. Flying V (3.22) Excellent Track

17. Ducks Win (4.03) Excellent Track

18. Fake An Injury (0.36)

19. The Game Starts (1.15)

20. Banks Injured / Getting Back In The Game (3.05) Excellent Track

21. Case Won (1.23)

Cor. Order: (1 - 21 - 7 - 11 - 9 - 18 - 10 - 5 - 6 - 3 - 4 - 12 - 13 - 15 - 8 - 2 - 14 - 19 - 20 - 16 - 17)

Total Length: 38.06

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

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