Operation Dumbo Drop

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

People argue that composers like David Newman aren't getting solid efforts, that they are stuck composing music for small and worthless projects. And some said that Operation Dumbo Drop is one of them. Well I have to disagree. The movie is plain family entertainment with excellent performances and a wonderful score to top it all up. Next you have one of the best themes that David Newman has written so far in his career and a bunch of material that deserves more then their respected place inside the movie and not on the disc. Yes, Operation Dumbo Drop is fun and both song and score fulfill in bringing the right mood for the movie and the right attitude for enjoying it as good music. And this is what David Newman does best, write the perfect and enjoyable fit possible. The main part that concerns any fan of film music is what kind of material is to be found on the album and people should not panic, it contains at least 10 minutes of exquisite music of Newman to start with. 'Opening' has the wonderful main theme and the 8 minute 'Operation Dumbo Drop' offers the best adventurous music that can compete with the best moments of The Phantom, no doubt about it. The rest is enjoyable background music with the usual ethnic colorful flutes and the sudden bursts of the main theme in other occasions.

Sad that some perfect extra cues of Newman were missing because it would have offered a wider range of his musical talents, that many people have already discovered when listening to other David Newman soundtracks. For instance the excellent music heard when they steal the parachute at the end is extremely powerful and strong. The songs are just perfect and remind me of those classics you could hear during The Tour of Duty series. They fit the setting and actual score like a glove and never interrupt. True, the producers could have placed a lot more music on the score (especially when you can buy CD's today that even limit the full 80 minute line) but overall it's nice when you can both enjoy the musical score and for once the actual songs also. And this is what makes the CD so entertaining on its own. Newman enthusiasts will find enough material worthy of the complete attention and especially fanatics that were fond of the movie will find the short album release a worthy investment. So you receive the flair of the good old days of classic war songs + the short but equally entertaining ethnic and rich orchestral score of David Newman, making Operation Dumbo Drop the airtight cargo release of 1995, figuratively speaking of course.

Operation Dumbo Drop "Bootleg"

What is there to say about Operation Dumbo Drop, despite it being one of Newman's most entertaining albums of all? That it was released during a song based album and that it missed one or two highlights on the commercial album. Well, those highlights are presented on a special bootleg in more then good sound quality. With of course bootlegs comes the inevitable short cue selection and the first 16 don't lie about it. There are only a couple that move over the 1 minute marker, however one does even better and that it 'Track 12' which lasts for 4 minutes, and presents the action adventure ala the awesome track 'Operation Dumbo Drop' without the fanfares of that track, still its one of the best new released tracks on the bootleg, and the sound makes it approachable but it misses somewhat the power of the others, you have to listen to it louder then the rest. But basically the sound of this bootleg doesn't hurt at all and I was afraid it would, so a good point there for Operation Dumbo Drop "Bootleg". Another part is that it basically presents the music of David Newman, no songs here and the entire disc lasts longer then the commercial album altogether so another good point. Also, the short tracks don't warrant much, occasionally a good main theme statements, a brief woodflute whistle or a comical version of the theme but they also don't hurt much. Its all in the line of bootlegs and the brief tracks are better then nothing I suppose.

But this would be a detraction if the highlights that were missing from the commercial album wouldn't also be here on the bootleg. But luckily they are here, or basically it is here. There was a fanfare in the film that appeared at the end of the movie (parachute stealing) that made such an impact in the film, you wanted to have it on disc. Now it appears with flawless sound quality (meaning better then the short tracks) in 'End Titles' and basically, it ends this score on the right good point. And to have the actual highlights of the commercial disc all at the end makes the finish all the more worth it. In the end a commercial full album could make the music of David Newman only better. But since there is no full album, the bootleg to Operation Dumbo Drop is all the reason to have it if you want the entire highlights section of the movie at your disposal. And that is what I wanted. Again, I hate bootlegs because they don't do the music justice in most occasions. But it does the composer's music justice when it presents all the highlights of the score and in good enough sound quality. Independence Day "2 CD Bootleg" was a case in point, Operation Dumbo Drop falls behind that with the case that it presents the best highlight in the best quality. I hope David Newman gets to score more in this level, because it still presents his best theme and I hope when he does it, that he receives the presentation worthy of it.

Operation Dumbo Drop: ***1/2 Score: **** Songs: ***
Operation Dumbo Drop: "Bootleg": ****

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Opening * (2.04) Excellent Track

2. Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher And Higher: Jackie Wilson (2.56)

3. Botat And Lihn * (2.47)

4. You'se A Son Of A Gun: Marvin Gaye (2.28)

5. Elephant Temple / Lihn's Flashback * (6.13)

6. Hang On Sloopy: The McCoys (3.52)

7. Operation Dumbo Drop * (8.16) Excellent Track

8. Think: Aretha Franklin (2.17)

9. Farewell * (4.07)

10. When I See An Elephant Fly: Cliff Edwards, Jim Carmichael & the Hall-Johnson Choir (1.51)

* Score composed by David Newman

Total Length: 37.01

Operation Dumbo Drop "Bootleg"

1. Track 1 (0.46)

2. Rotat And Lihn (2.48)

3. Track 3 (1.16)

4. Track 4 (0.34)

5. Track 5 (0.54)

6. Track 6 (0.33)

7. Track 7 (0.29)

8. Track 8 (1.22)

9. Track 9 (0.34)

10. Track 10 (0.32)

11. Track 11 (1.21)

12. Track 12 (4.15)

13. Track 13 (1.09)

14. Track 14 (0.50)

15. Track 15 (1.11)

16. Track 16 (1.05)

17. Farewell (4.07)

18. Elephant Temple / Lihn's Flashback (6.13)

19. Opening (2.05) Excellent Track

20. Operation Dumbo Drop (8.16) Excellent Track

21. End Titles (3.32) Excellent Track

Total Length: 44.41

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

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