The Runestone (Bootleg)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

The more you go through the list of David Newman movies he scored, the more you realize he is like Jerry Goldsmith, scoring dumb movies with the same old flair. Of course with Jerry Goldsmith usually the standard of music was higher, with Newman it all had to depend on things. And a thing The Runestone doesn't possess is standard class. Frankly, for whatever reason I was kinda looking forward to this score, since its not a comedy affair and it possessed some darker / fantasy qualities that could possibly make for an intriguing listen! How wrong was I? Of course, its still all moderately listenable but the problem is that simply half of this album is repeating the same old deal, and covering the lesser moments of a composer as David Newman, like the frenetic touches. Of course a good frenetic theme can do still the trick (like 102 Dalmatians) but a less interesting one soon starts to work on your nerves and unfortunately The Runestone possesses one like that. 'Opening Segment' is eerie and mysterious, covering basically the mood you would expect with a score as this but the thing is, never will it fade into something else of tone. 'Transporting the Runestone' is capturing for the first time then the main frenetic theme, and in the end, not that bad for once, but its repeated to the death of this album you wish he didn't compose it at all for this score. Perhaps one of the few tracks that makes a difference is 'Tender Moments' and piano with darker sounding strings isn't exactly a difference, but it makes for a couple of tender minutes, which this score holds too few off. The frenetic fanfares return in 'Magnussen Building / Dies Irae' and soft choir makes for a brief but welcome effect, even growing stronger near the end.

In truth, in the begin this all sounds still take able, but The Runestone's fault is, it will never change the tone of this score. And in fact, the more mysterious tones of the album will become the better moments in the end, 'Clockmaker / Discovery', 'I've Come to Collect Myself', 'Trip to Pennsylvania', 'It's Name is Fenrare' and 'What Do you Want / Martin' might bring just eerie light electronic pieces, but in truth these are the most acceptable ones of the disc, and the fact they remind you easily of for instance Hollow Man might have something to do with it. But the rest is sadly covering the frenetic main theme and its variations, and above all its tone over and over again. You can't keep up with each track, so the moments will have to suffice, and 'Fanducci on the Roof' is having a brief organ finish, or shrieking violins that make a difference but to tell which track is what after you've heard them all is impossible, its all the same and the main theme constantly makes its darker tension statements during these 40 minutes. For a bootleg, the sound is decent but truth is you will not think of that when listening to the score. No The Runestone has other problems and in fact for 40 minutes its 30 minutes overdue. David Newman is a good composer and even his frenetic style is accessible if he simply adds interesting moments to it or a cohesive voice, but The Runestone possesses neither. It could have been an interesting score, and Warlock of Jerry Goldsmith (kinda the same genre) had the same problems. So if you want more dark fantasy but a good listen, take Warlock 2 of Mark McKenzie instead. The Runestone is a disappointment in the canon of non comedy scores and doesn't help much in confirming that David Newman scored lousy pictures with lousy scores.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Opening Segment (1.35)

2. Transporting The Runestone (2.01)

3. Tender Moments (2.56)

4. Magnussen Building / Dies Irae (3.24)

5. Sigvultin Leaves (1.28)

6. Clockmaker / Discovery (1.32)

7. 100 Of Your Men (2.46)

8. The Runestone / Arrival Of Fenrare (1.48)

9. Martin And The Runestone (1.15)

10. The Scene Of The Staunch (2.29)

11. I've Come To Collect Myself (2.54)

12. There Are No Atheists (1.42)

13. Forgot My Keys (0.37)

14. Hagstrum's Death (1.08)

15. Sauntering Through Central Park (0.48)

16. Fanducci On The Roof (3.26)

17. Fanducci's Fucking Escape (2.12)

18. Trip To Pennsylvania (1.12)

19. Sigvultin / The Apartment (1.28)

20. It's Name Is Fenrare (1.39)

21. What Do You Want / Martin (2.21)

22. The Confrontation (1.05)

Total Length: 41.59

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

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