Laws of Attraction

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

More and more is Edward Shearmur distinguishing himself as a versatile voice in the music business. First some action music, then spoof and now basically romance which is always referring itself to strings gliding to a finish, or basically something like that. Once more therefore I'm happy to report that at least there is a small but fresh tone to the music of Laws of Attraction. First of all, the music itself is a bit fresh because of the various instruments he uses, or basically the way he presents it with. The 2 themes are small crowd pleasers and listen nicely in the ear, and for the extra dash of fun, Shearmur incorporates a small doses of Irish flair which makes all the difference. Tell him tomorrow to compose an Irish score with an orchestral background and you've got heaven. The Irish tone is the ticket to this score, if you really like 5 minutes of wonderful Irish music so to speak off, and if you like to get more bouncy music with that. However, the release of the prominent La-La Records starts off with 2 songs, one 'Maybe' which is a nice song and the other a more folksy tune to support the more Irish tone of this score. 'Main Title' by then immediately performs the bouncy theme which is repeated a lot in the score so to speak off, which at a specific time might hurt but it actually has some variation in it, due to the various instruments that perform it. Its nice and swingy, sprightly and just sums up the comedic romance flavor of the story. Variations are heard in 'Meet Mr. Rafferty', 'Chinatown' uses pizzicato moves with some jazzy piano and clarinet which in the end follows a rushing comedic feeling. As ever the tinklings provide the charm in 'A Kiss in the Rain' while the main theme returns with also some piano. Basically what you would expect and still we have a slight touch of fresh ideas.

It is however the track 'A Trip to Ireland' that brings in the Irish flavor for a moment, with a style change from the romantic music to the Irish flavor with a short jig. 'Idyll' presents a secondary theme with the flute and then the strings and clarinet make it romantically adoring. However, the thing that makes me fascinate Edward Shearmur is how well he adapts his bouncy main theme into a true Irish ditty, hence the reason why many people point 'The Castle' as a testament to his talents. Nice! But for me the highlight is 'An Irish Tale', the love theme first on violin and flute before the whole orchestra takes this theme to a flourishing finale, brief but excellent nonetheless. From then on, we move back to the many main theme performances and the piano and the bouncy feeling, basically the music we heard in the first part. 'Daniel in the Doorway' lets the love theme return on flute and its nice to hear this love theme in 'Love at Last', because it too deserves attention and the ever known growing romantic treat is therefore better to appreciate with the love theme and not with the main theme, knowing it wouldn't have worked out in the end when you think about it. 'Coda' which finishes the score uses one more time the main theme to its ever sprightly nature. Altogether, Laws of Attraction doesn't differ much from the rest of the romantic soundtracks, because it uses the romantic clichés and the comedic rushes at times, but the instruments create a new sound for it to present it with, and the Irish flavor is a nice added bonus for you Celtic lovers. So, I like Laws of Attraction because of those reasons, and goes to show Shearmur is truly becoming adept at any style they throw him in. And so goes the same for La-La Records which provides the score with autographed CD's and liner notes! Laws of Perfection I call it that!

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Maybe: Dana Glover (4.01)

2. When Sick, Is It Tea You Want: Temple House (2.26)

3. Main Title (3.31)

4. Meet Mr. Rafferty (1.36)

5. Chinatown (2.18)

6. Ambush (0.45)

7. A Kiss In The Rain (1.35)

8. Daniel In The Limelight (2.01)

9. Thorne And Serena (0.43)

10. A Trip To Ireland (0.56)

11. Idyll (1.54)

12. Caravan Romance (1.22)

13. The Castle (1.29)

14. An Irish Tale (2.31) Excellent Track

15. Man About The House (1.07)

16. Audrey's Ring (1.28)

17. Daniel Asleep (2.29)

18. Daniel In The Doorway (2.14)

19. Love At Last (3.29)

20. Coda (2.14)

Total Length: 41.18

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

=== Link to Composer Site: Edward Shearmur ===