An American Tail

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

86' was the year for Horner, he broke the silence with Aliens, an all out science fiction action soundtrack (nominated for Oscar consideration) and his first animated tale of any real importance was scored, An American Tail. It was just a matter of time before Horner started to look brightly to the future, he scored a lot more animated features and some became linked with pure success. Nonetheless An American Tail started it all and one thing is sure, that time Horner was equipped with some awesome talents and his abilities were sure to expand further then anyone might have dreamed of, I think even Horner didn't expect this. The soundtrack has as usual the film composition of Horner, the sing a long songs and one pop entry, for attracting the audience my friends. What the score offers is a pure thematic joy of a main theme, brought to life in the first and last track, and without making judgments already, they become the best parts of the soundtrack. Horner's score on a whole is very attractive and playful ,at times beautiful when the Cocoon moments start to show themselves, and enjoyable throughout. The sing a long songs such as 'There Are no Cats in America', 'Never say Never', 'Somewhere out There' and 'A Duo' are fun, bring the spirit of animation to life, but in a way they aren't the best parts of the group. It isn't exactly something you would listen to without hearing the score of Horner in the first place.

The full version of 'Somewhere out There' is more mature and the best piece available, and you have to admit that Horner is a master in song composition. Think of all those winners OUT THERE. The score itself is fun and charming, pure Horner and does have its perks. 'Give me your Tired, your Poor' has some moments of Cocoon and 'Releasing the Secret Weapon' offers both Willow and Star Trek II in a fitting whole. Its fun, it isn't something purely original, heck let's forget that. And when you look at the whole score, it sounds something as you might discover in classical music, a good example is 'The Storm', but this is nothing of an insult, because then you have to blame any composer in the business. Don't forget, film music is classical music, simply a bit more updated. And both 'Reunited' and 'Flying Away and End Credits' offer their part of the thematic joy. And as always, the performance of the London Symphony Orchestra is top notch. Truth, An American Tail portrays its portion of Horner in all his animated glory, with the themes and perfection he would later translate in other big efforts, this includes The Land Before Time which comes highly recommended. When you see Horner linked with an animation it is bound to please someone or something might please it for you. This score was followed by Fievel goes West, and will deliver the goods when you enjoyed its 50 minutes from the first.

\ЕЕЕ1/2/

Tracks

Single Disc

1. Main Title * (5.07) Excellent Track

2. The Cossack Cats * (2.15)

3. There Are No Cats In America (3.00)

4. The Storm * (3.59)

5. Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor * (2.44)

6. Never Say Never (2.25)

7. The Market Place * (3.02)

8. Somewhere Out There (2.41)

9. Somewhere Out There: L. Ronstadt & J. Ingram (3.58) Excellent Track

10. Releasing The Secret Weapon * (3.38)

11. A Duo (2.38)

12. The Great Fire * (2.54)

13. Reunited * (4.44)

14. Flying Away And End Credits * (6.01) Excellent Track

* Soundtrack composed by James Horner

Total Length: 49.55

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

=== Link to Composer Site: James Horner ===