Cocoon

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

It all started to fall together, the puzzle that James Horner was made for movie making Hollywood. Since scoring the Star Trek features and would go on to score the following years blockbusters as Aliens and Willow, it was clearly the signal that Horner had that magic touch. Cocoon easily fulfils this with an equally magical listen. One of the classics of Horner's career, it is this score that went into obscurity for several years before being released once again to the community years later. And PolyGram Records easily knew why, it has everything that people love of James Horner and more importantly, even now this score listens like a breath of fresh air. While there were obvious similarities with other scores of the era, none got close to actually being referred to as rip off and this makes Cocoon better then ever in the listening experience. I honestly recommend this score to many people, since it has 40 minutes of amazing Horner music, with 25 of that being pure wizardry in emotion and wonder. Simply program the correct order of the music as it appears in the film, hit that play button and while at it turn up the volume and you will easily know what I'm talking about.

I will review this score as in the order it normally appears in the film, meaning differently as stated on the back cover. 'Trough the Window' is great, using piano and wonder fanfares for when the Spaceship arrives. 'The Boys are Out' uses the only time real jazz like it appears in other scores such as *Batteries not Included, giving you a swing for your money. That the score isn't always simple wonder is easily noticeable in 'The Lovemaking' and 'Discovered in the Poolhouse', covering both a bit of playful dissonance, not of course anything that listens like hard music at all. A classic scene already now is 'First Tears', a touching moment and covering the first real sign on disc of the main theme, it is Horner's sweeping emotional tear-jerker that sets the living room in true fire with one of his finest written themes. Equally touching with the use of the piano is 'Rose's Death' but nothing can get you prepared for one of the most brilliant finales any soundtrack can deliver. There are classics that can achieve it and this proves why Cocoon is a classic in the music industry. 'The Chase' is 4 minutes of non stop excellence, amazing fanfares rain for about 3 minutes long (these are like the best Star Trek III: The Search for Spock had to offer) and is fantastic to listen to. 'The Ascension' is equally brilliant, the same fanfares keep rolling of the screen and capture both a sense of wonder and true heartfelt emotion, truly one of the best pieces that Horner has ever written.

Of course, a soundtrack couldn't go without a piece of magic to close the soundtrack with, and this is found in the form of 'Theme from Cocoon', giving you a stunning performance of the main theme and some more emotional fanfares to end it with. Cocoon is without doubt brilliant for its final 15 minutes and is as said before true classic stuff in the music department. If people are wondering what to get of Horner if they have everything of him EXCEPT Cocoon, then I would most honestly recommend them this beauty. Cocoon: The Return covers most of the same brilliance but it of course is nothing of interest if you can find it first and better in the original release. While the song is fun '80 stuff and the inside of the cover is completely blank, it is Horner's music that sets the room alight. Even if you own 90% of Horner, Cocoon still listens like pure magic, is completely free of rip offs and gives you emotion and thunder in an all out engrossing listen. Easily a classic and just like the people in the movie, it will keep living on with the magic touch it enfolds.

\도도/

Tracks

Single Disc

1. Trough The Window (2.58)

2. The Lovemaking (4.25)

3. The Chase (4.30) Excellent Track

4. Rose's Death (2.12)

5. The Boys Are Out (2.39)

6. Returning To The Sea (4.17)

7. Gravity: Michael Sembello (4.01)

8. Discovered In The Poolhouse (2.48)

9. First Tears (1.53) Excellent Track

10. Sad Goodbyes (2.15)

11. The Ascension (5.58) Excellent Track

12. Theme From Cocoon (6.05) Excellent Track

Correct Order: (1 - 5 - 2 - 8 - 7 - 9 - 4 - 6 - 10 - 3 - 11 - 12)

Total Length: 44.30

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

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