Dad

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

James Horner is known for many things, but always one thing he did well was drama, according to his fans. Whether large (Glory) or intimate (To Gillian on her 37th Birthday), he always had a knack for writing it. And Dad, composed in the same year as Glory is a peaceful outing of that knack, with he bringing the perhaps (if you listen to it now) expected touch. The dreamy moods of Field of Dreams, the intimate piano and meandering strings of To Gillian on her 37th Birthday, and the main theme sweeping a more lighter air to it from time to time. That's Dad! How charming in the end, its perhaps the perfect background listen in a while, making you somewhat forget its almost there. Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh on it, but I don't connect to more intimate fair, since it always glides elegantly away when you're not paying enough attention at it, and Dad seems to do just that. It starts lovely still, with 'Prologue and Main Title', introducing us to the tone of the score with its piano and light strings, making further way for the piano version of the main theme, and then the more intimate string version, with its elegant beat surrounding it. How lovely it is, how sweet the theme sounds, its charming yet not enough to make me really love it. The version returns in 'Saying Goodnight'. A touch of diversity can make all the difference and that is 'Mopping the Floor', brief with its jazzy bluegrass (as they seem to call it) and solo violin making way for a minute of that diversity. Its nice. The piano and meandering strings are then already customary objects in 'Playing Catch / The Farm' and make no real impact anymore, especially since they are meandering in tone.

A light playful mood in 'The Vigil' is equally reminiscent of what we heard before, but 'Taking Dad Home' isn't. First brief but blossoming musical strings give it an air of fantasy and rejoice, before unwanted light suspension music is heard that nails the mood ala Apollo 13, after re-entry and before splashdown. Then it remains soft and a little forgettable. 'Dad' returns with the main theme, piano and especially a light jazzy trumpet of a string theme appearing a couple of times heard, giving it a little pizzazz with the beat. It immediately sets the mood well yet equally your attention. Light meandering music in 'Recovery', the string theme growing to a drama level (almost Bicentennial Man) in 'The Greenhouse' which especially is nice. And a full combination of versions, ideas and themes in 'Goodbyes', whether on piano, string, its all been heard already like its ever so Horner like ending, with the whispering tones almost signaling its nearing finish. Dad in regards to all of that might not bring lots of new ideas, especially if you heard most of Horner's released music already. But considering it was written in 1989, makes it still lovelier then you might think. It will especially be an album Horner fanatics will look forward at, since its his more intimate voice, his more serious writing and especially that it doesn't present much rehash. Yet, at the other end, Dad is still a light affair and it really works as background material, making it also a little forgettable to really pay attention at it. Not especially bad, but perhaps not directly a score you have to get, since its out of print and perhaps you would have to pay a lot of money for to get it. Yes, its Horner but I assume other background affairs do work for it like this one, alone the themes are different.

\ตตต/

Tracks

Single Disc

1. Prologue & Main Titles (5.16)

2. Saying Goodnight (2.32)

3. Mopping The Floor (1.02)

4. Playing Catch / The Farm (3.27)

5. The Vigil (2.23)

6. Taking Dad Home (6.40)

7. Dad (3.12)

8. Recovery (1.27)

9. The Greenhouse (4.04)

10. Goodbyes (9.09)

Total Length: 39.17

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

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