Hidalgo

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

James Newton Howard keeps tackling all the genres. And its good to know he is easily accepted by the fans for doing it. But one of his most interesting and by far best genre is the action / adventure route because he writes something grand when it requires to be (Waterworld), something adventurous when it needs to be (The Postman) and something fantasy like when it should be (Peter Pan). And so Hidalgo comes to the fore being a bit adventurous, a bit nobler then first imagined and much more ethnic in tone then the rest of him, the score easily has it perks nonetheless. But it just doesn't reach the standards of the best he wrote years ago, not even reaching The Postman. Meaning in the end I should come to the conclusion that Hidalgo all in all failed my expectations but truth, every score grows on me, and so did Hidalgo. All in all, it remains an entertaining listen which could have been a bit better in the end if more action or adventure music was inserted on disc (and not appearing in the film instead), because apart from begin and end, the music is background and more on the ethnic tint, while of course being there for a good reason too. But Hidalgo is most of all a return to the Howard of The Postman, being in that same category a more restrained adventure score where the difference was in tone, with Hidalgo taking the ethnic tour which is of course understandable since it plays itself in the desert. The more ethnic tracks are entertaining in their more background meaning, with several adding something to the foreground. 'Montage' is the most intriguing track of all, with it combining the Arabian theme softly on strings before a solo male vocal gives a melodic representation of what Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan would deliver in a non melodic sense, backed up by percussion and light choir. How restraint it plays itself, it provides the most original voice of Howard on this disc.

The rest is indeed more the Howard as we know it. 'Main Title' opens noble with the main theme but excels near the end in typical Howard fashion, sadly it lasts too short to really like it. 'Don't Waste our Money' is a bit the same, opening playful and heroic and stating the main theme but too short overall. 'Arriving in the Desert' and 'The Race Begins' state both the Arabic theme, which sounds like a true theme for the desert, and somewhat in the vein like Debney's one for The Scorpion King. Only in track 5 do we have the more energetic piece along with it, rivaling the better parts of his Treasure Planet score. By the way, track 5 goes down in history of lasting a staggering 1.68 seconds, or so it says on the cover. And then basically the score is somewhat background like, ethnic more in the sense and occasionally a faster selection running through it, between the noble and ethnic tones of 'The Second Half' and 'Frank Pushes On' (stating practically Vertical Limit's theme) we have the action kind of 'Sandstorm', getting too some Vertical Limit licks because it resembles the avalanche energy and raw power. Even 'The Last Push' is noticed because it presents some soft tones that The Sixth Sense was presenting the entire time. 'The Trap' has some better suspension licks (meaning louder and faster ones) but it are the final resolving minutes of 'The Final Three', bringing the adventure music of how I wanted the entire score to sound like) with the final main theme statements in 'Let 'Er Buck' that ends Hidalgo better then the way it started. While wanting it to be better, it also could have been worse. It doesn't have the Micky mousing of Peter Pan but it doesn't have the enjoyability and themes of The Postman, the score it most resembles. In a way, its like Vertical Limit, having good tracks between a normal score. Hence the reason why I find Hidalgo lesser then most soundtrack reviewers present it with, but actually enjoying it for bringing a little Arabian sand for those Howard fans wanting something else then fairy dust alone.

\ตตต1/2/

Tracks

Single Disc

1. Main Title (3.13)

2. Don't Waste Our Money (2.02)

3. Arriving In The Desert (2.59)

4. Morning Of The Race (2.56)

5. The Race Begins (2.00)

6. The Second Half (2.26)

7. Sandstorm (1.57)

8. Frank Pushes On (1.57)

9. Katib (2.20)

10. Montage (6.56)

11. The Trap (3.22)

12. The Last Push (3.11)

13. The Final Three (5.17) Excellent Track

14. Let 'Er Buck (4.55) Excellent Track

Total Length: 45.40

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

=== Link to Composer Site: James Newton Howard ===