U.S. Marshals

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

When composers score several features a year, it is bound to happen that one doesn't succeed in bringing the expectations, and this even happens to the best in the industry, namely Jerry Goldsmith. And it seems that the creative touch was high and low at that stadium. Small Soldiers and Mulan received the pure artistic creativeness and Deep Rising, Star Trek: Insurrection and U.S.Marshals the standard sound with small highlights that differentiates them in style and manner. And purely out of taste I would say that the latter received the smallest interest of all. U.S.Marshals is nothing that sounds bad but the entire score through it feels like chase after chase and Goldsmith can never develop another stylistic character driven theme. Chain Reaction is one that competes with U.S.Marshals as the least inspiring efforts of late but the first score did at least offer more difference through theme and sound then the complete tension and action oriented movie starring Tommy Lee Jones. The main theme, a patriotic but highly tension build version shows up in a lot of tracks and this is the main reason that the score doesn't function as good as the others. Especially the first four tracks offer the main part and its variations so much that you become tired of it.

Goldsmith offers the punch through the percussion, the tension through his high pitched action writing but its nothing that stands out and as said earlier, this score barely offers another moment of mood or style, except the last track 'Free to Go', still the theme you hear is the exact same main theme used hundreds of times before during the score. Of course Jerry Goldsmith maintains even dignified at these situations and U.S.Marshals beats B-action movies and their soundtracks, and considering his immense participation in 99' it isn't something that will be remembered long after the initial release. This score is the equivalent of other main action oriented scores but U.S.Marshals lacks pure diversity. People see Chain Reaction and this score as the least inspiring Goldsmith efforts of the last years, but at least Chain Reaction offers certain paths and various mood styles, U.S.Marshals remains on the same action / tension musical way and this makes the overall effort not so interesting or enjoyable. This is a pity in a way but nothing to make a grand fuss about. This release still beats a lot of other attempts, and die hard Goldsmith fans might see the effort as a worthwhile attempt. The tension / action theme was fun for several minutes and tracks, it began to ware out and from that moment the score became another background listen without much else. Not much to recommend except the first and the last track, the rest is basic underscore.

\ЕЕ1/2/

Tracks

Single Disc

1. Nuggets & Bullets (1.49)

2. Sinking Plane (4.20)

3. Heading For The Swamp (2.25)

4. Swamp Search (6.01)

5. Eyes On The City (2.17)

6. Airport Locker (1.55)

7. Following Chen (5.55)

8. The Front Gate (2.25)

9. Free To Go (2.38)

Total Length: 30.19

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=== Link to Composer Site: Jerry Goldsmith ===