Home Alone

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Though Christmas albums look all the same, it is refreshing to hear the difference in John Williams' Oscar nominated score of 1990. The music captures both the light playful attitude of little Macaulay Culkin (whose star only sparkled for several years) and the Christmas feeling alike, to only combine it with devious dark losers such as Pesci and Stern. The film was a sensational hit and if it didn't matter for the rest of the world, it was sure another Williams' score that captured hearts. The score is not your typical Mickey Mouse adventure and Williams doesn't surely capture that same spirit so that's why it is so beloved with fans. I feel the exact same thing when I listen to Home Alone again but what I feel is, it misses highlights, true highlights that mesmerize me. The score itself is a welcome breeze but only one thing truly put me in heavenly fire. The score starts with 'Home Alone Main Title' which mixes the twinkling opening music (also repeated in the third track) with the main emotional theme of the movie. It is a nice start. There are two bombastic scherzo's present, 'Holiday Flight' and 'Making the Plane' which spice up the rush really good. And if you want full emotion then by all means 'Mom Returns / Finale' will satisfy your needs with the kindest attention. But what I always loved in the film is sadly not mixed that way on the soundtrack.

When in the movie Kevin makes peace with the old man and rushes to his house, the song 'Carol of the Bells' was so magnificently mixed with the highlight of the score 'Setting the Trap'. It is a testament to John Williams that he made the transition flawless. Anyway 'Setting the Trap' underscores the preparation with the building motivation, and even interrupted with a neat melody when the tarantula strolls by, surely then all the little kids started to scream in the movie theatre, remember that. Also an important notice is the deletion of three songs. Once more this is a recorded disc so not every song is here, deleted are for several reasons White Christmas (The Rifters), Please Come Home for Christmas (Southside Johnny Lyon) and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Mel Tormé). They were just a little to mellow for me. So don't forget that there are 19 tracks instead of 16. While I surely don't find it a score that should receive an Oscar nomination, especially if you remember that next year Hook didn't even receive one at all (mainly because of the failure of the movie), it is still a breeze to hear Home Alone once and a while. It is probably not the most superlative pick of his career, but the score and the combination of carols surely brings that ho ho ho right under your Christmas tree, and that is all what Santa wants. And let's not forget our old pal Rudolph too.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Home Alone Main Title ("Somewhere In My Memory") * (4.53)

2. Holiday Flight (0.58)

3. The House (2.27)

4. Star Of Bethlehem (2.51)

5. Man Of The House (4.32)

6. Scammed By A Kindergartner (3.55)

7. Follow That Kid! (1.59)

8. Making The Plane (0.51)

9. O Holy Night ** (2.47)

10. Carol Of The Bells *** (1.25)

11. Star Of Bethlehem * (2.57)

12. Setting The Trap (2.16) Excellent Track

13. Somewhere In My Memory (1.04)

14. The Attack On The House (6.53)

15. Mom Returns / Finale (4.19)

16. We Wish You A Merry Christmas * / End Title (4.15)

* Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse

** Written by Adolphe Adam / Lyrics by John S. Dwight

*** Lyrics by Peter Wilhousky

Total Length: 48.37

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

=== Link to Composer Site: John Williams ===