Little Women

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

With two Oscar nominations under his belt, there was hope that Thomas Newman may finally become the next successive Newman composer in the list. And yet, both scores didn't win. My intentions on both scores were rather positive but no so overwhelmingly good either, both did function and had some bright spots, but also the negative points. The Shawshank Redemption disappointed me for its dark underscore, the problem with Little Women is simply the immense list of short cues. This score lasts for 37 minutes but consists of 26 tracks alone. This means apart from the begin and end title suites, there is so much music that lasts for 30 seconds to 1 minute. This makes Little Women harder to enjoy. The disappointment grows when you discover that this music has orchestral power and emotional depth, it features Thomas Newman themes developed, it has everything yet it all sounds so short. The bright spots are the main theme and some short moments of score. The main theme is pure orchestral beauty, at first I thought not much of it, but it grows, you learn to love it and at the end you wished more of it. It gets absolute fanfare like beauty in 'Orchard House (Main Title)' and 'Under the Umbrella (End Title)', these two tracks are the only ones crossing the 3 minute barrier and indeed are the best tracks on the album.

Of course there is something else that bugs me. You have the London Symphony Orchestra at your disposal, but still, apart from the main theme and one or two other themes, Newman can never fully develop them, and this leaves us all in despair. Is it now the work of Newman or the director or the producers, but short tracks never receive the acclaim when you can put the material in longer, more developed pieces of music. Seriously, Little Women is nice and Newman fans will find more then they wished for, but again you have to be very patient to accept the short list of tracks, and in general Little Women doesn't offer the punch you would hope for, simply due to the short time. It's nice and hearing the main theme being performed in the last track gives you more then in the begin, because you grow in to them and Newman develops them good that you will like them more with each listen. One of Thomas Newman's most beloved, biggest emotional and strongest thematic scores, but it offers us 26 tracks in less then 37 minutes. I was afraid this would hurt the rating and it did, undoubtedly Little Women could have received more if the tracks were longer. Newman's biggest orchestral score, Newman's most beloved along with Meet Joe Black, Newman's worst album release so far recording to the production values (in other words THE SHORT TRACKS!).

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Orchard House (Main Title) (3.25) Excellent Track

2. Meg's Hair (0.45)

3. Snowplay (0.47)

4. Scarlet Fever (1.09)

5. Ashes (0.43)

6. Spring (0.57)

7. La Fayette's Welcome * (1.01)

8. A Telegram (0.44)

9. Two Couples (1.32)

10. Burdens (1.57)

11. New York (2.15)

12. Harvest Time (1.25)

13. Maria Redowa ** (1.21)

14. Letter From Jo (1.17)

15. Amy Abroad (1.03)

16. Limes (0.35)

17. Beth's Secret (2.08)

18. For The Beauty Of The Earth *** (0.24)

19. Little Women (1.19)

20. Learning To Forget (2.19)

21. Valley Of The Shadow (2.08)

22. Port Royal Gallop **** (0.54)

23. Domestic Experiences (0.50)

24. The Laurence Boy (0.36)

25. Lovelornity (1.21)

26. Under The Umbrella (End Title) (3.41) Excellent Track

* Frank (Francis) Johnson (1792-1844)

** Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)

*** Music by Conrad Kocher (1786-1872)

**** Claudio Grafulla (1810-1880)

Total Length: 37.10

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=== Link to Composer Site: Thomas Newman ===