Tin Cup (Promo)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Sports movies are a funny thing. Whether you like the sport yes or no, it is the other important factor that makes you decide whether or not you like the picture and that is, how does the director handle it? Funny or serious? If you do both (yet on family level) like in The Mighty Ducks (ice-hockey) you get a great result. If you do both yet on grow up level like in A League of their Own (baseball) or The Legend of Bagger Vance (golf), you have even better results. And there is a certain charm and wit dripping of this movie, namely Tin Cup. I remember seeing the film and actually loving it even though golf is for me personally a boring sport, apart from the occasional winning shot. So a surprise that I enjoyed the movie, making me so getting in contact with composer William Ross. Ross, now known for his additional and adaptation role in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets soundtrack has created a score like many have done before, meaning a very influential score that bases its ideas sometimes a little too close to its peers. Yet, in a stage where hacking someone's work into an own original effort is the meal of the day, Tin Cup comes off as a neatly enjoyable package. Many people will especially remember back to the final (winning shot) and fanfares of music at the end of the movie, and that is what I did when I decided to buy this 30 minute release from an online store.

It is indeed the ending which is the highlight of the score, 'Master of the Game' is an amazing set of fanfares. Revolving around the main theme, this winning track on its own shows the potential of Ross and proves why Williams wanted him onboard the Potter project, since these are Williams and more then that McNeely fanfares by the looks of it. Still, they are immensely enjoyable and the highlight of the score. Other two good moments are the ones where equally the orchestra comes in mind. 'The U.S. Open' is the first track where the orchestra comes to play, and the fanfares (sounding even Robert Folk like) are here heard for the first time. Also here the theme receives the more orchestral form, through brass mainly. And 'Final Round' has some neatly inventive string work, after a lonely trumpet opening the score. Here especially the score sounds distinctly Redford like since the first 30 seconds bring D2: The Mighty Ducks to mind, again a sports score. These are the orchestral moments. Also track 8 has them but apart from a more serious mood (meaning Kevin Kostner's character shooting all the balls into the water) we also have the short sings of the strings and brass. The rest of the score then takes over with the Tin Cup band as they so call it.

A short ensemble, consisting of guitars, piano, accordion, bass, drums and occasionally a harmonica, it is this feel that doesn't make the score less interesting but not that great. 'Tin Cup' opens ala Field of Dreams, with a dreamy mood of piano (stating the theme) before a more subdued Texan style moves its further to the end. 'Bank Shot Shuffle' is not that obvious but track 4 definitely is because here a serious lift of originality is gone. The second track states an electric guitar opening and swinging piano but also slightly stating the rhythms of the song which Elizabeth Shue and the kids performed so greatly in Adventures in Babysitting. By the way, that song which was entitled "Baby Sittin' Blues" receives here a different version, namely 'Double Bogey Blues'. The similarity is at times quite striking but I just picked it up since I still think the Baby Sittin' Blues song to be a hilarious and great innovative song. Here, its duplex isn't half as interesting. One thing still, the love theme is a rather surprising Hawaiian sounding one, heard in 'Molly and Roy' while Mexican based flavor is added in 'La Sonrisa del Sol'. All this together makes for 29 minutes and 57 seconds of enjoyable music, if the half is a bit influenced by other works. But again what's not influenced these days and as a new composer you will have to pick the temp track more then to submit your original work. Tin Cup as a score is therefore at times deja-vu, but enjoyable and with an ending like that it can make a lot of controversy disappear. Just like Iron Will, its one of those scores which listens much more smoother then the 3 stars might incline.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Tin Cup (2.34)

2. Bank Shot Shuffle (1.57)

3. Molly And Roy (1.08)

4. Double Bogey Blues: Mickey Jones * (3.48)

5. La Sonrisa Del Sol (1.18)

6. The U.S. Open (3.31)

7. Final Round (3.27)

8. The Waffle House (2.35)

9. Eagles And Demons (2.58)

10. Master Of The Game (4.28) Excellent Track

11. Texas Tango / Tin Cup (2.05)

* Composed by Dave Gillon, produced and arranged by William Ross

Total Length: 29.57

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

=== Link to Composer Site: William Ross ===