The Perfect Storm: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Product Description

Amazon.com
There's no shortage of irony in film composer James Horner's cinematic triumphs with oceanborne disaster. Titanic, of course, became one of the most mega-successful orchestral soundtracks in history. While The Perfect Storm may not scale those commercial heights, it's a worthy, if differently nuanced, companion piece. With his score revolving around a rolling, six-note motif that perfectly evokes the waves of the North Atlantic, Horner colors the tale of the doomed fishing trawler Andrea Gail and her crew with a dramatic restraint that often brings to mind the best work of John Williams and John Barry. Horner's score builds on a dramatic tension between the brass and the strings (and even an apropos metal-guitar lick or two), before climaxing in a pair of lengthy cue-suites ("Coast Guard Rescues" and "The Rogue Wave") that masterfully conjure menace and pure terror from a skillful alchemy of challenging tonality and orchestral color. And, of course, there's a marketing-driven, tacked-on pop song, "Yours Forever," a collaboration between John Mellencamp and Horner (built around the same six-note motif) that's solid if not spectacular; Mellencamp delivers it well and survives with his dignity intact. --Jerry McCulley