5 Corners
James Newton Howard
" Forgive and forget I'm afraid "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
5 Corners, starring Jodie Foster, Tim Robbins, John Turturro and Rodney Harvey, and directed by Tony Bill goes about a couple of people in a 48 hour timespan in 1960 New York. It was also one of the first film projects James Newton Howard worked on, and it was equally one of the first CD releases of James Newton Howard's work. More importantly, it was in fact the first film score Varèse Sarabande released of James Newton Howard's work. Now considering it's one of his earliest works, I wasn't expecting something amazing. And neither should you. Because 5 Corners is incredibly cheap and quite monotonous.
It begins quite decent though with a couple of piano tracks "Return Home" and "Love Theme". But after a while you begin to notice that the synths that follow don't exactly enhance but actually detract from the listening experience. "Follow the Dog" has an incredible cheap synthesizer moment in the beginning that you truly do not see coming (though given the time and budget it was most likely all it could have been), and considering the music's mostly eerie, suspenseful (through the cheap synthesizer tones a rather laughable affair I'm afraid, listen to "Shot Cop") and piano based, 5 Corners doesn't exactly heighten your listening pleasures after a while. There is potential in this, because I would love to hear a fully orchestral version of "Roof Fight" some day.
But in truth the more it's coming your way, the more you ask yourself if it's truly gonna matter. The eerie "The Fountain", the laughable suspense of "Throw Momma From the Window", "Kidnap in the Subway" and "Cop Call", or the even more ridiculous sound of a synthesized tuba in "The Professor". It's not what you expect of a James Newton Howard score if you literally grew up with his music of the last 20 years. And for those who are still looking for the last great treasure of his career, believe me this isn't it. 5 Corners will have worked 20 years ago, but somehow I don't see it working in context now. And on CD it barely holds it together. Forgive and forget I'm afraid.
Track Listing
1. Return Home (0.47)
2. Love Theme (2.21)
3. The Elevator (2.20)
4. The Lift (2.01)
5. Penguin (3.13)
6. Follow the Dog (1.49)
7. Shot Cop (1.16)
8. The Fountain (2.59)
9. Throw Momma From the Window (1.30)
10. You Gotta Excuse Him (0.42)
11. Phoning Linda (0.30)
12. You Gonna Just Stand There? (0.22)
13. Kidnap in the Subway (1.28)
14. The Professor (0.44)
15. Roof Fight (2.27)
16. Buddah (1.38)
17. Cop Call (0.42)
18. Pet Shop (0.24)
19. I Don't Want My Wife Poppin' Bills (0.26)
20. Getting the Point (2.05)
Total Length: 29.44
It begins quite decent though with a couple of piano tracks "Return Home" and "Love Theme". But after a while you begin to notice that the synths that follow don't exactly enhance but actually detract from the listening experience. "Follow the Dog" has an incredible cheap synthesizer moment in the beginning that you truly do not see coming (though given the time and budget it was most likely all it could have been), and considering the music's mostly eerie, suspenseful (through the cheap synthesizer tones a rather laughable affair I'm afraid, listen to "Shot Cop") and piano based, 5 Corners doesn't exactly heighten your listening pleasures after a while. There is potential in this, because I would love to hear a fully orchestral version of "Roof Fight" some day.
But in truth the more it's coming your way, the more you ask yourself if it's truly gonna matter. The eerie "The Fountain", the laughable suspense of "Throw Momma From the Window", "Kidnap in the Subway" and "Cop Call", or the even more ridiculous sound of a synthesized tuba in "The Professor". It's not what you expect of a James Newton Howard score if you literally grew up with his music of the last 20 years. And for those who are still looking for the last great treasure of his career, believe me this isn't it. 5 Corners will have worked 20 years ago, but somehow I don't see it working in context now. And on CD it barely holds it together. Forgive and forget I'm afraid.
Track Listing
1. Return Home (0.47)
2. Love Theme (2.21)
3. The Elevator (2.20)
4. The Lift (2.01)
5. Penguin (3.13)
6. Follow the Dog (1.49)
7. Shot Cop (1.16)
8. The Fountain (2.59)
9. Throw Momma From the Window (1.30)
10. You Gotta Excuse Him (0.42)
11. Phoning Linda (0.30)
12. You Gonna Just Stand There? (0.22)
13. Kidnap in the Subway (1.28)
14. The Professor (0.44)
15. Roof Fight (2.27)
16. Buddah (1.38)
17. Cop Call (0.42)
18. Pet Shop (0.24)
19. I Don't Want My Wife Poppin' Bills (0.26)
20. Getting the Point (2.05)
Total Length: 29.44