Flicka
Aaron Zigman
" Enjoyable run through the country score "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Aaron Zigman is a newcomer who has been getting positive attention the last couple of years in the music business. And it is amazing sometimes to discover how easily some composers get assignments while other respected names are forgotten so easily in return. However with The Notebook, Raise your Voice (a score I really loved in the film), Alpha Dog and Bridge to Terabithia Zigman has been doing all right for himself. With Flicka, the family drama starring Alison Lohman he gets in contact with the more cute family dramas of 20th Century Fox.
And for the producers of Varèse Sarabande it was a welcome and sweet enough affair for a release. Zigman's voice is easy to spot after all this time. It flows on gentle sweet rhythms and it always sounds upbeat, at least for the ones I heard his music in. And if Flicka isn't your cup of tea, then I advice you to stay away from a couple of his other scores as well.
It opens with "Main Title" and a typical Americana feel is created (luckily not overblown). While the theme is not the greatest discovery of all time, it's damn lovely and powerful enough for a movie as this. It makes the most charming performance in the first track as well as in "The Essay". Sure it gets various performances throughout many tracks but still, these are my favourite statements.
Another treat if a borrowed one is the Thomas Newman (now over familiar) piano sound. The quirky and effective Erin Brokovich and American Beauty style (surfacing as well in Trevor Rabin's National Treasure) is most effectively. Now Zigman apparently had to copy it too. I must say that Rabin did it slightly more interesting in his Treasure score because here it just feels like a Newman method. This appears in "Sneaking Out of the Barn", "I Can Win That Race" and "The Fax". Of course no composer can escape the temp track anymore, Zigman isn't any different.
What's most enjoyable of Flicka is not the main theme but the more robust action adventure style of Zigman. In this case I can compare it probably the most with a rousing Joel McNeely and that's a good thing of course. How it builds from a variation of the theme to a fast and thundering finish in "Night Time Ride" is mostly fun and exiting. And totally thrilling is 'Flicka Chase', where full brass and fanfares really make the show happen.
There's some nice emotion in "Flicka Comes Home" and in "Rob & Nell". Naturally a guitar isn't far away to customize us with the setting of the film and various moments like "Mother-Daughter" and "The Apple" portray this easily. And a bit awkward yet enjoyable are the few electronic beats in "Out of the Barn" and some vocal effects in "The Search". It creates a nice change in tone, and if you all accept that, then Flicka will surely entertain you.
The sad fact of the matter is that all the rousing material is found in the first part and it sure would have been nice to get some of that in the second part as well. However with a nice "End Credits" quirky affair I guess that suffices things a bit.
Flicka is not your newest original animal score, nor is it full of creative new ideas. It's just entertaining, sweet and at times rousing music that does everything right to enjoy 40 minutes of it. And with the really nice score for Brigde to Terabithia, Zigman has proven he is ready to continue his rise to the top. If only some action oriented and heavier material can be brought to him. Comedy and drama is nice but you can get easily stuck in it, in fact Cliff Eidelman sadly never really recovered from it. And he started just like Aaron Zigman has.
Tracklisting
1. Main Title (1.49)
2. Sneaking Out of the Barn (0.57)
3. Night Time Ride (2.32) Excellent track
4. Katie Steals Flicka (2.06)
5. Flicka Comes Home (3.05)
6. Flicka Chase (4.09) Excellent track
7. Zack & Katie (0.59)
8. Katie's Dream (3.40)
9. The Essay (2.08) Excellent track
10. I Can Win That Race (1.24)
11. Mother-Daughter (1.13)
12. Herd Overlook (3.48)
13. The Apple (1.11)
14. The Search (3.03)
15. The Fax (0.48)
16. Rob & Nell (2.39)
17. Out of the Barn (2.57)
18. End Title (3.23)
Total Length: 42.01
And for the producers of Varèse Sarabande it was a welcome and sweet enough affair for a release. Zigman's voice is easy to spot after all this time. It flows on gentle sweet rhythms and it always sounds upbeat, at least for the ones I heard his music in. And if Flicka isn't your cup of tea, then I advice you to stay away from a couple of his other scores as well.
It opens with "Main Title" and a typical Americana feel is created (luckily not overblown). While the theme is not the greatest discovery of all time, it's damn lovely and powerful enough for a movie as this. It makes the most charming performance in the first track as well as in "The Essay". Sure it gets various performances throughout many tracks but still, these are my favourite statements.
Another treat if a borrowed one is the Thomas Newman (now over familiar) piano sound. The quirky and effective Erin Brokovich and American Beauty style (surfacing as well in Trevor Rabin's National Treasure) is most effectively. Now Zigman apparently had to copy it too. I must say that Rabin did it slightly more interesting in his Treasure score because here it just feels like a Newman method. This appears in "Sneaking Out of the Barn", "I Can Win That Race" and "The Fax". Of course no composer can escape the temp track anymore, Zigman isn't any different.
What's most enjoyable of Flicka is not the main theme but the more robust action adventure style of Zigman. In this case I can compare it probably the most with a rousing Joel McNeely and that's a good thing of course. How it builds from a variation of the theme to a fast and thundering finish in "Night Time Ride" is mostly fun and exiting. And totally thrilling is 'Flicka Chase', where full brass and fanfares really make the show happen.
There's some nice emotion in "Flicka Comes Home" and in "Rob & Nell". Naturally a guitar isn't far away to customize us with the setting of the film and various moments like "Mother-Daughter" and "The Apple" portray this easily. And a bit awkward yet enjoyable are the few electronic beats in "Out of the Barn" and some vocal effects in "The Search". It creates a nice change in tone, and if you all accept that, then Flicka will surely entertain you.
The sad fact of the matter is that all the rousing material is found in the first part and it sure would have been nice to get some of that in the second part as well. However with a nice "End Credits" quirky affair I guess that suffices things a bit.
Flicka is not your newest original animal score, nor is it full of creative new ideas. It's just entertaining, sweet and at times rousing music that does everything right to enjoy 40 minutes of it. And with the really nice score for Brigde to Terabithia, Zigman has proven he is ready to continue his rise to the top. If only some action oriented and heavier material can be brought to him. Comedy and drama is nice but you can get easily stuck in it, in fact Cliff Eidelman sadly never really recovered from it. And he started just like Aaron Zigman has.
Tracklisting
1. Main Title (1.49)
2. Sneaking Out of the Barn (0.57)
3. Night Time Ride (2.32) Excellent track
4. Katie Steals Flicka (2.06)
5. Flicka Comes Home (3.05)
6. Flicka Chase (4.09) Excellent track
7. Zack & Katie (0.59)
8. Katie's Dream (3.40)
9. The Essay (2.08) Excellent track
10. I Can Win That Race (1.24)
11. Mother-Daughter (1.13)
12. Herd Overlook (3.48)
13. The Apple (1.11)
14. The Search (3.03)
15. The Fax (0.48)
16. Rob & Nell (2.39)
17. Out of the Barn (2.57)
18. End Title (3.23)
Total Length: 42.01