For Love of the Game
Basil Poledouris
" The cathedral that is Yankee Stadium belongs to a Poledouris! "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Director Sam Raimi isn't directly known as the serious director of Hollywood, and especially not as a director who made a sports film once. For Love of the Game starred Kevin Costner as a man who had to chose between what was most important in his life, the girl of his dreams or the game he became legendary for. In the end the movie makes a great decision about showing just the final game Billy plays in, while leaving the rest up to the flashbacks to show us Billy's ups and downs in life. I quite liked it in the end, not the least due to Basil's inspirational score.
There's no better begin than "Main Theme", aka the inspirational opener to this short but highly enjoyable album. This opening shot shows the montage of a young Billy Chapel growing up with baseball, and Basil makes the magic happen with his beloved tunes, on screen as on disc. The theme turns into a soft guitar version after that once we get another picture of Chapel's life, this time with the love of his life in "Relationship Montage".
For Love of the Game however dares to be different from time to time, mostly when it concerns the baseball game pieces. In "Tuttle Knockdown" and "Gus Hits" Basil's not afraid to paint a different picture. In here electric guitars present the obstacles Billy must beat to get that perfect game, and though they are totally the opposite of Basil's otherwise melodic score, they present that necessary rougher edge. Luckily for some they are on the only 2 pieces on the entire album.
Because what we get after that is sometimes nothing short of remarkable. In the pleasant "Lemonade" and in the emotional "No Hits" we each have a moment where Basil makes his music grow to a pleasant but lovely climax. But it are the last 2 tracks that will be the ones that people will talk about the most, because they make the album better. In "The Decision" we almost receive Rudy elegance with absolutely beautiful main theme moments, that is until Basil guides us to the stirring "Last Pitch" that has everything a legendary sports moment needs. Meaning a stirring finale, a main theme that gets us at the top of our listening experience, and a choral back up that unleashes the fireworks, igniting the true genius of Basil's composition.
In the end it is this and more that makes For Love of the Game another winner in the Poledouris cannon. It may have been looked over once going through all the classics of Poledouris' career, but there's no denying that even this score can lift spirits and passions to an unfelt climax. It is lyrical, charming, beautiful and at times surprising, making the 30 minute listen one I'm returning to frequently. Not to be missed among the many many fine sports scores out there.
Tracklisting
1. Main Theme (3.33) Excellent track
2. Relationship Montage (3.38)
3. Tuttle Knockdown (1.50)
4. Jane's Home (4.51)
5. Gus Hits (1.09)
6. Lemonade (2.08) Excellent track
7. The Apology (1.59)
8. No Hits (4.00)
9. The Decision (5.16) Excellent track
10. Last Pitch (4.57) Excellent track
Total Length: 33.33
There's no better begin than "Main Theme", aka the inspirational opener to this short but highly enjoyable album. This opening shot shows the montage of a young Billy Chapel growing up with baseball, and Basil makes the magic happen with his beloved tunes, on screen as on disc. The theme turns into a soft guitar version after that once we get another picture of Chapel's life, this time with the love of his life in "Relationship Montage".
For Love of the Game however dares to be different from time to time, mostly when it concerns the baseball game pieces. In "Tuttle Knockdown" and "Gus Hits" Basil's not afraid to paint a different picture. In here electric guitars present the obstacles Billy must beat to get that perfect game, and though they are totally the opposite of Basil's otherwise melodic score, they present that necessary rougher edge. Luckily for some they are on the only 2 pieces on the entire album.
Because what we get after that is sometimes nothing short of remarkable. In the pleasant "Lemonade" and in the emotional "No Hits" we each have a moment where Basil makes his music grow to a pleasant but lovely climax. But it are the last 2 tracks that will be the ones that people will talk about the most, because they make the album better. In "The Decision" we almost receive Rudy elegance with absolutely beautiful main theme moments, that is until Basil guides us to the stirring "Last Pitch" that has everything a legendary sports moment needs. Meaning a stirring finale, a main theme that gets us at the top of our listening experience, and a choral back up that unleashes the fireworks, igniting the true genius of Basil's composition.
In the end it is this and more that makes For Love of the Game another winner in the Poledouris cannon. It may have been looked over once going through all the classics of Poledouris' career, but there's no denying that even this score can lift spirits and passions to an unfelt climax. It is lyrical, charming, beautiful and at times surprising, making the 30 minute listen one I'm returning to frequently. Not to be missed among the many many fine sports scores out there.
Tracklisting
1. Main Theme (3.33) Excellent track
2. Relationship Montage (3.38)
3. Tuttle Knockdown (1.50)
4. Jane's Home (4.51)
5. Gus Hits (1.09)
6. Lemonade (2.08) Excellent track
7. The Apology (1.59)
8. No Hits (4.00)
9. The Decision (5.16) Excellent track
10. Last Pitch (4.57) Excellent track
Total Length: 33.33