Freedomland
James Newton Howard
" Effective and moody don't make for the perfect couple "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
James Newton Howard is on a role. Each year he has to pen several scores for blockbuster movies and still satisfy the fans who demand nothing but perfection. Of course that isn't possible and sometimes the movies don't demand for something as mighty as King Kong or haunting as Lady in the Water. Sometimes they demand for effective underscore that layers around the characters on screen. Freedomland is just that, an effective underscore score for a moody thriller. Of course Newton Howard remains Newton Howard and several things still click.
Like his always unique piano play, opening "Main Title" with the main theme. And suddenly you start to wonder if it may become another Grand Canyon experience, but sadly nothing like that follows after that. What follows is an electric guitar heightening the adrenaline with a strong beat (harsher than Grand Canyon) before the piano returns to end the track quietly like it began. How nice and good the main theme is, how easy to get lost in what is the underscore and mood setting.
For instance we had moody electronics in "The Lie", the soft main theme on piano in "Brenda's Apartment", the powerful gritty beats in "Unrest" as the totally forgettable "Rafik is Arrested". However that doesn't mean everything's lost. In the appropriately named "Freedomland" suddenly everything falls into place. Even though we have the same structure and sound, the track suddenly does create an emotional response through a hypnotizing Heat sound and additional stirring strings. For whatever it's worth, it does enlighten your listen. The same can be said about "Inside Freedomland" where this time the strings take up most of the attention.
Yet after that we're back to moody underscore that does tend to slip by so easily. Or how else could you describe the moody underscore of "You're in the Wrong Park". The harsh guitar twangs of "Burning" make themselves heard all the while "Riot" becomes the most eerie riot I've ever heard. It's only in "I"ll Come see You that the main theme adds something hopeful on the table.
Freedomland doesn't have to be mesmerizing because its job is to effectively make the movie better. The problem is, the genre is what it is and then you receive music that doesn't need to make a strong point. It needs to be effective. Freedomland fulfills the criteria, and makes itself at least positive by becoming a better experience than say A Perfect Murder. Yet I would like to compare it the most with Grand Canyon. At times it has the same structure and ideas, it's just that Grand Canyon had much more hopeful material to work with.
Tracklisting
1. Main Title (3.43)
2. The Lie (2.58)
3. Brenda's Apartment (2.27)
4. Unrest (4.26)
5. Did They Arrest Anyone? (2.16)
6. Rafik is Arrested (2.08)
7. Freedomland (6.01)
8. Inside Freedomland (3.02)
9. You're in the Wrong Park (4.01)
10. Burning (4.25)
11. Riot (4.25)
12. I'll Come See You (2.21)
13. Little Angel (2.48)
Total Length: 45.12
Like his always unique piano play, opening "Main Title" with the main theme. And suddenly you start to wonder if it may become another Grand Canyon experience, but sadly nothing like that follows after that. What follows is an electric guitar heightening the adrenaline with a strong beat (harsher than Grand Canyon) before the piano returns to end the track quietly like it began. How nice and good the main theme is, how easy to get lost in what is the underscore and mood setting.
For instance we had moody electronics in "The Lie", the soft main theme on piano in "Brenda's Apartment", the powerful gritty beats in "Unrest" as the totally forgettable "Rafik is Arrested". However that doesn't mean everything's lost. In the appropriately named "Freedomland" suddenly everything falls into place. Even though we have the same structure and sound, the track suddenly does create an emotional response through a hypnotizing Heat sound and additional stirring strings. For whatever it's worth, it does enlighten your listen. The same can be said about "Inside Freedomland" where this time the strings take up most of the attention.
Yet after that we're back to moody underscore that does tend to slip by so easily. Or how else could you describe the moody underscore of "You're in the Wrong Park". The harsh guitar twangs of "Burning" make themselves heard all the while "Riot" becomes the most eerie riot I've ever heard. It's only in "I"ll Come see You that the main theme adds something hopeful on the table.
Freedomland doesn't have to be mesmerizing because its job is to effectively make the movie better. The problem is, the genre is what it is and then you receive music that doesn't need to make a strong point. It needs to be effective. Freedomland fulfills the criteria, and makes itself at least positive by becoming a better experience than say A Perfect Murder. Yet I would like to compare it the most with Grand Canyon. At times it has the same structure and ideas, it's just that Grand Canyon had much more hopeful material to work with.
Tracklisting
1. Main Title (3.43)
2. The Lie (2.58)
3. Brenda's Apartment (2.27)
4. Unrest (4.26)
5. Did They Arrest Anyone? (2.16)
6. Rafik is Arrested (2.08)
7. Freedomland (6.01)
8. Inside Freedomland (3.02)
9. You're in the Wrong Park (4.01)
10. Burning (4.25)
11. Riot (4.25)
12. I'll Come See You (2.21)
13. Little Angel (2.48)
Total Length: 45.12