My All American
John Paesano
" I love sports scores!!! "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
It's going fast for composer John Paesano, but sometimes that's just the way we wanna have it. After a bunch of short films, TV productions and video games, he landed one hell of a debut project in 2014 (that is if we do not include Hirokin of 2012), namely The Maze Runner. After that came the inevitable second Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, When the Game Stands Tall and now My All American. And while When the Game Stands Tall was his first sports score, My All American can be considered as the real deal. Powerful, heroic, hopeful, the typical stuff good sports scores are made of.
That means it's not all that original, but who cares? After all, it has an inspiring theme that works in both dramatic sense ("Coach Remembers Freddie", "Visit From Coach Royal") as heroic sense. The score chock full of powerful cues too. "Lakewood Game" is the first, and it has rousing ideas and a short main theme encore. Meaning it's already a grand display of Paesano's intentions. Another intention is to pay homage to Jerry Goldsmith. Just listen to "First Practice" and breath the Rudy influences in. Furthermore in "Texas Vs. Texas Tech" you have to pick up the incredible detail to Jerry Goldsmith's suspenseful style, or the more playful side of Jerry in "New Quarterback". It's like hearing the master again in several minutes. Bravo Mr. Paesano.
A powerful finale stirs up "Freddie Caught Holding" and one hell of a powerhouse cue (with choir) is "Texas Wins" (a piece that is truly inspired by Rudy). The same can be said about the subtle but terrific playfulness of "Freddie is Up" and one of the tracks of the year namely "My All American". A terrific concert arrangement of the main theme in all its pride and heroism.
Man, I was hoping for something but I wasn't expecting this. Then again, if you have the writer of Hoosiers and Rudy now as director, you can expect something stirring. My All American is great in several points. As a sports score it's one of the more bombastic ones in its genre, it's incredibly easy to appreciate and it has a huge influence of Jerry Goldsmith's music (naturally his sports scores). This is probably the best thing of all, several cues are just plain him. I might be biased because I love these types of movies and scores, but My All American hits all the right buttons. Plus it has a theme that evokes just the right kind of hope and pride to make your experience a memorable one. Ladies and gentlemen, this is one of the surprises of the year.
Track Listing
1. Coach Remembers Freddie (1.07)
2. High School 2.30)
3. Freddie and Linda (1.09)
4. Lakewood Game (3.01) Excellent track
5. Mr. Outside Mr. Inside (1.42)
6. University of Texas (1.02)
7. Full Ride (0.51)
8. First Practice (2.21) Excellent track
9. Second Practice (2.00)
10. Texas Vs. Texas Tech (3.46) Excellent track
11. New Quarterback (1.46)
12. Freddie Consoles Bobby (1.44)
13. Visit From Coach Royal (3.47)
14. Arkansas First Half (3.29)
15. Steinmark Struggles (1.30)
16. Coach's Halftime Speech (3.12)
17. Freddie Caught Holding (5.16) Excellent track
18. Texas Wins (3.02) Excellent track
19. Bad News (3.31)
20. Coach Tells Team (3.25)
21. Linda Sees Future (1.18)
22. Freddie is Up (1.44)
23. Welcome Back (4.16)
24. My All American (4.41) Excellent track
Total Length: 62.10
That means it's not all that original, but who cares? After all, it has an inspiring theme that works in both dramatic sense ("Coach Remembers Freddie", "Visit From Coach Royal") as heroic sense. The score chock full of powerful cues too. "Lakewood Game" is the first, and it has rousing ideas and a short main theme encore. Meaning it's already a grand display of Paesano's intentions. Another intention is to pay homage to Jerry Goldsmith. Just listen to "First Practice" and breath the Rudy influences in. Furthermore in "Texas Vs. Texas Tech" you have to pick up the incredible detail to Jerry Goldsmith's suspenseful style, or the more playful side of Jerry in "New Quarterback". It's like hearing the master again in several minutes. Bravo Mr. Paesano.
A powerful finale stirs up "Freddie Caught Holding" and one hell of a powerhouse cue (with choir) is "Texas Wins" (a piece that is truly inspired by Rudy). The same can be said about the subtle but terrific playfulness of "Freddie is Up" and one of the tracks of the year namely "My All American". A terrific concert arrangement of the main theme in all its pride and heroism.
Man, I was hoping for something but I wasn't expecting this. Then again, if you have the writer of Hoosiers and Rudy now as director, you can expect something stirring. My All American is great in several points. As a sports score it's one of the more bombastic ones in its genre, it's incredibly easy to appreciate and it has a huge influence of Jerry Goldsmith's music (naturally his sports scores). This is probably the best thing of all, several cues are just plain him. I might be biased because I love these types of movies and scores, but My All American hits all the right buttons. Plus it has a theme that evokes just the right kind of hope and pride to make your experience a memorable one. Ladies and gentlemen, this is one of the surprises of the year.
Track Listing
1. Coach Remembers Freddie (1.07)
2. High School 2.30)
3. Freddie and Linda (1.09)
4. Lakewood Game (3.01) Excellent track
5. Mr. Outside Mr. Inside (1.42)
6. University of Texas (1.02)
7. Full Ride (0.51)
8. First Practice (2.21) Excellent track
9. Second Practice (2.00)
10. Texas Vs. Texas Tech (3.46) Excellent track
11. New Quarterback (1.46)
12. Freddie Consoles Bobby (1.44)
13. Visit From Coach Royal (3.47)
14. Arkansas First Half (3.29)
15. Steinmark Struggles (1.30)
16. Coach's Halftime Speech (3.12)
17. Freddie Caught Holding (5.16) Excellent track
18. Texas Wins (3.02) Excellent track
19. Bad News (3.31)
20. Coach Tells Team (3.25)
21. Linda Sees Future (1.18)
22. Freddie is Up (1.44)
23. Welcome Back (4.16)
24. My All American (4.41) Excellent track
Total Length: 62.10