The Last Sin Eater
Mark McKenzie
" He might not score a lot of movies these days, but the efforts always pay off. "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Composer Mark McKenzie might not compose many movies a year, he still delivers on most occasions a strong soundtrack for the projects he can score. After his interesting yet normal The Ultimate Gift comes The Last Sin Eater, a movie with a more spiritual weight. This reflects in the music which lingers far deeper in the minds of the listener. This because it has stronger themes and an overall promising sound.
Mark McKenzie's soundtracks usually don't bore during their listen and The Last Sin Eater by far doesn't do that either. Even more, it suddenly grows during the middle part to a wonderful end, where more emotional ideas flourish from a simple flute to mesmerizing string crescendo's. This is the ticket of the score's winning charm. Where The Ultimate Gift rarely went for a deeper stronger emotion, The Last Sin Eater does more then expected. When the music and the themes are already so powerful, then this means that McKenzie's music once more soars in his usual wonderful way.
The three songs that are dispersed in beginning, middle and end (all coming from Randy Travis) are Texan mood swingers, nice and gentle but hardly a winner in the category and more or less not necessary on a disc like this. In the remaining time, the score itself aims for the heart, and "Main Titles" is the first in line to show you how. With wonderful pan flute solos it opens the heartfelt musical story of McKenzie, offering you apart from the main theme, also a solo vocal. In "Gathering Flowers" the piano and flute are on the forefront once again (the piano even reminding you of Cliff Eidelman in its playability), while the flute is wonderful ala Legends of the Fall, offering you for the first time the fully fleshed out excellent main theme.
The familiar Dies Irae vocals are what drives the sinister "Funeral Procession" and where mood more then ever makes up for the effect. This soon changes with the lovely Eidelman like "Follow Me / Bletsung's Bees" where the piano and flute bring back the loveliness of the theme, before real string emotion drips ala John Barry syrup in "Dead Man's Mountain / Cadi's Pain". That is until urgency and strings bring a real winner to its end.
The pain is forgotten when a wonderful theme performance flourishes in "Strawberry Jam" while whirling strings give a weight to "Mountain Meeting". The violin led in "A Father's Love / New Friends" really show how lovely a Legends of the Fall influence can be without simply having to redo the temptrack. What's even more wonderful is the track "It Doesn't Hurt any More!" giving the main theme a wonderful epic feel which simply listens so well.
It is also surprising how easily the flute solos remind you of Conti's work on the Karate Kid scores, like in "I'm So Sorry They Done This to Youâ". Perhaps one of the biggest surprises is "Grieving the Pastâ" where the oh so familiar Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber is now adapted into the score, including all the themes of McKenzie. In fact it makes it feel like the Adagio for Strings but from the hand of Mark McKenzie. This is perhaps one of the biggest signs of McKenzie's brilliance and shows especially how easily a composer can use a temptrack and make it his own, without simply borrowing and stating the complete melody. It is a simply brilliant piece where the same emotion drips from the roof and yet it are McKenzie's themes that are bringing it.
The flute and epic feel returns in "You're Just a Man Whom God Loves" and it may feel like emotional syrup but it is still that, simply oh so good. In the final tracks and especially the accustomed "I Love You" or the suite of 7 minutes, the themes make their final appearances in either the piano, flute or string based versions. After all is said and done, Mark McKenzie just hasn't lost his touch for writing some of the most heartfelt music of the last couple of years.
Sure it feels like it's basically done for just one reason and that is to melt your heart. But the thing is that McKenzie knows how to accomplish this. The Last Sin Eater is one of his finest creations because it flows from soft flute to beautiful strings in a matter of seconds. And because for once, a temptrack is noticed but not copied, giving me more satisfaction in return. Mark McKenzie's emotional music still fulfils your listening experiences easily and this one is one of his finest in the genre.
Mark McKenzie's soundtracks usually don't bore during their listen and The Last Sin Eater by far doesn't do that either. Even more, it suddenly grows during the middle part to a wonderful end, where more emotional ideas flourish from a simple flute to mesmerizing string crescendo's. This is the ticket of the score's winning charm. Where The Ultimate Gift rarely went for a deeper stronger emotion, The Last Sin Eater does more then expected. When the music and the themes are already so powerful, then this means that McKenzie's music once more soars in his usual wonderful way.
The three songs that are dispersed in beginning, middle and end (all coming from Randy Travis) are Texan mood swingers, nice and gentle but hardly a winner in the category and more or less not necessary on a disc like this. In the remaining time, the score itself aims for the heart, and "Main Titles" is the first in line to show you how. With wonderful pan flute solos it opens the heartfelt musical story of McKenzie, offering you apart from the main theme, also a solo vocal. In "Gathering Flowers" the piano and flute are on the forefront once again (the piano even reminding you of Cliff Eidelman in its playability), while the flute is wonderful ala Legends of the Fall, offering you for the first time the fully fleshed out excellent main theme.
The familiar Dies Irae vocals are what drives the sinister "Funeral Procession" and where mood more then ever makes up for the effect. This soon changes with the lovely Eidelman like "Follow Me / Bletsung's Bees" where the piano and flute bring back the loveliness of the theme, before real string emotion drips ala John Barry syrup in "Dead Man's Mountain / Cadi's Pain". That is until urgency and strings bring a real winner to its end.
The pain is forgotten when a wonderful theme performance flourishes in "Strawberry Jam" while whirling strings give a weight to "Mountain Meeting". The violin led in "A Father's Love / New Friends" really show how lovely a Legends of the Fall influence can be without simply having to redo the temptrack. What's even more wonderful is the track "It Doesn't Hurt any More!" giving the main theme a wonderful epic feel which simply listens so well.
It is also surprising how easily the flute solos remind you of Conti's work on the Karate Kid scores, like in "I'm So Sorry They Done This to Youâ". Perhaps one of the biggest surprises is "Grieving the Pastâ" where the oh so familiar Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber is now adapted into the score, including all the themes of McKenzie. In fact it makes it feel like the Adagio for Strings but from the hand of Mark McKenzie. This is perhaps one of the biggest signs of McKenzie's brilliance and shows especially how easily a composer can use a temptrack and make it his own, without simply borrowing and stating the complete melody. It is a simply brilliant piece where the same emotion drips from the roof and yet it are McKenzie's themes that are bringing it.
The flute and epic feel returns in "You're Just a Man Whom God Loves" and it may feel like emotional syrup but it is still that, simply oh so good. In the final tracks and especially the accustomed "I Love You" or the suite of 7 minutes, the themes make their final appearances in either the piano, flute or string based versions. After all is said and done, Mark McKenzie just hasn't lost his touch for writing some of the most heartfelt music of the last couple of years.
Sure it feels like it's basically done for just one reason and that is to melt your heart. But the thing is that McKenzie knows how to accomplish this. The Last Sin Eater is one of his finest creations because it flows from soft flute to beautiful strings in a matter of seconds. And because for once, a temptrack is noticed but not copied, giving me more satisfaction in return. Mark McKenzie's emotional music still fulfils your listening experiences easily and this one is one of his finest in the genre.