The Mexican
Alan Silvestri
" Choir in a Western, Morricone anyone? "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Man, Alan Silvestri can really rock when he composes something like The Mummy Returns. Oops, wrong review. Man, Alan Silvestri can simply compose for all genres. Better! Serendipity is one and The Mexican is another, all in 2001. Now, I don't know what Serendipity might sound like (except for another romantic clash) but The Mexican surely sounds better then I first imagined. Of course who would think that a western sound would get such a choral mass? I guess only the Ennio Morricone fans.
Decca Records presents here what seems at first a good portion of music. But when you examine things closer it might disappoint several people. The album is overall 49 minutes long, the score of Silvestri nonetheless clocks in at 33 min 36 sec, so already 16 minutes of it is spend on songs. Next, we have 4 tracks (2 of them which are the same) that are scattered around on the disc that are co written by Abraham Laboriel and performed by a quartet to get that truly Western, Mexican feel. So solo Silvestri amounts up to 26 minutes. So this might disappoint the true fans, but not to worry.
In style, The Mexican sounds close to The Quick and the Dead and all the other Morricone / Clint Eastwood pastiches. But enough of that because Silvestri still adds his own voice to it. Like for instance someone whistling in "Blame Shifting" and "Want our Life Back", or a short rock performance during "10% Clint".
But still, what people will be interested in the most is the choral sound, first in full in "The Mexican" and later reprised in the next tracks "It's Cursed, That Gun" and "A Miracle". There is also another theme, some kind of love theme heard in "Leroy's Morning" and "Airport" which gives the listener a break from the returning sound.
Yet, when it comes down to the two tracks that rank the highest, then the number will surely be 22 and 23. The first has the most spectacular use of the choral sound (especially when it quotes the grandeur of The Abyss) and next "The Mexican / End Credits Medley" is a great compilation piece with almost any sort of theme reprised one last time.
Now the co written stuff (numbers 3, 9, 11 and 21) aren't really special to begin with. The songs however are classic ("These Boots are Made for Walkin"), friendly classic ("Why Can't we be Friends"), boring (the Dean Martin one), typical 80's ("Safety Dance") and childish ("El Cable").
So there you have it, The Mexican is a short and pleasant release from Decca which again shows that Silvestri can do his thing in whatever genre. But I'm afraid there's a lot which is the same, and just several tracks alone sum up everything you need to hear about the score. But this doesn't mean there aren't any special ingredients. For instance a choral mass is always good for the human ear. So for those who still hesitate, the movie's always an option.
Score: ***
Songs: ***
Tracklisting
1. Main Titles (0.52)
2. Blame Shifting (0.58)
3. Oye * (1.34)
4. These Boots are Made For Walkin': Nancy Sinatra (2.42)
5. 10% Clint (1.09)
6. Leroy's Morning (1.40)
7. Why Can't we Be Friends: War (3.50)
8. Want Our Life Back (1.31)
9. Frank's Dead * (2.51)
10. You're Nobody 'Till Somebody Loves You: Dean Martin (1.56)
11. Jerry & Ted to Pawn Shop * (1.25)
12. The Mexican (2.14)
13. Airport (2.21)
14. Safety Dance: Men Without Hats (4.32)
15. El Cable: Esquivel (2.16)
16. Margolese Compound (1.03)
17. Where's my Stuff (1.01)
18. Thieves (1.09)
19. A Good F'ing Reason (1.15)
20. It's Cursed, That Gun (3.24)
21. Oye, Oye * (1.30)
22. A Miracle (2.26)
23. The Mexican / End Credits Medley (5.02)
* Written by Alan Silvestri and Abraham Laboriel, Performed by Abraham Laboriel, Alex Cuna, Paulinho Da Costa and George Doering
Total Length: 49.26
Decca Records presents here what seems at first a good portion of music. But when you examine things closer it might disappoint several people. The album is overall 49 minutes long, the score of Silvestri nonetheless clocks in at 33 min 36 sec, so already 16 minutes of it is spend on songs. Next, we have 4 tracks (2 of them which are the same) that are scattered around on the disc that are co written by Abraham Laboriel and performed by a quartet to get that truly Western, Mexican feel. So solo Silvestri amounts up to 26 minutes. So this might disappoint the true fans, but not to worry.
In style, The Mexican sounds close to The Quick and the Dead and all the other Morricone / Clint Eastwood pastiches. But enough of that because Silvestri still adds his own voice to it. Like for instance someone whistling in "Blame Shifting" and "Want our Life Back", or a short rock performance during "10% Clint".
But still, what people will be interested in the most is the choral sound, first in full in "The Mexican" and later reprised in the next tracks "It's Cursed, That Gun" and "A Miracle". There is also another theme, some kind of love theme heard in "Leroy's Morning" and "Airport" which gives the listener a break from the returning sound.
Yet, when it comes down to the two tracks that rank the highest, then the number will surely be 22 and 23. The first has the most spectacular use of the choral sound (especially when it quotes the grandeur of The Abyss) and next "The Mexican / End Credits Medley" is a great compilation piece with almost any sort of theme reprised one last time.
Now the co written stuff (numbers 3, 9, 11 and 21) aren't really special to begin with. The songs however are classic ("These Boots are Made for Walkin"), friendly classic ("Why Can't we be Friends"), boring (the Dean Martin one), typical 80's ("Safety Dance") and childish ("El Cable").
So there you have it, The Mexican is a short and pleasant release from Decca which again shows that Silvestri can do his thing in whatever genre. But I'm afraid there's a lot which is the same, and just several tracks alone sum up everything you need to hear about the score. But this doesn't mean there aren't any special ingredients. For instance a choral mass is always good for the human ear. So for those who still hesitate, the movie's always an option.
Score: ***
Songs: ***
Tracklisting
1. Main Titles (0.52)
2. Blame Shifting (0.58)
3. Oye * (1.34)
4. These Boots are Made For Walkin': Nancy Sinatra (2.42)
5. 10% Clint (1.09)
6. Leroy's Morning (1.40)
7. Why Can't we Be Friends: War (3.50)
8. Want Our Life Back (1.31)
9. Frank's Dead * (2.51)
10. You're Nobody 'Till Somebody Loves You: Dean Martin (1.56)
11. Jerry & Ted to Pawn Shop * (1.25)
12. The Mexican (2.14)
13. Airport (2.21)
14. Safety Dance: Men Without Hats (4.32)
15. El Cable: Esquivel (2.16)
16. Margolese Compound (1.03)
17. Where's my Stuff (1.01)
18. Thieves (1.09)
19. A Good F'ing Reason (1.15)
20. It's Cursed, That Gun (3.24)
21. Oye, Oye * (1.30)
22. A Miracle (2.26)
23. The Mexican / End Credits Medley (5.02)
* Written by Alan Silvestri and Abraham Laboriel, Performed by Abraham Laboriel, Alex Cuna, Paulinho Da Costa and George Doering
Total Length: 49.26