The Mighty Macs
William Ross
" Predictable yet lovely feel good music "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the limited release
The Mighty Macs was filmed in 2007, released in 2011 and received a soundtrack release in 2012, showing that like the basketball team, all it needed was trust (from a label that wanted to distribute it) and heart (to never give up on your dreams). A man frequently accompanying those dreams is composer William Ross, a man that is known for putting his music through the most cheerful and optimistic turns. And so happens this pretty much sums up the sports movies he has worked on. Tin Cup, The Game of Their Lives and the recently released Touchback. Now The Mighty Macs turns out to deliver everything you expect from it, considering it's heard in a movie that does exactly the same.
Meaning, don't expect any interesting twists in the formula, nor development considering it's not given the time. For 39 minutes the music is split into 23 tracks, leaving (like Ross' recent album A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas) no room for development. So we should be glad that the music at least turns out to be formulaic yet melodic and very enjoyable. Because whatever you expect of soft dramatic music and sports laden pieces, you'll get what you'll be thinking. The main theme (heard lovely through piano, strings and woodwinds) in "The Drive to Immaculata ("The Mighty Macs" Main Title)" is one of the longest cues, and delivers for the time it's given a nice old fashioned hopeful theme.
This returns often, most notably as a powerful fanfare ("The Team Comes Together", "Rotunda Pride" and "Victory & Epilogue") to underscore the winning shots or the celebrations that follow the macs' path. Another tested idea is the soft yet lovely dramatic music that underscores each dramatic bump the characters face through life. But the game music might be the thing you're most interested in. And this has one big problem, namely it's incredibly short. You however notice that the tone changes from somewhat lackluster scoring (intentional) to convincing militant music (following the same path the team goes through during the movie). As said, these tracks are often incredibly short, but "Final Against West Chester" does dare to deliver a 4 minute fight. And during this you'll often hear snippets of Michael Kamen's Robin Hood, a score William Ross orchestrated on.
Making The Mighty Macs highly predictable but lovely nonetheless. In a movie such as this, it's not wise the change the formula that worked so powerful over the years. So why make it different if you can bring it so lovely instead. As said, time isn't a friend in Ross recent score releases, often given the composer no space to develop towards any memorable statement. But what's delivered here is lovely, true to the heart and perfect for the movie it accompanies.
Track Listing
1. The Drive to Immaculata ("The Mighty Macs" Main Title) (2.29)
2. Old Shoes / Finding the Tunnel (0.55)
3. Cleaning the Floor / Immaculata at La Salle (1.29)
4. Immaculata at Penn State / Simple Life (1.35)
5. Boys and Girls Scrimmage (1.40)
6. Ursinus at Immaculata (1.54)
7. The Tunnel (2.06)
8. The Team Comes Together (1.30)
9. Think You'll Stay? (1.07)
10. West Chester at Immaculata (1.11)
11. Ed Calls Kathy / Scrapbook (1.38)
12. We'll Be #1 (1.52)
13. Thanks Coach / Loss to West Chester (2.27)
14. Ride Home (1.00)
15. Rotunda Pride (1.04)
16. Team Photo (1.05)
17. Travel Fare (1.40)
18. Finals, Part I (1.47)
19. Finals, Part II (1.21)
20. Free Throw / Kathy and Sister Sunday (2.17)
21. Pep Talk (1.35)
22. Final Against West Chester (4.02)
23. Victory & Epilogue (1.43)
Total Length: 39.27
Meaning, don't expect any interesting twists in the formula, nor development considering it's not given the time. For 39 minutes the music is split into 23 tracks, leaving (like Ross' recent album A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas) no room for development. So we should be glad that the music at least turns out to be formulaic yet melodic and very enjoyable. Because whatever you expect of soft dramatic music and sports laden pieces, you'll get what you'll be thinking. The main theme (heard lovely through piano, strings and woodwinds) in "The Drive to Immaculata ("The Mighty Macs" Main Title)" is one of the longest cues, and delivers for the time it's given a nice old fashioned hopeful theme.
This returns often, most notably as a powerful fanfare ("The Team Comes Together", "Rotunda Pride" and "Victory & Epilogue") to underscore the winning shots or the celebrations that follow the macs' path. Another tested idea is the soft yet lovely dramatic music that underscores each dramatic bump the characters face through life. But the game music might be the thing you're most interested in. And this has one big problem, namely it's incredibly short. You however notice that the tone changes from somewhat lackluster scoring (intentional) to convincing militant music (following the same path the team goes through during the movie). As said, these tracks are often incredibly short, but "Final Against West Chester" does dare to deliver a 4 minute fight. And during this you'll often hear snippets of Michael Kamen's Robin Hood, a score William Ross orchestrated on.
Making The Mighty Macs highly predictable but lovely nonetheless. In a movie such as this, it's not wise the change the formula that worked so powerful over the years. So why make it different if you can bring it so lovely instead. As said, time isn't a friend in Ross recent score releases, often given the composer no space to develop towards any memorable statement. But what's delivered here is lovely, true to the heart and perfect for the movie it accompanies.
Track Listing
1. The Drive to Immaculata ("The Mighty Macs" Main Title) (2.29)
2. Old Shoes / Finding the Tunnel (0.55)
3. Cleaning the Floor / Immaculata at La Salle (1.29)
4. Immaculata at Penn State / Simple Life (1.35)
5. Boys and Girls Scrimmage (1.40)
6. Ursinus at Immaculata (1.54)
7. The Tunnel (2.06)
8. The Team Comes Together (1.30)
9. Think You'll Stay? (1.07)
10. West Chester at Immaculata (1.11)
11. Ed Calls Kathy / Scrapbook (1.38)
12. We'll Be #1 (1.52)
13. Thanks Coach / Loss to West Chester (2.27)
14. Ride Home (1.00)
15. Rotunda Pride (1.04)
16. Team Photo (1.05)
17. Travel Fare (1.40)
18. Finals, Part I (1.47)
19. Finals, Part II (1.21)
20. Free Throw / Kathy and Sister Sunday (2.17)
21. Pep Talk (1.35)
22. Final Against West Chester (4.02)
23. Victory & Epilogue (1.43)
Total Length: 39.27