Where the River runs Black
James Horner
" mystical synthesized tribal music is surprising yet average "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Father O'Reilly, an older priest, tells the story of Father Mahoney, Eagle Woman, and their son Lazaro. It's magic realism in the Amazon. Mahoney is a radical priest who ventures upstream where the river runs black. He encounters the beautiful and enchanting Eagle Woman, who can change from a dolphin to a woman. A few years later, their child Lazaro witnesses inter-loping gold prospectors commit a brutal and traumatizing murder. He goes to the city in Father O'Reilly's care, and there he sees the murderer, who's a politician. Lazaro seeks revenge, which puts him in further danger. He runs back into the jungle, where the dolphins may be his best hope for help (from IMDB, Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>)
As you see, I had to look this up, considering I never heard of the film, not even of the score which was composed by none other than James Horner. Yes, it seems that even for most devoted fans, Horner has a couple of surprises up his sleeve. And surprising it is, because Where the River Runs Black is simply not comparable. Honestly, I don't know where to put it if I wanted to compare it with something. The closest thing that popped in my mind was actually Millennium (the score written by Hans Zimmer, or was it Mark Mancina?), this because it somewhat addresses the material the same way. Don't expect such large thematic statements, because this is totally the opposite.
No I was thinking of Millennium because of the way it sounds, mostly synthesized. Yes, the strings or the purpose of it is fully synthesized and gives the score an ethereal feel (which it exactly needs to do). Furthermore the choir or solo vocals are sampled as well, giving the person a sporadic reminder of how it all sounded in Titanic. Luckily some elements are real, and those include the ethnic instrumentation. The panpipes, the guitar and the percussion are luckily real, and dance around the synthesized elements without much problem. The problem might be, accepting the tone of it all.
Meaning it's not comparable. There is hardly a signature sound here, definitely not a signature that states: this is Horner. The opening track with its steady beat, solo vocals, panpipes and synthesized trumpet (reminding you of Silvestri's Flight of the Navigator) is definitely not Horner like, nor is the dark clanging noise of "Serra Pelada", the dreamy sound of panpipes in "Underwater Ballet", the lovely "The Orphanage", the solo pan pipe moment in "Alone" (reminding me of Bill Conti's The Karate Kid), or the synthesized tone of the choir reminding me of the aforementioned Millennium in the playful "The Dolphins" and the eerie "Down River". An element that does remind me of the name Horner is "Magic Kitchen", a mixture of choir and playful ethnic music that takes me back to equally playful interludes in Willow or Project X.
It ends with a series of tribal rhythms and beats and a return of the synthesized trumpet theme of track 1 in "The Assassin" and "End Title" (a track that mimics the dance music of Willow and Project X the best). In short, Where the River Runs Black will be a treat for Horner fans looking for something original. It's clear this score, this sound scape is definitely not something they haven't heard from him yet. Horner does much with little, and the lack of themes is compensated by the creative way of handling a mystical setting with equally mystical music. However, musically this is a score that will frustrate a lot of people if they're longing for melodic or inspirational beauty. Where the River Runs Black thereby doesn't become the long lost treasure, but it's definitely an interesting find, if you accept the way Horner creates a mystical world with little but effective music.
Track Listing
1. Where The River Runs Black (4.39)
2. Underwater Ballet (3.09)
3. Serra Pelada (2.48)
4. Alone (3.44)
5. The Orphanage (3.21)
6. The Dolphins (2.27)
7. Baptism (4.34)
8. Down River (5.54)
9. Magic Kitchen (2.03)
10. Discovered at the Mine (3.55)
11. The City (1.14)
12. The Assassin (1.54)
13. End Title (5.31)
Total Length: 45.13
As you see, I had to look this up, considering I never heard of the film, not even of the score which was composed by none other than James Horner. Yes, it seems that even for most devoted fans, Horner has a couple of surprises up his sleeve. And surprising it is, because Where the River Runs Black is simply not comparable. Honestly, I don't know where to put it if I wanted to compare it with something. The closest thing that popped in my mind was actually Millennium (the score written by Hans Zimmer, or was it Mark Mancina?), this because it somewhat addresses the material the same way. Don't expect such large thematic statements, because this is totally the opposite.
No I was thinking of Millennium because of the way it sounds, mostly synthesized. Yes, the strings or the purpose of it is fully synthesized and gives the score an ethereal feel (which it exactly needs to do). Furthermore the choir or solo vocals are sampled as well, giving the person a sporadic reminder of how it all sounded in Titanic. Luckily some elements are real, and those include the ethnic instrumentation. The panpipes, the guitar and the percussion are luckily real, and dance around the synthesized elements without much problem. The problem might be, accepting the tone of it all.
Meaning it's not comparable. There is hardly a signature sound here, definitely not a signature that states: this is Horner. The opening track with its steady beat, solo vocals, panpipes and synthesized trumpet (reminding you of Silvestri's Flight of the Navigator) is definitely not Horner like, nor is the dark clanging noise of "Serra Pelada", the dreamy sound of panpipes in "Underwater Ballet", the lovely "The Orphanage", the solo pan pipe moment in "Alone" (reminding me of Bill Conti's The Karate Kid), or the synthesized tone of the choir reminding me of the aforementioned Millennium in the playful "The Dolphins" and the eerie "Down River". An element that does remind me of the name Horner is "Magic Kitchen", a mixture of choir and playful ethnic music that takes me back to equally playful interludes in Willow or Project X.
It ends with a series of tribal rhythms and beats and a return of the synthesized trumpet theme of track 1 in "The Assassin" and "End Title" (a track that mimics the dance music of Willow and Project X the best). In short, Where the River Runs Black will be a treat for Horner fans looking for something original. It's clear this score, this sound scape is definitely not something they haven't heard from him yet. Horner does much with little, and the lack of themes is compensated by the creative way of handling a mystical setting with equally mystical music. However, musically this is a score that will frustrate a lot of people if they're longing for melodic or inspirational beauty. Where the River Runs Black thereby doesn't become the long lost treasure, but it's definitely an interesting find, if you accept the way Horner creates a mystical world with little but effective music.
Track Listing
1. Where The River Runs Black (4.39)
2. Underwater Ballet (3.09)
3. Serra Pelada (2.48)
4. Alone (3.44)
5. The Orphanage (3.21)
6. The Dolphins (2.27)
7. Baptism (4.34)
8. Down River (5.54)
9. Magic Kitchen (2.03)
10. Discovered at the Mine (3.55)
11. The City (1.14)
12. The Assassin (1.54)
13. End Title (5.31)
Total Length: 45.13