Tombstone
Bruce Broughton
" Good western score with some great main theme performances "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Not being an enormous expert on western scores, Tombstone still shows Bruce Broughton at his best. This western score is a combination of strong themes, gritty underscore, soft music and thunderous action music, all combined in 66 minutes of music of one composer that should return rather today than tomorrow. I don't understand how the most boring underscore can sometimes be found in movies, while good and forgotten composers simply don't get a single break in this time. Considering everything's released nowadays, we hear more crap than ever before. And whilst' revisiting the classics of a era long passed, we can't help but marvel how good filmmusic can sometimes be.
The score opens rather pleasantly with "The Cowboys" and "A Family" (stating the main theme softly at the end), while that main theme is heard in full for the first time in "Arrival in Tombstone". Luckily Broughton's such a composer who still believes in themes. And besides the main theme, we have the love theme, heard in "Josephine" and utterly spine tingling in "Fortuitous Encounter".
What Broughton delivers after that is completely the opposite. "Street Standoff" is a moody, atonal piece and "The O.K. Corral" continues the sound with an eerie and uneasy experience, exploding with atonal dissonance near the end. While the piece is especially thrilling near the end, the rest is not. And yet it aids your experience because Broughton's an experienced composer, so the music always remains at one end somewhat interesting to keep you attentive for what's to come.
A duo combination of the love theme and main theme is excellent for even a minute in "Aftermath" while a rousing crescendo presents us full avant garde danger in "Cowboy's Funeral". The sad love theme in "Morgan's Death", the basic Williams like action music during the end of "Wyatt's Revenge" and the soft "Brief Encounter" (apart from the amazing horn play) show a variety of Broughton's score.
But it is in the final tracks that Broughton returns to form, delivering you the theme's performances one can't simply resist. There's the rousing main theme's performance in "Finishing It" and the simply brilliant compilation piece "Looking at Heaven", giving you the main theme and love theme in ways you honestly haven't heard them before.
While Tombstone isn't a score I will constantly play like for instance a Lost in Space, one can't deny that with the help of 2 good (strong) themes, an album's potential is already halfway. And considering the 2 themes make their appearances when necessary (meaning not all the time), Broughton can work on keeping the additional score fresh and interesting. Tombstone has its fair share of moodier moments or grittier action material, but once it's presented with enough gusto and centered with 2 THEMES, who are we to attack the composer's result? Because THEMES can save any scores day.
Tracklisting
1. The Cowboys (3.50)
2. A Family (2.04)
3. Arrival in Tombstone (2.15) Excellent track
4. Josephine (1.30)
5. Thespian Overture (0.45)
6. Gotta Go to Work (1.10)
7. Fortuitous Encounter (5.17) Excellent track
8. Street Standoff (7.08)
9. The O.K. Corral (7.35)
10. Aftermath (1.30)
11. Cowboy's Funeral (4.30)
12. Morgan's Death (2.13)
13. Wyatt's Revenge (3.52)
14. The Former Fabian (1.34)
15. Brief Encounter (5.38)
16. Finishing It (3.56) Excellent track
17. Doc and Wyatt (2.47)
18. Looking at Heaven (8.45) Excellent track
Total Length: 66.45
The score opens rather pleasantly with "The Cowboys" and "A Family" (stating the main theme softly at the end), while that main theme is heard in full for the first time in "Arrival in Tombstone". Luckily Broughton's such a composer who still believes in themes. And besides the main theme, we have the love theme, heard in "Josephine" and utterly spine tingling in "Fortuitous Encounter".
What Broughton delivers after that is completely the opposite. "Street Standoff" is a moody, atonal piece and "The O.K. Corral" continues the sound with an eerie and uneasy experience, exploding with atonal dissonance near the end. While the piece is especially thrilling near the end, the rest is not. And yet it aids your experience because Broughton's an experienced composer, so the music always remains at one end somewhat interesting to keep you attentive for what's to come.
A duo combination of the love theme and main theme is excellent for even a minute in "Aftermath" while a rousing crescendo presents us full avant garde danger in "Cowboy's Funeral". The sad love theme in "Morgan's Death", the basic Williams like action music during the end of "Wyatt's Revenge" and the soft "Brief Encounter" (apart from the amazing horn play) show a variety of Broughton's score.
But it is in the final tracks that Broughton returns to form, delivering you the theme's performances one can't simply resist. There's the rousing main theme's performance in "Finishing It" and the simply brilliant compilation piece "Looking at Heaven", giving you the main theme and love theme in ways you honestly haven't heard them before.
While Tombstone isn't a score I will constantly play like for instance a Lost in Space, one can't deny that with the help of 2 good (strong) themes, an album's potential is already halfway. And considering the 2 themes make their appearances when necessary (meaning not all the time), Broughton can work on keeping the additional score fresh and interesting. Tombstone has its fair share of moodier moments or grittier action material, but once it's presented with enough gusto and centered with 2 THEMES, who are we to attack the composer's result? Because THEMES can save any scores day.
Tracklisting
1. The Cowboys (3.50)
2. A Family (2.04)
3. Arrival in Tombstone (2.15) Excellent track
4. Josephine (1.30)
5. Thespian Overture (0.45)
6. Gotta Go to Work (1.10)
7. Fortuitous Encounter (5.17) Excellent track
8. Street Standoff (7.08)
9. The O.K. Corral (7.35)
10. Aftermath (1.30)
11. Cowboy's Funeral (4.30)
12. Morgan's Death (2.13)
13. Wyatt's Revenge (3.52)
14. The Former Fabian (1.34)
15. Brief Encounter (5.38)
16. Finishing It (3.56) Excellent track
17. Doc and Wyatt (2.47)
18. Looking at Heaven (8.45) Excellent track
Total Length: 66.45