| A Beautiful Mind |
| Composed by James Horner |
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Conducted by James Horner Orchestrated by James Horner and Randy Kerber Vocals Performed by Charlotte Church Produced by Simon Rhodes, James Horner, Brian Grazer, and Ron Howard Release Date: 2001 |
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A Beautiful Mind marks the return of both director Ron Howard and composer James Horner into a type of film that is more “down-to-earth” and realistic as opposed to their other recent collaboration The Grinch. Howard is a director whose approach is sometimes brilliant, and, at other times, lacking. I love both Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind, though his more fantastical films, like Edtv and The Grinch, fall quite short of what they should be. Likewise, building on those better films, Horner is able to deliver an emotionally satisfying score that melds intimately with the film. Such is the case with A Beautiful Mind. The score itself it quite good in and of itself, but after having seen the film, it develops a level of cohesiveness with the film that few scores seldom possess. As far as Horner’s tendency to borrow previously composed pieces, this score sounds fairly original to my ears. However, I must clarify that statement by pointing out that I have little experience with Horner’s more character-driven and minimalistic scores. I have heard that this score bares striking similarities to his work on Bicentennial Man, so be sure to take that into account if you’re one that prefers Horner's tendency to duplication. At least the little four-note brass motif that was so overused in Enemy at the Gates is missing here. This score is a nice departure from what has come from Horner in recent years. The foundation of the music is the excellent main theme, and the foundation of that theme is the excellent voice of 15-year-old Charlotte Church. Her voice is absolutely stunning and she sounds much older than 15. She is a performer whose talents I look forward to hearing in the future. Her voice lends an appropriate atmosphere to the score that Horner uses to great effect throughout the run of the album. While it tends to sound other-worldly at times (a tad similar to Enya’s work on Lord of the Rings), it is precisely what helps make this score work on its many levels. While there are plenty of great and interesting cues on this album, the nature of the film dictated that there be plenty of emotional underscore. Given that the album runs a bit over seventy-four minutes, those moments tend to be lengthy. While the cues start off well enough, they generally overstay their welcome before too long. Considering the lack of any sudden shifts in volume, though, this may be just the thing for those looking for a more pleasant listening experience. Decca’s release of this score continues that tradition (with a few notable exceptions) of Horner receiving quite a load of music on the disc. In addition to the long running time, there is multimedia content that can be loaded through a standard multimedia PC. The content is put together quite well and includes the film’s trailer and video clips of both Howard and Horner. This is an excellent score, and Decca’s fine album release makes for a good purchase for anyone who is generally appreciative of Horner’s style and don’t mind his “borrowing” too much. **** |
| Track Listing - Total Running Time: 71:36 | |
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