The Last of the Mohicans

Composed by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman

01 - Main Title (1:44)

02 - Elk Hunt (1:49)

03 - The Kiss (2:47)

04 - The Glade Part II (2:34)

05 - Fort Battle (4:20)

06 - Promentory (6:13)

07 - Munro's Office / Stockade (2:30)

08 - Massacre / Canoes (6:52)

09 - Top of the World (2:44)

10 - The Courier (2:27)

11 - Cora (2:30)

12 - River Walk and Discovery (5:30)

13 - Parlay (3:46)

14 - The British Arrival (2:00)

15 - Pieces of a Story (4:58)

16 - I Will Find You (1:42)

       Performed by Clannad

Conducted by Daniel A. Carlin and Randy Edelman

Orchestrated by Guy Dagul, Brad Dechter, Jack Smalley, Bobby

                          Muzingo, and Grieg McRitchie

Produced by Michael Mann

Released by Morgan Creek Records on October 6th, 1992

Total Running Time: 49:51

     The Last of the Mohicans is a film score that resulted from the forced “collaborative” effort between Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman. It hadn’t been the original intent, as Jones left after recording most of his score over his differences with Director Michael Mann. Edelman was hired to finish the job, and the result is much of an attempt to bridge the gap between the styles favored by each composer. The split is noticed at once with the beginning of Edelman’s cue on track ten ("The Courier"). Jones’ more orchestral approach directly contrasts with Edelman’s lighter, and more electronic, style. Both have their delightful moments, but only a smattering of stylistic layers serves to unite the two scores.

     For Jones, though his approach is heavier on the orchestra, it occasionally it feels like nothing more than a small ensemble ("The Battle" and "The Glade Part II"…which begs a question. Where is "Part I"?). Sometimes it approaches a level of Media Ventures sound (note the string section in "Elk Hunt"). Equally notorious is "Massacre/The Canoes", in which Jones is obviously playing off the temp track as it sounds far too close (for my tastes at least) to Carmina Burana, a piece which most would agree is already far overplayed in its natural form as it is. On the plus side, his main theme is appropriately grandiose, and his period theme, while taking on a repetition aspect of John Barry proportions in "The Kiss" and "The Promontory", feels right for the subject matter, and I greatly enjoyed it for the most part.

     As mentioned before, Randy Edelman’s approach was lighter in tone. It relies a bit more on the electronics, but not in the Media Ventures vein that Jones’ provides. Instead, with the primary focus being on keyboard and guitar accompaniment, the music takes a wide left turn into territory that is, overall, not as effective as Jones’ work. Of course, last-minute additions must always be approached with a grain of salt, and Edelman is not without his merits. His period style within "The Courier" is quite interesting. Even with the lighter feel, Edelman surprisingly pulls off a darker tone than Jones’, though not by very much.

     In the fall of 2000, Varèse Sarabande released a re-recording of the score headed by Joel McNeely. It provided much of the same material as the OST, though with a few additional cues from Trevor Jones. It has the benefit of slightly enhanced sound quality along with one orchestra and conductor which allows for a greater consistency between the Jones and Edelman sections. Of course, being a re-recording, there will be differences that purists will bemoan, but I found the album to be quite strong as a whole, and actually find the performance of "The Kiss" to be stronger than the original.

     For all that should have gone wrong with this effort, both composers do good work for this film, stylistic differences aside. For those who loved the movie or who enjoy period adventure scores, you can do much worse than The Last of the Mohicans.

See Also

                                         Original Soundtrack Recording             

Varèse Sarabande Re-Recording