Additional Music by Heitor Periera, Steve Jablonsky, Andreas Vollenweider,    

                               Martin Tillmann, Jim Dooley, Lebo M, and Lisa Gerrard

Orchestrated and Conducted by Bruce Fowler

Performed by The Hollywood Studio Symphony

Produced by Hans Zimmer

Release Date: March 18, 2003

        Varèse Sarabande

     With more composers than even the original Spy Kids can boast, Hans Zimmer and crew tackle the subject of U.S. military action in Western Africa (as opposed to U.S. military action in East Africa in Zimmer's previous outing, Black Hawk Down). Though the trailers make use of the film's more action-packed moments, the score is more akin to The Thin Red Line and Pearl Harbor (though with the African influence primary inspired by the solo wailings of Lebo M.) than anything else. And where Zimmer fans will probably find this a pleasant enough album, for those who've been more inclined to steer clear, Tears of the Sun offers nothing new to entice you to the Zimmer camp.

     While the music generally takes a turn for the more emotional sections of the film, Zimmer does occasionally hit the chaotic notes that made Black Hawk Down more of a struggle to listen to at times. Thankfully, the only real showstopper is found in track five (Yekeleni Part II / Carnage) and it is offset by the other, more accessible cues. Lisa Gerrard emits more of her lovely voice as from Gladiator (naturally), and for those wanting more of the that, it's here in abundance.

     As with most Zimmer score releases, there are plenty of single tracks that fall around the eight to ten minute mark. Unlike other of his stronger cues though, there'll be plenty of times when you'll feel every second tick by. To single out the culprit for this, Tears of the Sun is a score that has plenty of wonderful bits and moments, but is held back by a lack of strong cohesion within the whole score. Some overlying theme or motif would have really helped, but what we ultimately end up with is a nice score that is long on style but short on substance.