This CD has been laying
around for a while, and with the release of
The Mummy Returns, I figured it was about time to give this disc a
spin. I am really starting to like Silvestri's work (especially since I've
been listening to the Cast Away release which shall be reviewed
shortly). Having come across a while batch of Silvestri material, I'm
really looking forward to delving into his work.
I've not encountered many
Silvestri scores that are rooted in the Western genre, and this doesn't
take Back to the Future Part III into account since it technically
wasn't a Western score in the truest since of the concept, at least not
like this one. The Mexican is Silvestri's take on the classic Ennio
Morricone Westerns of the past, but it doesn't come off sounding like a
parody or spoof. This is definitely a Silvestri score, but with Morricone
undertones.
Whether or not you'll like
this score really depends on your taste for Western-style music,
especially the lone trumpet solos that are so typical of these scores. The
style permeates every track and it never really departs from it. As with
many of Morricone Western score, Silvestri doesn't neglect to utilize the
talents of a choir, but they are generally mixed too low in the score to
be as powerful as they could be. Silvestri does include a cool little
"whistling" cue in Blame Shifting, which sounds pretty nice, even
if it is only under a minute long and just ends without any notice.
The CD clocks in at just
under 50 minutes, with four tracks consisting of songs by various artists (even
including Dean Martin!) which, as usual, may or may not have anything to
do with the film, though I feel that they probably do in some way. Still,
this is a rather short score, but that is probably a blessing in disguise.
As interesting as The Mexican can be sometimes, it does tend to
drag in places.
Fans of Silvestri will
probably get a kick out of his exploration of this style, but unless
you're a big fan of Western scores, there is not much reason to recommend
this one. It would be wise to see the film or sample a few tracks first.
It is a good effort, and it does have some really neat cues, but overall
it's not really anything special. ***1/2
