ScreenSounds

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Tuesday, April 04, 2006

CD REVIEW - Running Scared


Running Scared
Music by Mark Isham
Varese Sarabande VSD-6720 (EU)
22 Tracks 71:04 mins

A lengthy, but unfortunately not very satisfying album here from Mark Isham, whose music can be extremely entertaining and inspiring like his efforts for Fly Away Home and more recently Miracle and Racing Stripes, but there's other sides to him like the atmospheric Crash and the kind of thriller score we have here which, after an interesting start, descends into dark, threatening and suspenseful, largely electronic atmospheres, with very occasional use of ethnic female vocals and just a few bursts of menacing percussion to get the pulse racing. As I said, the album starts well enough with a somewhat continental sounding theme, complete with slightly off-key piano, moving to a persistent beat. This theme does make further appearances, but only towards the end of the disc, by which time you may have dozed off or gone for a cup of tea. Peter Maunu's acoustic guitar makes a few appearances, first with the poignant "Love on a Washing Machine," and then taking the piano line in the concluding variations on the main theme.
I know absolutely nothing about the film, and it could very well be that the score works really well therein but, as an album, it has little to recommend it, I'm afraid.

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