TWO FROM LA-LA LAND RECORDS
Aquamarine
Music by David Hirschfelder
La-La Land Records LLLCD 1069 (US)
18 Tracks 51:48 mins
Aquamarine was a 1986 release, directed by Elizabeth Allen, and featuring a young cast of Emma Roberts, Jojo and Sara Paxton as the mermaid trying to find real love to escape an arranged underwater marriage.
The score for the film was provided by Australian composer David Hirschfelder and recorded with the Sydney Orchestra, often broken down into smaller groups and then combined in the composer's studio to give a layered effect to the music. A number of featured instruments were also used, such as theramin, steel drums and piccolo, with a Celtic feel for the mermaid themes. Sarah Paxton's singing, humming and giggling were also incorporated into the music, and there are numerous unusual sounds throughout the earlier cues, where much of Hirschfelder's score is quite light and magical in feel, with a whimsical quality at times; but as the film progresses, the music can be more serious, and even quite dark when it has to be, with its share of action and intrigue, a touch of guitar-lead romance here and there, as well as moments of poignancy.
The album's final cues are heard as wall-to-wall scoring for the film's 20-minute finale, which drew praise from the director in her notes for the attractive, illustrated accompanying booklet, which also features a cue-by-cue guide to the film and its score.
Farscape Classics Volume Three
Music by Guy Gross
La-La Land Records LLLCD 1067 (US)
30 Tracks 70:54 mins
As regular readers will know from my reviews of previous releases in this series, I am not a fan, having given up on the show early in its run, but Farscape fans will no doubt welcome this third volume of music for some of the more celebrated episodes.
Featured this time are "The Locket" from Season Two and "The Choice" from Season Three.
As with previous releases, much of the music is snyths and samples based, with the odd featured instrument thrown into the mix, like piano in "The Locket," where Gross incorporates the traditional English folk tune "Maid of Amsterdam; and bell sounds, horn and violins in "The Choice," where he looked to create something of an ancient clerical flavour.
Gross' unusual and exciting main theme remains the best thing on offer and always provides some welcome life to proceedings in its few appearances.
The accompanying booklet is an impressive affair, with colour stills and portraits, Randall D. Larson's lengthy and detailed essay on the show, the featured episodes and their music.
For further details and to order these and other La-La Land Records releases, visit www.lalalandrecords.com. Next up on the label is a 3CD limited edition of Dominic Frontiere's music for the original Outer Limits, which I hope to review for you soon.
Aquamarine
Music by David Hirschfelder
La-La Land Records LLLCD 1069 (US)
18 Tracks 51:48 mins
Aquamarine was a 1986 release, directed by Elizabeth Allen, and featuring a young cast of Emma Roberts, Jojo and Sara Paxton as the mermaid trying to find real love to escape an arranged underwater marriage.
The score for the film was provided by Australian composer David Hirschfelder and recorded with the Sydney Orchestra, often broken down into smaller groups and then combined in the composer's studio to give a layered effect to the music. A number of featured instruments were also used, such as theramin, steel drums and piccolo, with a Celtic feel for the mermaid themes. Sarah Paxton's singing, humming and giggling were also incorporated into the music, and there are numerous unusual sounds throughout the earlier cues, where much of Hirschfelder's score is quite light and magical in feel, with a whimsical quality at times; but as the film progresses, the music can be more serious, and even quite dark when it has to be, with its share of action and intrigue, a touch of guitar-lead romance here and there, as well as moments of poignancy.
The album's final cues are heard as wall-to-wall scoring for the film's 20-minute finale, which drew praise from the director in her notes for the attractive, illustrated accompanying booklet, which also features a cue-by-cue guide to the film and its score.
Farscape Classics Volume Three
Music by Guy Gross
La-La Land Records LLLCD 1067 (US)
30 Tracks 70:54 mins
As regular readers will know from my reviews of previous releases in this series, I am not a fan, having given up on the show early in its run, but Farscape fans will no doubt welcome this third volume of music for some of the more celebrated episodes.
Featured this time are "The Locket" from Season Two and "The Choice" from Season Three.
As with previous releases, much of the music is snyths and samples based, with the odd featured instrument thrown into the mix, like piano in "The Locket," where Gross incorporates the traditional English folk tune "Maid of Amsterdam; and bell sounds, horn and violins in "The Choice," where he looked to create something of an ancient clerical flavour.
Gross' unusual and exciting main theme remains the best thing on offer and always provides some welcome life to proceedings in its few appearances.
The accompanying booklet is an impressive affair, with colour stills and portraits, Randall D. Larson's lengthy and detailed essay on the show, the featured episodes and their music.
For further details and to order these and other La-La Land Records releases, visit www.lalalandrecords.com. Next up on the label is a 3CD limited edition of Dominic Frontiere's music for the original Outer Limits, which I hope to review for you soon.
posted by jeffhall | 3:48 AM
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