Of all the current composers, I think Thomas Newman has been the most hard done by in not having had any previous compilations released in his name. Indeed, oddly, he doesn't feature a great deal in compilations in general, but I guess his music doesn't necessarily lend itself to compilation format. Danny Elfman, on the other hand, has two compilations of original recording tracks and has featured on plenty of compilations. These two new collections of largely new recordings are fairly (for Elfman) and LONG (for Newman) overdue, but both have similar strengths and weaknesses.
Firstly, both seem a bit on the mean side, coming in at under an hour, especially when most of Silva's collections are double disc (even Hans Zimmer, who is pretty well Newman and Elfman's contemporary) and they have several four disc sets (albeit for rather more veteran composers) floating about. Also, neither collection really highlights the diversity of either composer. Elfman's almost seems like one half of a two disc set, something like The Fantasy Worlds of Danny Elfman, with a second disc of his more dramatic works. It seems rather an oversight not to include anything from Mission: Impossible, Black Beauty, Dolores Claiborne, Good Will Hunting or even the recent Wanted and Standard Operating Procedure.
For Newman, the main issue is that the choices make his music seem rather less varied than it actually is. For sure, Newman has a strong style, but the emphasis is on his straight orchestral writing, only with Dead Already from American Beauty and does his quirky side really come out to any great extent. Then again, some of his best orchestral moments are conspicuously absent, notably his superb end credits from Little Children nor anything from Angels in America, surely one of his finest scores period. Sure, all the entries here are fine in their own right, but it's just frustrating having an album representing a distinct side to a particular composer but one that misses out some of his best work in that side of his style.
Newman fares better when it comes to performance. His emphasis on strings and woodwind suits the Prague players better than Elfman's complex brass and percussion writing. For the latter, Spider-Man is distinctly on the lethargic side and parts of his bigger Burton scores - Batman, in particular - aren't always as snappy or concise as the originals. As intros to both composers, they aren't bad, but the skewed choices make Elfman seem only capable of large bluster and Newman only capable of gorgeous string writing. Not that any choices are bad, but with 20 minutes of spare space on each disc, surely Silva could have been a little more generous. Can only hope they do the same for James Newton Howard, a contemporary of both who is as overdue a Newman when it comes to having a selection of his best work in one place.
Buy the Thomas Newman collection from Amazon.
