Snow is falling, trains are cancelled, pavements are treacherous (those deceiving bastards) and Britain is more or less closed. What better time to frolic in the white stuff while listening to some delightfully festive John Williams? After the double disc release of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York a couple of years ago, La-La Land have furnished us with an expanded release of the original Home Alone score. In fairness, this release adds less new of note than Home Alone 2, but is still plenty welcome and reorders the score into film order and replaces some repeated material and non-Williams songs with previously unreleased music.
It's probably pointless summarising the music given that most Williams fans are already likely to own the original album; from the charming Somewhere In My Memory (even if the lyrics are a trifle treacly), the Nutcracker pastiche of We Slept In (although it appears in surprisingly small chunks), mock scary music for the villains and all the bells and celeste you could want. It's delightful hearing the composer having such fun.
Perhaps the only downside is reading the liner notes and feeling bad for Bruce Broughton who was originally set to provide the music but pulled out due to a scheduling conflict. I wouldn't trade in a Williams score for the world, but Broughton is a great composer in need of more recognition and a hit like Home Alone might have been just the boost he needed. Ah well. Detailed liner notes and splendid sound round out a great package.
Perhaps the only downside is reading the liner notes and feeling bad for Bruce Broughton who was originally set to provide the music but pulled out due to a scheduling conflict. I wouldn't trade in a Williams score for the world, but Broughton is a great composer in need of more recognition and a hit like Home Alone might have been just the boost he needed. Ah well. Detailed liner notes and splendid sound round out a great package.
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