While browsing the net in unfocused fashion the other day, it occurred to me that there's one contemporary composer who has been pretty short changed when it comes to soundtrack releases. Quite a number have appeared as "official" promos - Galaxy Quest immediately springs to mind. I couldn't believe my luck when I was sent it to review (them were the days) and is probably the best Star Trek score the franchise never had. David Newman has always been the neglected Newman and that extends to CD releases; a lot of the time, he's reduced to a single cue on a song album and for whatever reason, the usual suspects (Varese being the prime candidate) haven't managed to get the rights to do a proper score release.
Thomas may not yet have an Oscar, the inevitability of him winning is cancelled out by the Oscar dramatic irony category by which at least half of each generation's finest composers will never get an Oscar despite being hugely talented, highly influential (American Beauty, in particular) and scoring otherwise Oscar winning films. Seriously, how did American Beauty not win? It's hugely popular and every other drama score since owes a debt. There's even a dance remix. If the endorsement of drugged out clubbers isn't one of the highest order, I don't know what is... Oh yes, Randy got his long overdue Oscar for one of his least memorable songs (especially frustrating given how good That'll Do from Babe 2 and When She Loved Me from Toy Story 2 were).
David seems to be the Jerry Goldsmith of the family, toiling away on often shoddy family films that are vastly beneath his talents. I'm almost shocked that he's not been tapped by Pixar. Even if the satisfaction of the entire raft of Newmans contributing weren't enough, any moron could tell that David would do some top notch work for them; surely the most consistently excellent studio going. In no way a dig at Pixar's choices, music for their films is always terrific, but Newman, D would join one of the most consistently excellent group of composers around. He did great work on the first Ice Age but got ditched for John Powell when it came to the sequels. Tough call though, Powell is marvellous.
David seems to be the Jerry Goldsmith of the family, toiling away on often shoddy family films that are vastly beneath his talents. I'm almost shocked that he's not been tapped by Pixar. Even if the satisfaction of the entire raft of Newmans contributing weren't enough, any moron could tell that David would do some top notch work for them; surely the most consistently excellent studio going. In no way a dig at Pixar's choices, music for their films is always terrific, but Newman, D would join one of the most consistently excellent group of composers around. He did great work on the first Ice Age but got ditched for John Powell when it came to the sequels. Tough call though, Powell is marvellous.
So, instead of American Beauty or Toy Story on his CV, David has, erm, Galaxy Quest and Bill & Ted. In fairness, those are two of the better films he's scored. Serenity and the animated Anastasia also fine features and largely great scores, even if Serenity wasn't quite the unofficial sequel score to Galaxy Quest we all hoped for. Still, at least it got a soundtrack release. As Fox's answer to the Disney machine, Anastasia held its own next to Hercules (when they were still pretty much on game, 2D animation wise). Newman's scores perfectly compliments the songs of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens. It's a grand, epic affair, with all the memorable melodies and drama one could hope for when composing for such a story. The score doesn't fair too badly on disc, but there's over an hour of score in the film, all worth hearing. He even got a rare Oscar nod, but lost to Anne bloody Dudley for her unimpressive work on The Full Monty. Dudley has written some great scores - from the Fry and Laurie version of Jeeves and Wooster to American History X to Bright Young Things - but The Full Monty ain't one of them. Anastasia is leagues ahead. No wonder she looked a bit embarrassed.
Ice Age has a paltry 30 minutes, with much else to commend from the film (although I can imagine it might become a little bitty over an hour). Even the aforementioned Galaxy Quest never got an official album. The 50 minute promo is just right and should surely get wider, legitimate exposure. The film did OK and sci-fi scores invariably sell well. 102 Dalmatians and Matilda were both fine, live action family films and got delightful scores, neither released. Composer promos float about, but nothing official. We must, of course, mention those films which weren't quite so good, but scores such as The Flintstones, DuckTales, even Scooby Doo would be welcome. All are filled with Newman's hummable melodies, his great way with the orchestra and and general fine craftsmanship. It seems probable that some of these will see the light of day eventually as Newman is one of those film music fan's film music composers whom the fans adore, but nobody else knows much about. Perhaps some well deserved releases will change that.
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