I don't often review compilations that aren't composer specific (sorry Silva Screen), but there are few directors who have received such consistently great music for their films as Tim Burton (Steven Spielberg being the most obvious rival). Naturally, the bulk of the album is made up of Danny Elfman tracks. Given his greater integration of electronics recently, I was quite curious to hear how Silva approached this, but there isn't really much here that shows this off, mainly because Planet of the Apes (curiously) isn't included. However, what is included is largely done very well. Corpse Bride is especially fine, with the delightful piano solos - a nice antidote to the rather more weighty music elsewhere. The two Batman tracks see the brass struggle a bit and the suite from the first film is more lethargic than grand in places. However, Sleepy Hollow, the two Pee Wees, Mars Attacks! and, in particular, the Christmas Eve Montage from The Nightmare Before Christmas are especially fine.
Howard Shore's sole contribution from Ed Wood feels a little protracted here without the original narration, well performed though it is. On the other hand, the selections from Sweeney Todd are terrific. The original soundtrack performance would be hard to beat, but there is certainly nothing lacking here and the orchestra only versions of the main song tunes are immensely effective. I must admit that it's a score that's grown on me rather than one that was memorable from the start and this has helped improve my enjoyment of the full album. If, like me, you have all of the original scores, there's not really much that this album can add, but it can be nice to wallow in one of Hollywood's most enduring director/composer partnerships.
Buy from Amazon.
