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“This
release presents quite a quandary. The score works very well
in the film and the amount of score contained on this release is
probably sufficient. On the other hand, what ruins the amount
of score that is included are the pop tracks that precede them.” |
"Oh
the Noise, Noise, Noise, Noise!"
Review by Christopher Coleman
"...Oh
the noise, noise, noise, noise! If there's one thing I hate...oh the
noise, noise, noise, noise!" The Grinch
Director
Ron Howard has taken the essence of the original How the Grinch Stole
Christmas story and made it into a full-blown live, action holiday
film. Instead of the purely sinister Boris Karloff portrayal of The
Grinch, turning from darkness to light, we have the schizophrenic Jim Carrey.
With only occasional homage being paid to the original music, James Horner,
has composed a score and written a title song (along with famed collaborator,
Will Jennings and, pop artist, Faith Hill) that brings the story of the Grinch to the 21st century. In addition, there are a host of other schizophrenic,
vocal, pop tracks written for the film and included in the soundtrack.
The movie relies more on the talents of Jim Carrey and the eye-candy effects,
than the story itself, as
most are already very familiar with the plot. Howard and company do endeavor
to bring the audience some "backstory" by delving into the
childhood hurts of the Grinch. The film, as a whole, is very
entertaining, mostly due to Carrey's quick-wit and improvisation. The
soundtrack album; however, is another casualty of marketing as more than half
of it is comprised by irrelevant pop tunes that hardly evoke any traditional sentiments of Christmas.
The combining of so many styles of music on a single "Christmas"
album? For what? Sales! What a great Grinchy-trick!
Be this as it may, helping to save us from a terminal listening experience is
James Horner's score. Horner's music continues to feature a number of
his well-known signatures, but the fantastic nature of this film gives Horner a bit more freedom
to experiment and depart from his conventions. "...And
they'll sing and they'll sing and they'll sing, sing, sing, sing!"
Someone stop this whole thing! The
first fourteen tracks are sadly composed of a mixture of dialogue and pop
tracks that, with the exception of the title song performed by Faith Hill,
are pretty excruciating to listen to and really have little place on this
soundtrack or any holiday album. As purely a marketing ploy to attract
the lucrative teen market, Interscope Records have included songs performed
by Busta Rhymes, Smash Mouth and N' Sync. I suppose Britney Spears was
too busy with her Christmas special to contribute to this album. To Interscope's credit, they,
at the very least, grouped all of these performances at the beginning the CD
and concluded this nightmarish section with Faith Hill's salvaging performance of
"Where
Are You Christmas?" - thus making a fairly smooth transition into James
Horner's score. "...They'll
blow their flu-flubas. They'll bang their tartinkas. They'll blow
their who-hubas. They'll bang their gardinkas!" 2000
has seen or heard very little from James Horner. With the lone
submission of his score for The Perfect Storm, How the Grinch Stole
Christmas has been eagerly awaited by James Horner fans. Horner
certainly takes this score in a new direction or, at least, in a direction he
hasn't had opportunity to go in for some time. A number of years ago,
Horner was much more active in scoring animated films such as: The Land
Before Time, Once Upon a Forest, Pagemaster. Such
projects provided Horner with the opportunity to fill in his repertoire with
the zany, comical, and unpredictable. Also, Horner was able to show a
more imaginative side of his composing in feature films like: Casper and
Jumanji. If a Suessian environment
couldn't bring this out of the composer again, then it is likely we'd heard
the last of such music from Horner. However, the ol' Grinch does just
that. The
opening track, The Shape of Things to Come (1), actually is a synopsis of the
score in general. It begins quite serenely with one of Horner's
signature escalating swells before giving way to the main theme being
performed by the strings. Fans will find it similar to his main theme
for Bicentennial Man as well as the wedding theme from Deep
Impact. Unfortunately, for Horner's reputation as a music-criminal,
there is also no denying the Elfman influence upon his work here. Be
that as it may, it
isn't long before the influence of Who'ville is heard, as the Happy Who-lidays
quirkly enters in with rude brass and familiar "whoish" vocals.
Appropriately, Horner mixes in some holiday-cheer with tubular bells and
celebratory jingle-bells. Still, before the end of the track, we are
introduced to the sinister theme representing the activity of the unredeemed
Grinch. It is here that reflections of Horner's past work in animated
films can be heard. Many
of the tracks containing score are mixed with narration, almost echoing
Rhino's release of the music from the original How the Grinch Stole
Christmas. In this case, unlike, Rhino Records, Interscope does not
include enough narration to tell the main points of the plot. The narration
is scattered throughout the pop tracks and score and are not in chronological
order. Unfortunately, in many of the "action" sequences, with
Carrey's chaotic rantings combined with Elfmanic-score behind it, neither can
be heard well enough or focused upon enough to be appreciated. Still,
there
are a number of high points that typical, Horner fans will be able to enjoy-
usually in the softer moments. Memories of a Green Childhood (2), offer
some very tender moments, crafted in Horner's familiar style of string
swells, soft piano notes, and woodwinds. The conclusion of track 20, Does
Cindy Lou Really Ruin Christmas?, reprises the main theme, first through soft
woodwinds and then building into a full orchestral performance. Of
course, the ultimate performance of this theme comes at the climax of the
story, when Mr. Grinch has A Change of Heart (21). This performance,
once again, is very close to Bicentennial Man, but interjected is a an
interesting ingredient. Horner includes his four-note calling card,
played on the trumpet along with quite an an orchestral and choral (synth)
upheaval. The track concludes with the theme being played tenderly once
again and then with a heavenly mix of bells, percussions, brass, and
strings. Unfortunately, the last few seconds turn into a quirky few
moments that would have been better suited at the beginning of the following
track.
This release presents quite a quandary. The score works very
well in the film and the amount of score contained on this release is probably
sufficient. On the other hand, what ruins the amount of score that is
included are the pop tracks that precede them. For staunch Horner fans,
there is a main theme that most are sure to like. Also, fans will hear
Horner return to some style that he has not employed for sometime, but they
will also hear work that may be too close to that of Danny Elfman's past
efforts.
Rating:
6/10
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Track |
Track Title |
Track Time |
Rating |
|
1 |
Kids
Today * |
0:20 |
|
|
2 |
Grinch
2000 by Busta Rhymes/ Jim Carrey |
3:34 |
* |
|
3 |
Green
Christmas by Barenaked Ladies |
2:35 |
* |
|
4 |
Christmas
of Love by Little Isidore & the Inquisitors |
2:19 |
** |
|
5 |
Lonely
Christmas Eve by Ben Folds |
3:20 |
** |
|
6 |
Grinch
Schedule * |
0:40 |
|
|
7 |
Better
Do It Right by Smash Mouth |
3:10 |
*** |
|
8 |
Whoville
Medley: Perfect Christmas Night/Grinch Trans-Siberian
Orchestra |
4:59 |
**** |
|
9 |
Reindeer
* |
0:35 |
|
|
10 |
Christmas
is Going to the Dogs by Eels |
2:57 |
** |
|
11 |
You're
a Mean One, Mr. Grinch by Busta Rhymes/ Jim Carrey |
2:31 |
* |
|
12 |
Christmas
Means More * |
0:49 |
|
|
13 |
You
Don't Have to Be Alone by 'N Sync |
4:33 |
** |
|
14 |
Where
Are You Christmas by Faith Hill |
4:06 |
*** |
|
15 |
Shape
of Things to Come |
6:32 |
**** |
|
16 |
Memories
of a Green Childhood |
3:28 |
*** |
|
17 |
Christmas,
Why Can't I find You? |
2:09 |
*** |
|
18 |
Stealing
Christmas * |
6:55 |
*** |
|
19 |
The
Big Heist |
4:04 |
*** |
|
20 |
Does
Cindy Lou Really Ruin Christmas? |
4:09 |
** |
|
21 |
A
Change of Heart |
3:43 |
**** |
|
22 |
The
Sleigh of Presents |
6:01 |
**** |
|
23 |
He
Carves the Roast Beast (includes Welcome Christmas) |
3:12 |
*** |
| |
Total Running Time (approx) |
76:41 |
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