Tracksounds Rating = 6/10

Composed by Christopher Young
Conducted by Pete Anthony
Released by Varese Sarabande November 1999

From time to time, a break from the multifaceted music of a Williams, Steiner, or North is needed.  Christopher Young’s work for In Too Deep is just that.  No, it isn’t insanely deep or complex, but simplicity does have its merits.  Christopher Young goes into the dark soul of the nineties.    Nearly every track has the dark, synthetic feel, of many of the songs that fill the top forty airwaves.  It seems to tap into my past deejay experience as have other synth-laden scores such as:  The Saint, The Negotiator, and more recently, The Bone Collector.  More in common with the afford mentioned scores is the dark edge to each piece.  Given the right mood and dosage, one can actually enjoy this type of score.  Obviously, Young was asked to create such a contemporary urban feel for this contemporary urban film. 

The first track may be the most listenable although not your typical film score track.  In Too Deep is a jazz fusion piece with some very cool muted trumpet played by Saul Marquez and piano played by Kenneth Burgomaster.  It would find itself quite at home on your local smooth-jazz station; however, after this track the mood changes significantly.

The surreal atmosphere created with Young’s use of synths and drum machines begins to take hold of the score in track 2, Cool J.  The latter portion of this track does offer an almost pretty melody as played by the strings.  This little melody will show up in a few other tracks and is, I suppose, the closest to a main theme this score has to offer. 

The nice strings and synth work from the conclusion of track 2 returns in track 4, Hair Wind Child.  Added to the synths is a simple drum loop and while there isn’t much to this track it is a style I have come to enjoy from time to time.  Track 5, Thank Not, track 11, Tank Trips both reprise of the synth-string theme. Following track 5, Wild Life, is anything but wild.  Here the strings are again with the jazzy theme from track 1 flowing in the background.  As a little bonus there is a dash of deejay scratching samples added to the end of the track.

Bust, track 8 changes things up a bit with some proper action/suspense material.  Not the best action music you’ll here, but it does provide some variety.  The only other time the pace reaches the suspense tempo is in track 12, Jay Ball Sweat, but only for a few moments.  Surprisingly, this track ends with some real emotion.  Yes, the string theme is played but in multiple layers and provides some of the best music of the CD. 

As the score, as released by Varese Sarabande, draws to a close, it does so solemnly.  A contemplative piece, Frisco in the Trash, is followed by Missing Vocal, which gives us the main theme one last time.  This time; however, slow R & B rhythms and keyboard accompany the well used theme and brings a substantial amount of life to the simple melody.

Christopher Young has provided a much more enjoyable score for In Too Deep than another of his releases in 1999, Entrapment.  While I had high dramatic and romantic expectations for Entrapment, I have had none for this score and have been pleasantly surprised.  This score may just surprise a someone if they are looking for a little mainstream diversion.  The liner notes are of the useless variety- lots of black and white pictures but no pertinent information.  The liner notes don’t even contain a track listing.  It would have been nice to have had a full orchestral version of the string theme used so often or even one or two additional themes denoting key characters of the film, but alas, it was not to be.  If a deep full orchestral score is what the doctor ordered for your musical palette then In Too Deep is not going to fill the prescription.  What it does provide are musical moments ranging from foreboding to funky. 

In Too Deep 

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Young's score is effective and could potentially be interesting for fans who enjoy his other black culture scores. For mainstream score fans, there isn't much orchestral material here, and be aware that the strong R&B motif is the best aspect of the album. ***

Christian Clemmensen - Filmtracks

Composer 
Christopher Young

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