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Other highlights are "Fifth Ave." which is a short, but fun cue with a merry solo clarinet carrying the melody, supported by staccato strings and subtle timpani and cymbals.
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The best track is without doubt "That Next Place", which is a wonderful 10 minute cue, where all the themes get splenid renditions with full orchestral backup. With a big orchestra and solo instruments like piano, clarinet and violin Newman creates a very romantic sound, but without the traditional big lush strings, although the strings are the most salient section of the orchestra. This is a superb theme, very sweeping, both dramatic and peacefull, depending on the orchestrations. The music revolves around a very beautiful main theme, which is used throughout the entire score. In my ears it sounds much better than Newman's previous score, The Horse Whisperer, because it doesn't have the country music parts that I didn't like with The Horse Whisperer. Thomas Newman has written a very good score for this film starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins. Highly recommended and an excellent place to start if you're looking to build a Thomas Newman collection. It also benefits from a good structure which allows it too build momentum, rather than sag towards the end with its glorious final 10 minutes. I must admit that on first listening, Meet Joe Black did seem to be just a fraction long, but this is an album to persevere with. A few short selections of source music are included and while some might feel they detract from the atmosphere, I rather like the fact that they break up Newman's drama a little, but are never so long or intrusive as to spoil the general ambiance. However, That Next Place is a long, beautifully written finale which allows in some brass to broaden the orchestral colour and allow all the threads to reach a satisfying conclusion. The final few cues pick up a little more, Someone Else featuring some more forthright, yet heartfelt phrases. Another, Fifth Ave., actually reminds me of Sting's Englishman in New York, but arranged as a jazzy clarinet solo - fun and appropriate all the same. A couple of trademark witty Newman scherzos pop up, most notably in the jaunty Everywhere Freesia. To intersperse the strings, an occasional twinkling piano or plucked string counterpoint is added which gives the orchestral textures a little more definition. The main theme is introduced in the opening track, but it only appears subtlety through the score, never overwhelming the other ideas.
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In fact, listening to it carefully, the texture almost suggests the Randy Newman of Awakenings, with high harmonics playing above the more usual instrumental registers. Newman's dominant orchestral voice here is strings not thick 'Hollywood' strings, but almost ethereal beauty that sounds like at any minute the sound could be shattered. Being something of a romance, the score was always going to be a little more traditional than some of his percussion and weird instrument efforts, but is no less skillfully written. Fortunately, Meet Joe Black falls into the latter category.