A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

Georges Delerue's fans frequently state their dislike for the fact that the composer moved to Los Angeles after his Oscar win for A Little Romance and sought to work on more American movies; the quality of films on which he worked before and after the move is generally markedly different (though there are exceptions on both sides, of course), but in truth there is no difference in quality in the music, which was terrific throughout his career.  The film which originally prompted the move was The Escape Artist, the directorial debut of famed cinematographer Caleb Daschanel, and the omens for the (intriguing) film about a young magician must have looked good: produced by Francis Ford Coppola through his newly-formed, highly-ambitious American Zoetrope studio as one of its initial releases, it saw the composer joining forces with an enthusiastic director, and a legendary producer.  Unfortunately, things didn't turn out too well for the film, which was lost in the "crush" as Coppola became increasingly obsessed with his disastrous musical One from the Heart, which virtually bankrupt him and certainly bankrupt his new studio, which disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared, meaning The Escape Artist barely had any kind of theatrical release at all.

Such is the way of the world, however, that even though the film is long forgotten by virtually everyone, and barely seen by anyone even when it was first made, over two decades later, a soundtrack album can appear.  It's been released by the small, enterprising Percepto label, as a limited release of 1,500 copies and, at the time of writing, virtually all have gone.  Delerue's scores were magical most of the time, so for a film about magic, the adjective can hardly be misplaced!  The simple, almost music box-style main theme is certainly full of it and is attractive indeed, though it doesn't appear all that often through the score.

Indeed, much of the score is surprisingly suspenseful, showing off a more seldom-heard aspect of Delerue's style, with piercing strings leading the way in some particularly effective music.  "Drowning" is enough to make you want to hide behind the furniture.  There's also the odd piece of more brass-laden "action" music, the odd piece of source music and even a slightly unfortunate 80s pop beat which pops up very occasionally.  Perhaps the highlight is the moving "The Secret Revealed / Levitation" in which the composer employs his sweeping strings as only he could, to tremendous effect.  In fact, it's all strong music, though perhaps doesn't come together quite as well as some of the composer's more famous scores.  The album features several bonus tracks and superb liner notes by Daniel Schweiger and so the composer's many fans are urged to get a copy while they still can.

Tracks

1. Main Titles (1:24)
2. Getting Reading for the Big Time (2:27)
3. Danny's Arrival (:40)
4. Burke and Sybil's Act (2:47)
5. Harry Masters (:51)
6. Leaving the Apartment (:55)
7. The Bridal Shop (:43)
8. Picking Up Sandra (1:02)
9. The Water Tank (1:24)
10. Drowning (:55)
11. Ted's Rancho (4:10)
12. Fritz Threatens Danny (1:51)
13. Danny's Escape (3:08)
14. The Secret Revealed / Levitation (4:12)
15. Opening the Safe (2:11)
16. Stu Chases Danny (2:22)
17. The Mailbox (4:19)
18. Harry Masters (alternate) (3:51)
19. Source Music I (5:21)
20. Source Music II (1:55)
21. Stage Band (3:02)
22. Ted's Rancho (alternate) (2:17)
23. High School Band (:35)
24. Music Box (:53)
25. Practicing the Piano (:30)
26. Main Theme (piano demo) (1:52)