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Artwork copyright (c) 2004 Rennie's
Landing LLC; review copyright (c)
2004 James Southall
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STEALING TIME Funky
and entertaining music from new Newman A review by JAMES SOUTHALL What is it with those Newmans? Just as you think the
market is saturated with them, along comes another. Whatever generation of
film music fan you belong to, chances are you are a fan of at least one Newman,
probably several. Alfred Newman could rightfully be seen as the most
important figure in film music history through not only his terrific music, but
his stewardship of Twentieth Century Fox's music department over so many years,
bringing through so many composers who went on to become key figures; his
brother Lionel also played a key role; a third brother, Emil, won an Oscar
himself; and sister Maria was a concert violinist and performed on many vintage
film scores. Randy was the first of the next generation - his father was a
doctor, going against the family business, and he may primarily be known as a
singer/songwriter, but of course we know him for other things; then along came
David and Thomas, Alfred's sons, to write many fine scores. And now, hold
your horses because there's a new Newman in town, as the third generation of
Newmans in Hollywood begins with Joey Newman, Lionel's grandson. After orchestrating some of Snuffy Walden's tv music, Joey
Newman's first feature was Stealing Time. Finally released in late
2003, it was actually made a couple of years earlier, and followed a group of
college graduates a year after graduation, seeing how their lives come together
again. A couple of bars into the score, quicker than you can say
"George Doering", it's clear that the Newman this most resembles is
Thomas. As the composer himself describes it in his notes, the music
emphasises "percussion and groove instruments", with American
Beauty the obvious template, though there are probably more obvious
parallels with slightly lesser-known Thomas Newman scores like Pay it Forward.
Vibrant and funky, the main title theme is an instant hit and the pace and
rhythm is maintained throughout, with the highlight being the propulsive,
stylish "The Heist". For the more emotional sections of the
movie, Newman favours piano and winds, and there is some delightful writing,
particularly the moving finale "Death Montage". It's clear that another major talent has emerged from the
Newman clan. He's still very young (27!) and will clearly have a big
future. Cousin Randy employed him as an orchestrator on Seabiscuit
and he's got two movies, Hold Up and Pursued, lined up for later
in 2004. Stealing Time is the first score of his to get an album
release and, in common with all of La-La Land's releases, has high production
values including lengthy liner notes. Well worth picking up if you want to
see the birth of a potentially great career, especially if you like Thomas
Newman! Buy
this CD from amazon.com by clicking here! Tracks
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