A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

John Williams is known for his scores to many types of film, but it's probably fair to say that he is not best known for his scores for weepy chick flicks.  However, when Patrick Doyle's score for the movie was tossed out for apparently being too heavy, Chris Columbus turned to Williams for the replacement (hardly a morale booster for Doyle, who was recovering from leukaemia at the time).  The movie is not exactly exceptional, but Williams no doubt saw the potential benefits of solidifying his relationship with the director (begun on Home Alone) because of the possibility of him directing something huge in future - and, with Harry Potter, that seems really rather prescient.

Williams's score is easily his most low-key since the days of The Accidental Tourist and Stanley and Iris in the late 1980s and early 90s.  It is composed mostly for a very modest ensemble favouring a few strings and woodwind, with featured solos for oboe and guitar (in reverse order to that implied by the packaging, which features celebrated guitarist Christopher Parkening's name almost as prominently as Williams's).  To tell the truth, the majority of the music is really rather lovely, entirely inoffensive and rather attractive - but one can't help but feel that this is not the sort of thing Williams does all that brilliantly, and other composers, such as Elmer Bernstein, Randy Newman or - hey - Patrick Doyle, may perhaps be better-suited.

Needless to say, Williams's melodic invention and always-interesting orchestration (even in such a small-scale score like this one) still make it a fine album.  The opening cue, "Always and Always", is not one of the finer, with an unusual reliance on synthesised atmospherics, but "The Days Between" features some lovely writing for the two solo instruments.  "The Soccer Game" is a little more upbeat to begin with, before going into synthesised suspense music of the kind heard in JFK and Sleepers (though on a much smaller scale).  "Isabel's Horse and Buggy" is a tremendous little scherzo, irresistibly recalling Thomas Newman's Oscar and Lucinda.  The finest guitar writing is probably to be found in the lilting "Taking Pictures".  There is also a magical quality to cues like "Time Spins its Web" and "One Snowy Night" which creates a timeless air and shows a side to Williams rarely heard.

It has to be said, however, that at 57 minutes there is simply not enough of interest to hold the listener's attention.  There is nothing remotely poor about it - there's just nothing outstanding enough to justify such a generous running time.  There is so little change of pace and tone that a good 20 minutes could easily have been trimmed from the album and it would have been better.  This is an entirely different type of John Williams score, and a decent enough one, just don't go expecting anything spectacular.

Tracks

1. Always and Always (3:41)
2. The Days Between (6:27)
3. Time Spins its Web (2:19)
4. The Soccer Game (4:27)
5. A Christmas Quilt (3:56)
6. Isabel's Horse and Buggy (1:28)
7. Taking Pictures (3:12)
8. One Snowy Night (5:33)
9. Ben's Antics (3:04)
10. Isabel's Picture Gallery (3:44)
11. Jackie and Isabel (2:59)
12. Jackie's Secret (3:33)
13. Bonding (3:55)
14. Ain't No Mountain High Enough Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (2:29)
15. End Credits (6:18)