Garcia and Rozsa fantasies
Stuart M. Paine | Arlington, VA USA | 11/02/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album of music by Russell Garcia and Miklos Rozsa for two George Pal films, ATLANTIS: THE LOST CONTINENT and THE POWER, is one of Film Score Monthly's more inspired releases. It's also a lot of music at 76 minutes.
I particularly like the featured Garcia score. As many times as I've listened through, I don't think I'd recognize his "voice" were I to hear it elsewhere. It seems a mix of about everybody - Elmer Bernstein, Bronislau Kaper and Bernard Herrmann (a little) among them and, in particular, Les Baxter. The romantic main theme and the vibraphones in the track entitled "Lost" are especially nice. TT: 46:19
The Rozsa is immediately recognizable as his work. It's frantic, urgent and wildly melodramatic. The Gypsy cimbalum is a great touch, too, singing out regularly and reverberantly over the orchestra. Rozsa professed not to care for anything Gypsy, but you'd never realize it in hearing this. A single and very different track pairs two tranquil Spanish guitars. TT: 29:39
An informative 22-page insert booklet accompanies the disc. FSM is tremendously good at this. For all their releases, they provide cue-by-cue film context and detailed musical description."