Search - James Horner :: A Beautiful Mind [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] [SACD]

One of the Best Film Scores James Horner Has Ever Composed

Parrish A. Highley | Somewhere I've Never Travelled | 11/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like The Sixth Sense and Braveheart, this ranks among James Horner's best scores. This one, however, has the distinct advantage of the vastly superior medium known to us audiophiles as Sony's Super Audio CD. This medium does require specific equipment that I would be happy to explain to anyone in need of an explanation, so no more complaining...please :)



James Horner achieved something quite unique with this soundtrack because much of what we witness in the story actually takes place within the mind of the protagonist. Action sequences commonly approached with some form of driving music or another are here scored to illustrate John Nash's heightened state of fear from being completely out of his depths. Other music from the score is engaging in an almost classical American sort of way. While many film scores suffer from an inordinate effort to remain innocuous, this score is forceful, breaks film score conventions, and, even, acts at times as a portal into the listener's mind.



Audiophiles will relish the unearthly clarity of this complete Direct Stream Digital recording. And the bass performance of this disc is second to none! I know because I use two HSU RESEARCH subwoofers, one of which is dedicated to frequencies from 50Hz to 80Hz positioned directly behind me while my miracle of modern monstrosity handles everything below 50Hz from a distant corner of the room. This SACD has some of the most beautiful bass I have ever heard recorded. Quite unexpectedly, A Beautiful Mind has become one of the most pleasant suprises in my ongoing search for Super Audio CDs."