Elmer Bernstein, among the greatest of the golden age film composers, has lamented that there's not enough "artistry" in soundtracks today. He abhors the pop hit collections that pass for movie music albums, and the man's ... more »got a point. Perhaps he'd go for Horner's score to Phil Alden Robinson and W. P. Kinsella's fairytale ode to fathers, sons, and baseball. It's as evocative as the film itself, a shimmering corn field or a late-afternoon fly ball in every note. It's warm ("The Cornfield" is sweet, subtle, heartbreaking--like an echo, really), fun ("Old Ball Players" recalls Randy Newman's Ragtime score), and stirring ("The Place Where Dreams Come True" doesn't need a father-and-son game of catch to move you). A gem. No, a diamond! --Robert Wilonsky« less
Elmer Bernstein, among the greatest of the golden age film composers, has lamented that there's not enough "artistry" in soundtracks today. He abhors the pop hit collections that pass for movie music albums, and the man's got a point. Perhaps he'd go for Horner's score to Phil Alden Robinson and W. P. Kinsella's fairytale ode to fathers, sons, and baseball. It's as evocative as the film itself, a shimmering corn field or a late-afternoon fly ball in every note. It's warm ("The Cornfield" is sweet, subtle, heartbreaking--like an echo, really), fun ("Old Ball Players" recalls Randy Newman's Ragtime score), and stirring ("The Place Where Dreams Come True" doesn't need a father-and-son game of catch to move you). A gem. No, a diamond! --Robert Wilonsky
Melanie W. (novelwriter) from SURFSIDE BCH, SC Reviewed on 7/27/2006...
The movie is way better than the cd. This just proves that not everything with the same title is good. Does include some memorable tracks like Shoeless Joe and The Place Where Dreams Come True.
CD Reviews
Wow, this one still makes me remember...........
Joel Munyon | Joliet, Illinois - the poohole of America. | 08/15/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I remember sitting there, in a darkened lobby of a hospital room in Joliet, Illinois. My grandpa was dying of cancer in the next room and I was a sad sixth grader who needed some escapism, and fast. I remember watching Field of Dreams that day but, most of all, I remember the music and how it blended so perfectly with the film. It was the first time I ever cried during a film. Call it a classic case of a young kid needing to vent a little, but I will always remember the relief that film brought to me. Years later I bought the soundtrack and with it came the memory of my grandfather. The music on this cd is poetic and spell-binding. If you are on the verge of buying this cd, let me allow myself to give you the friendly push that helps you decide. Even if you are one of those countless folks who considers Kevin Costner a bad actor, don't take it out on the musical score. This cd is a dream, pun intended. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have."
One of James Horner's Best -- Ever
Lee DeWald | Nebraska | 11/27/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Before James Horner got into the habit of wanting to repeat himself in his various scores, he penned this wonderful score. "Field of Dreams" has the ability to make one laugh and cry. It is both sweet and timid; it is both hearty and alive; it is both beautiful and complex. Every time I listen to it, weather it's booming to life in Track 2 ("Deciding to Build the Field") or meekly stepping out of the shadows in Track 6 ("The Drive Home"), I get swept up in the emotional weight that it carries. This is film score music at its best.Horner uses a variety of musical instruments in this piece. Besides the standard orchestra, you've got guitars, harps, piano, what sounds like some sort of pan flute, wind machines, and an array of other musical instruments. I don't think I've ever heard a harp and a pan flute sound as lovely together as they do in Track 7 ("Field of Dreams").The music succeeds best, in my opinion, when it is very restrained. The are times when the music appears on the verge of blooming into full-grown flower, but it always shuns away. Horner does an excellent job of creating emotion using very little.Of course, for those that like more than just sweet fluff (I'm a sucker for the fluff), Track 5 ("Old Ball Players") will wet your appetite. This is just a very laid back waltzy jazz tune that any fan of jazz music, myself included, will love.And we can't forget about Track 12 ("The Place Where Dreams Come True"), pretty much the heart and soul of the entire score. It is a nine-minute masterpiece that is a true testament to Horner's abilities to stir up emotions in the listener. This song makes the scene where Kevin Costner and his baseball father are playing catch. The scene itself is very powerful, but add to that Horner's theme, and you have to have a heart of stone not to get carried up in the moment. Every time I watch that scene I get the urge to run to my dad and ask for a game of catch. Doesn't matter if it's 30 degrees outside or if it's raining. That's what good movies and good music will do to a guy.If you can't tell what I think of this score by now, then folks, you need to get your pulses checked. James Horner is a great composer, and "Field of Dreams" is every evidence of that.Thank you, Mr. Horner for supplying the world with such a beautiful score. I wish everyone could appreciate the work you have done with it."
Let's Get Ready To Dream
Luis M. Ramos | Caracas, Venezuela | 06/12/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I have to admit that James Horner's score for "Field Of Dreams" is touching. In fact the two main melodies are very catchy: one of them is first heard in 'The Cornfied' and the other one is heard in full in the title track 'Field Of Dreams'. I also like 'Old Ball Players', a very nice swing tune very reminiscent of the 40s or the 50s, orchestrated by the late Billy May (from the "Batman" and "The Green Hornet" T.V. shows in the 60s). In fact, this is a good album.
However, I gave it four stars because the score is sometimes too quiet for my taste. Tracks like the very 'Field Of Dreams', 'The Timeless Street' (which sports another interesting melody), 'The Drive Home', and 'Night Mists' sound too atmospheric that sometimes I wish I had my bed nearby.
Don't get me wrong, this is a Horner album that is worth listen to, especially because the album finishes with 'The Place Where Dreams Come True', a lengthy track that swells with marvel and reflection, with the two melodies I mentioned earlier joined together making us feel touched. The end credits also gives the album a great close with a medley of the major themes.
In the end, this is one of James Horner's finest works in spite of the aforementioned quieter tracks."
Words cannot describe the beauty of this music.
Lee DeWald | 06/26/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For anyone who enjoyed the movie, the soundtrack will take you back to that magical place. Much more than a baseball game with players from the past, Field of Dreams conjurs up tremendous emotion of longing to be connected with the important people in our lives. I for one cannot listen to this music (particularly "The Place Where Dreams Come True") without getting tears in my eyes. It is so moving and pure, I feel myself wishing for a game of catch with my grandfather, who I never got to meet. Each track has the ability to take you places your heart longs to visit, and feel the power of musical expression James Horner can produce. I was glad to see his music recognized with the Acadamy Award winning Titanic soundtrack."
Field of Dreams: Soundtrack
K. Farrington | Missegre, France | 02/25/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Totally amazing! I had the great fortune in live in California for a few years and now back in the UK, I am aware how different the Spirit of Place is back there to here. This soundtrack accomplishes something that no other music or other medium has done for me, touching my soul with this Spirit that I loved so much and want to touch every now and then, to remind myself it was real. The spectral (yet very physical) player asks as he disappears into the Cornfield: 'Is this heaven, or what?' Yes this movie says and don't forget it! The music is generally quiet with no razamatazz, in fact, the whole CD seems a meditation on the quietude of the warm, balmy night. This tone picture is of the heart of America where the Corn grows and the Spirit of America in this fantasy, fresh, clean and pure bubbles from its original source. The repeated piano motiv, gentle, leaving almost a question mark in the silence is answered by the stillness and the heat of the night. The use of pan pipes as the baseball spirits appear and disappear in the corn provide an eerie almost Native American taste, almost whispering to me that this special Spirit, the magic of transformation, if we could see it, could from this source; thereby answering my concern of its lack back home here. However, like this music in totality it is subtle and under played, it is impressionistic, leaving you the benefit of making your own inferences from its suggestion for it would tell others something totally different. The orchestration and arrangement throughout is spare, relying very much on a solo piano although the depiction of the certain scenes like the Old Ball Players have been given a period flavor with jazzy and blues overtones. However, the underlying feeling is of magic, of transformation, of transcendence that goes to the heart of the American Dream. With our hero in the movie we don't understand what is going on but we are aware that we are part of something much larger than ourselves and we just have to sit back and enjoy it, going along for the ride. It depicts Life as not threatening, but as warm and kind as Doc Moonlight's Memories of his lifetime of care in his Minnesotan Community show. The message comes down to something like: You can make it, you will achieve it, this is what can be done if you just believe in what you do and do what you believe in. This is what the movie and the music tells me and reminds me of ten years ago when I stood under those same skies, communing with the Spirit and listened to the quiet of the warm night and believed...."