Conspiracy Theory

Composer: Carter Burwell
Lable (Release Year): TVT Records (1997)
Availability: ****
Rating: ****

Carter Burwell does not have a very big name but many people certainly appreciate his scores very much. Conspiracy Theory is my second score of his. He has already impressed me with his score to Rob Roy before. And he does it again this time. When I first saw the movie, I was stunned by the "Overture" that is composed for the opening sequence. I told myself that I have to get my hand on this CD as soon as I can.

The insert listed the names of musicians of the orchestra. It appears that they used more than 120 musicians in the orchestra! The "Overture" is an absolutely playful and bombastic "swing fanfare." If you have seen the movie, you know how awesome that piece of music is. The "Overture" reminds me a lot of Elmer Bernstein's "Walk on the Wild Side" and some other Henry Mancini's scores. Althougt that great piece of big band music is the overture of the movie, it appears only one more time in the album. It is worth owning this score just because of that track.

Other than the "Overture", there is another great theme that is embedded in "Conspiracy Theory" and "Riding." Although it appears only twice on the CD, it seems that it appears more in the movie. It is a happy or "you made my day" type of theme. To be honest, it is one of the most enjoyable themes I have heard in a year. It consists of cleverly composed chord progression and repeated notes, which is played by the trumpets. By the way, Burwell used a lot of notes repeating technique in the whole score. I don't know if it is his style or something else. But it certainly makes everything very catchy (even the darker part). The track "Conspiracy Theory" is definitely my favourite track of all time.

Besides the two themes, the rest of the music is rather dark. However, I don't find them unenjoyable. There are other decent motifs in those dark scores. They are not those that you can recall right out from you head. But you CAN hum along with it after you hear them several times. Not like the dark scores of Howard Shore, which I could never remember what's going on. Some parts may also sound a little noisy since there are "electronic noises." I find those dark tracks quite melodic but they are up to every one's taste. I definitely enjoy them more since I have seen the movie. But I still recommend this score to everyone.



    Track Listing:
  1. Overture (4:21)
  2. She Wrecks Me (1:35)
  3. NASA Strikes! (2:46)
  4. Conspiracy Theory (2:14)
  5. Brain Gravy (3:05)
  6. Wheelchair Chase (1:44)
  7. First Date (1:05)
  8. Delicate Shadows (1:52)
  9. The Catcher (5:32)
  10. Turning Into A Jerry (1:33)
  11. Who Are You? (3:25)
  12. Seaching For the Music (3:11)
  13. Middle Names (2:14)
  14. Now You Tell Me (2:37)
  15. Riding (2:49)
    Total Time: 40:53



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