The Wings of a Film: The Music of Hans Zimmer

Orchestra (Conductor): VRO Flemish Radio Orchestra (Dirk Brossé)
Lable (Release Year): Decca (2001)
Availability: ****
Rating: *****

I did not start noticing the name Hans Zimmer until the summer of 96, when I purchased Broken Arrow. It was only my second Zimmer score and the first was being The Lion King. In the five year period, he quickly became one of my favorite and the number of his CDs grew from 2 to almost 40 and counting (More than Danny Elfman's!). Zimmer has no doubt composed some of the best rhythmic scores. Coincidentally, when I was planning to make a personal Zimmer compilation (since there is virtually none in the market, which is sort of surprising), this CD came in through the mail.

The performance presented here is a special concert recorded live in October 2000 at the Flanders International Film Festival in Belgium, performed by the Flemish Radio Orchestra (applause included). To my surprise, none of the selections are action music, which is almost like his trademark. However, the result turns out to be very well. The two selections from Gladiator, a score that I like more and more, are the new age theme "Now We Are Free" performed by the original performer Lisa Gerard and the relatively low key "Am I Not Merciful." The battle music is totally left out. Lisa Gerard is not the only original performer contributed in the concert. Lebo M (The Lion King), guitarists Pete Haycock (Thelma & Louise) and Heitor Pereira (Gladiator)are also among the performers. Haycock's electric guitar solo in "Thunderbird" is absolutely sensational. It does justice to the only score track in the original soundtrack of Thelma & Louise. The best of all, most of the music has arrangements different than the original recordings. The selections from The Lion King and The Power of One sound very different, in a positive way. The singers provided a powerful and uplifting energy to the choral pieces. In addition, I believe "Lea Halalela" from The Lion King has never been released. The only track that is truly faithful to the original is "Journey to the Line" from The Thin Red Line.

The CD is very upbeat (track 3, 4, 7, 8, 10-12) & romantic (the rest) and provides a "good feeling" listening experience. I love this recording tremendously and I hope you will too. If you are a Zimmer fan, whether you have already owned the original recordings or not, this is a must have.



    Track Listing:
  1. Gladiator - Now We Are Free (5:13)
  2. Gladiator - Am I Not Merciful (6:47)
  3. Driving Miss Daisy - Driving (5:40)
  4. Thelma & Louise - Thunderbird (7:46)
  5. The Thin Red Line - Journey to the Line (9:53)
  6. Mission: Impossible 2 - Nyah and Ethan (6:47)
  7. The Lion King - Lea Halalela (5:59)
  8. Power of One - Mother Africa (5:46)
  9. Nine Month - Suite (5:13)
  10. Rain Man - Main Theme (5:05)
  11. True Romance - Main Theme (3:31)
  12. The Lion King - Busa (3:59)
    Total Time: 71:39
Review date: 7/10/01

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