Pay It Forward (Thomas Newman)

Pay It Forward (Thomas Newman)

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If young Thomas Newman hasn't reinvented the art of film scoring, he's certainly bent and hammered many of its most shopworn clichés into refreshing new musical elements. As he did with similar work for <I>American Beauty</I> and <I>Erin Brockovich</I>, Newman's music suffuses the characters and plot of director Mimi Leder's socially conscious melodrama with an almost stealthy sense of mood and emotion. Once again using his small studio ensemble to great effect, Newman provides a modern, largely rhythmic soundscape, one whose electronically synthesized elements blend so well with his organic sounds as to be utterly seamless. And if there's a familiarity creeping into his work, it's only because Newman--like all the greats--has found such a distinct, effective musical voice. Equally important here, the composer also remembers the Newman family's daunting Hollywood roots--father Alfred, brother David, uncles Lionel and Emil, cousin Randy--and reinforces the film's sensitive nature with quiet, more traditional pastoral orchestral passages, frequently with his own spare solo piano taking the lead. Singer Jane Siberry's "Calling All Angels" closes the album out with appropriate grace and beauty. <I>--Jerry McCulley</I>