Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

You probably won't find a bigger fan of Joss Whedon's Firefly around. And I was physically stunned and emotionally drained after a preview screening of Serenity this past Tuesday evening - it was that good. That said, I am sorely disappointed by the contents of this CD. I probably own over 100 movie soundtracks/scores. I am most fond of those that remind me of the movie, and which do so by collecting the various identifiable themes and presenting them in their cinematic context. My favorites stand on their own musically, independent of the visuals. Sad to say that the tracks chosen for this CD are primarily ambience / orchestral sound effect tracks. The very few thematic passages, such as Track 3 / Serenity, are so short-lived that they're over before the theme itself is fully developed. There are, absolutely, some very nice passages but the bulk of the CD's roughly 50 minutes is essentially background music and little of what one would think of as contributing to the emotion of the film. I recall having this same reaction to a past Newman effort: The Phantom. So I'm left wondering if what I'm hearing is his style, his production choices, Whedon's choice(s) or some combination of these that left the music with the most emotional (as opposed to visceral) impact off the CD. In looking at the selections, I note that roughly 2/3 of the tracks chosen are from the point in the film where things "start happening", essentially continuing sequentially from there to the end. This, of course, is where most of the action is, and where one would expect to have a lot of percussive, dissonant, frenetic motion. And that's pretty much what the listener gets, with the exception of a few very nice passages that are compelling not so much on their own, but in relation to their place in the film. Regarding the various cultures, instruments and moods Whedon mentions demanding in his liner notes, they are all there. But Joss and I differ greatly on how they were handled. The fiddle, guitar and 'folksy' feel of Firefly's music are completely missing and even where the banjo is used, it's phrases are not banjo-like in any sense that would fit the 'space western' premise of Serenity. If my reaction to the film was any indication, the music must have been a powerful tension builder. But from a released soundtrack standpoint, the tracks chosen for the CD do not stand on their own and the mix of cultures, etc., are much more mishmash than concerto. Finally, I have to wonder what boob cooked up the track names here. Tracks 9, 10, 15 and 20 are unconscionable spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen the film. As Producer, this falls on Newman again, I believe. In all this CD, as produced, was not worthy of the film, IMHO.