Faith Hill topbills Pearl Harbor soundtrack

There are no doubts about it. Pearl Harbor, a power-packed blend of period spectacle, tragic romance and state-of-the-art filmmaking with a sky-high production budget, is out to take on Titanic as the highest-grossing motion picture of all time. We do not know yet if it will succeed but as of now everybody involved in the making of this war drama is lined up against the wall and being minutely scrutinized in comparison to the people behind Titanic.

They ask: Is the love story of Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale and Josh Hartnett as moving and as memorable as that of Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslett? Will the beginning of World War II be more interesting to movie-goers than the sinking of Titanic in 1912? Is director Michael Bay up to par in filmmaking tricks with James Cameron? Will Hans Zimmer’s music score prove to be more enduring than what James Horner created for Titanic? Does the lovely Faith Hill have the chops to take the theme song, There You’ll Be to the top of the charts the way Celine Dion did My Heart Will Go On? We will have the answers soon.

Now, while still waiting for Pearl Harbor to open in local theaters for our own assessment, we can savor the soundtrack album, which was released a few days ago. Its contents are a complete surprise. Given the setting of the story, Hawaii in 1941, I expected a collection of hit songs from the period, which should have been appropriate. Think Once in a While or I’ll Never Smile Again. The producers probably thought we already have too much of those so what we get instead is one new song composed by Diane Warner of I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing, Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now and Because You Loved Me fame. This is the song performed by country music star Faith Hill and some new works that Zimmer created expressly for the movie.

I also expected a score that although original still hews close to the music of the period in style. Think full orchestra or big band arrangements and all-acoustic, of course. But what Zimmer offers in the album is a collection of sweet melodies with simple arrangements that at times use electronic instruments. There are star turns though by world renowned music artists like soprano Julia Migenes, guitarist Hector Pereira, Bruce Fowler on solo trombone and others.

The remarkable thing about the album though is that Zimmer’s music works beautifully on its own and one does not really need Pearl Harbor to appreciate the contents of this soundtrack. This is great music that anybody can listen to and enjoy anytime. Later, perhaps, after we have seen the movie, we can have the images that go with the score. But for now, our very own movie-in-the-mind works just fine.

Zimmer is the same guy who created the memorable scores for The Lion King, Mission Impossible 2, The Peacemaker, As Good As It Gets, The Prince of Egypt, The Crimson Tide, Nine Months and others. Faith Hill is one of the most successful cross-over artists of recent years. This chance to sing the theme for a major motion picture should bring her career to new heights. Faith has sold more than 20 million records worldwide and has garnered 10 number one singles. Among these are Breathe, The Way You Love Me, This Kiss and others. She is also the lovely model in all those Cover Girl make-up ads.

Recess: School’s Out soundtrack

Still on soundtrack albums: Music lovers who are suckers for old songs in new movies should take time to listen to the soundtrack of Recess: School’s Out. This is the big screen version of the famous Disney’s Recess: School’s Out. This is the big screen version of the famous Disney’s Recess, which anchors Disney’s top-rated line-up of kiddie shows and it features the summer adventures of T.J., Mikey, Gretchen, Gus and Vince.

And what sort of music do you think would be the right backdrop for the antics of these fourth-graders? What we find in the soundtrack are surf, Motown, rock and lush ’70s pop. Included in the album are the original versions of Dancing in the Street by Martha and the Vandellas, Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf, One by Three Dog Night, Wipe Out by the Surfaris, and Let the Sunshine In by the 5th Dimension. Myra updates Dancing in the Street while Robert Goulet, a singing star from the ’60s lends his deep baritone to Green Tamborine.